On 25 June, a graduation ceremony was held in Auditorium 1000 at the Medical University of Łódź for graduates of the English-language medical and dental programmes. This year, 108 graduates representing 29 countries received their degrees.

The ceremony was chaired by the Vice-Rector for Clinical Affairs, Prof. Adam Antczak, MD, PhD. Also seated at the presiding table were the Vice-Dean for Education, Dr Joanna Makowska, MD, PhD; the Vice-Dean for Research and Education, Prof. Monika Łukomska-Szymańska, MD, PhD; Monika Łukomska-Szymańska, and the Vice-Dean for English-Language Studies at the Faculty of Medicine – Dr hab. n.med. Sebastian Kłosek, who presided over the entire ceremony.

We were also honoured by the presence of:

• Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences – Prof. Jolanta Kujawa, MD, PhD
• Vice-Dean for the Department of Nursing and Midwifery at the Faculty of Health Sciences – Ewa Borowiak, PhD in Health Sciences
• Vice-Dean for Teaching at the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine – Dr Małgorzata Brauncajs, PhD (Med.)
• Rector’s Representative for the Clinical and Teaching Centre Campus – Dr Paweł Ptaszyński, PhD (Med.)
• Director of the International Doctoral School – Dr Tomasz Boczek, PhD (Medical Sciences)
• Rector’s Representative for Extra-Curricular Educational Projects – Dr Katarzyna Taran, PhD (Medical Sciences)

as well as academic staff, hospital directors, parents, relatives and friends of the graduates.

After the graduates had taken their oath and received their diplomas, Prof. Adam Antczak presented awards to the students (Valedictorians) who had achieved the highest academic results. The recipients were Dr Ruth Hanbury – a graduate of the medical and dental programme – and Dr Woodrow Lee – a graduate of the medical programme.
Prof. Adam Antczak, Prof. Sebastian Kłosek and Prof. Katarzyna Taran addressed the graduates with words of congratulations and best wishes for their future professional and academic development.

Speaking on behalf of the Students’ Council, Carine Nassif congratulated the graduates and announced speeches by the former Vice-Chair of the English-Speaking Students’ Council, Dr Marzieh Pisheh Joo, and the former Secretary and outgoing Director of Social Media for the English-Speaking Students’ Council, Dr Kimberly C Sebastian.

Both graduates then expressed their appreciation and congratulations to the Teacher of the Year awardees – Dr Damian Chybicki and Dr Paweł Ratajczyk.
A special moment of the ceremony was the honouring of Dr Yin Qi Lee, the first-ever graduate of the English-language programme to have completed an Individual Study Programme over the past two years under the supervision of Dr Mateusz Staciwa at the Clinic of Internal Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology.

Certificates were also awarded for the first time to students who had shown particular commitment to the academic community. The awards recognised support for the Centre for the Organisation and Administration of English-Language Studies, involvement in the English-Language Students’ Council, and grassroots initiatives undertaken for the benefit of the academic community. Certificates with distinction were awarded to: Dr Barnadine Abassah, Dr Ahrani Jeyakanthan, Dr Yin Qi Lee, Dr Kimberly C Sebastian and Dr Marwan Zeini.

The ceremony concluded with a performance by the Medical University of Łódź Choir.

Following the official part of the event, participants gathered for refreshments in the foyer outside Auditorium 1000.