procession

Record number of guests took part in Academic Ceremony celebrations

This year's Academic Ceremony was themed around Carl Linnaeus, providing a consistent motif throughout. Linnaeus's motto, "Marvel at everything, even the most commonplace", was also the opening words of vice-chancellor Peter Aronsson at this year's ceremony.

  • Our photographer Johannes Rydström treats us to a photo bonanza from both the ceremony and the subsequent dinner. Link till Facebook post with pictures >>

The entire ceremony week was imbued with the spirit of Linnaeus, featuring permanent and temporary exhibitions and the LinnéTalks series. The floral decorations also adhered to this theme, showcasing plants, flowers, and leaves transitioning through the four seasons.

"When curiosity burgeons, it leads to a search for systematics and the order behind phenomena. Today, we celebrate academia’s collective efforts over time. Particularly during the last year, with 40 000 students enhancing their Bildung and abilities on our programmes and courses within our broad range of expertise. With 1 256 published articles, we've reached a number higher than ever before, a series of value-creating collaborations, donations, and external contributions at levels we've never seen before", said vice-chancellor Peter Aronsson in his opening address, reminding us that the Academic Ceremony is about honouring some of the foremost representatives in this.​

Promovendi

In total, ten new professors were installed and 31 new doctors were awarded their doctorates. Sawmill entrepreneur and former Vida CEO Christer Johansson was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Technology and received a diploma, doctoral ring, and hat.

Badges of merit

Four members of staff received Linnaeus University's badges of merit for outstanding contributions to the university, and Stephen Hwang, the former vice-chancellor of Linnaeus University, was awarded the Linnaeus University medal for individuals who have made special contributions to the university.

Each year, the municipalities of Växjö and Kalmar award Stora Linnéstipendiet to a researcher at Linnaeus University. The prize of SEK 500 000 is intended to support Linnaeus University's research within sustainable ecological development. This year's recipient, Björn Lindenberg, a researcher at the Department of Mathematics, received the scholarship for his project "AI algorithms for climate-smart agriculture".

Dinner and entertainment

Once the ceremony was concluded, a banquet was held on campus in Växjö for nearly 500 invited guests.

"It's a record. We've never had this many seated guests before, and it's fantastic that so many wanted to join us in this celebration. As a result, the entertainment had to be performed from surrounding staircases and balconies, which turned out to be very successful", says Nanny Fransson, Linnaeus University's event coordinator and master of ceremonies.

The speech to the doctors was held by Bodil Petersson, dean at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, and the professorial address was given by Andreas Nordin, professor of pedagogy.

The entertainment was provided by the classical violinists and young brothers, Christian, 18, and Daniel Iourtchik, 15. They played the piece Navarra by Pablo de Sarasate, accompanied by pianist Elena Vozniuik.

The female blues collective Ladies Got The Blues performed Can't Let You Go by Sugar Pie DeSanto.

The ceremony began with Linnaeus's festive march, performed by Lyckå Brass Quintet.