Doctoral graduation at the University of Gothenburg

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Last Friday, we attended the doctoral ceremony at the University of Gothenburg, as my (Helena's) mother was awarded an honorary doctorate. Very exciting and interesting to be part of such a ceremony and celebration!

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What is a doctoral degree?

For those who are not familiar with the academic world, we can tell you that a doctoral graduation is an academic ceremony and celebration, which is primarily intended for those who have recently completed their research training and obtained a doctoral degree. At the ceremony, the new doctors receive so-called insignia, which may consist of a diploma, ring, doctoral hat and/or laurel wreath.

The ceremony also includes a number of honorary doctorates (an honorary title awarded by a university) and jubilee doctorates (people who received their doctorate 50 years ago). In addition, some other prizes and honours may be awarded.

Awarded an honorary doctorate

The Faculty of Science at the University of Gothenburg has chosen to make my mother Karna an honorary doctor. This is fantastic! My mum completed her PhD in 1982, when I was seven years old, and is a professor of physical geography. She did her PhD in Lund, and in recent years has worked in Stockholm, but has collaborated with researchers at the University of Gothenburg and contributed to research and development there, which is why they wanted to make her an honorary doctor.

We have had a bit of trouble finding the right clothes during the week, but in the end we managed to organise both coat and long dress. The ceremony is in formal dress, i.e. tails and a long dress or folk costume. Even before the ceremony, we met Mum's research colleague at the University of Gothenburg, Mats Olvmo, and his partner Sophie, who chose to come in a beautiful folk costume.

Time for doctoral graduation at the University of Gothenburg

The ceremony started at 15:00 and lasted about three hours. Although I myself have doctorate I have never been to a doctoral graduation. When it was time for my own, we were on our year-long motorhome trip around Europe. Interesting to see how it can be done, even if it is certainly a little different at different universities.

During the ceremony, the different faculties, one by one, conferred their doctorates, honorary doctorates and jubilee doctorates - in Latin and with the presentation of diplomas and other insignia. The ceremony was interspersed with performances by dancers, singers and choirs.

After a while, it was time for the Faculty of Science to award my mother an honorary doctorate. During her research career, my mum has been studying the evolution of mountains over 540 million years. and justification was read out about the importance of this research. She was then presented with a diploma, laurel wreath and ring (and later a doctor's hat).

Mingle and banquet

At the end of the ceremony, the guests were invited to mingle with bubbly and lots of tasty snacks. It was great to mingle with people dressed up like that! (Until now, it was fine to wear a suit, but if you wanted to attend the banquet afterwards, you had to wear a tuxedo).

During the banquet, we were treated to a three-course dinner with seaweed quariar and toasted brioche for starters, spiced cod with ragu and potato puree for the main course and passion mousse for dessert. Peter had Sophie at the table and I sat next to a nice couple from Mozambique, where she had done her PhD at the University of Gothenburg. The evening then continued with dancing for those who wanted to. It wasn't too late for us, but it was great to be part of such an event!

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