Aneth David
Dear reader,
I defended my PhD in Biology (plant protection major) in May 2022. The journey took me 6 years to complete and went nothing like how I expected it to. However I was happy when it came to an end and importantly, relieved.
I graduated from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). It is a research university focusing on agriculture - horticulture, veterinary medicine and forestry - as well as landscape architecture and fisheries. It is one of the best small universities in the world that prides itself in putting sustainability in the centre of education and research activities it does.
SLU hosts doctoral graduations once a year in October at its main campus in Uppsala, Sweden. I returned to Tanzania immediately after my PhD defence in May and could not return in October 2022 for the graduation. But graduation ceremonies are important to me, they give a sense of closure (yes even positive outcomes can benefit from closure) and allow me to celebrate something I worked on for years. So I planned to attend the 2023 graduation.
Preparation
The preparation involved getting visas and travel tickets, registration to attend the event, booking accommodation and of course, choosing an outfit. The dress code for the graduation ceremony and diner party afterwards is formal - full evening/white tie i.e. floor-length evening dress for women and tailcoat with a white waistcoat, white bow tie, black socks and black shoes for men. Since traditional costumes are also allowed, I opted to go with an African print in greenish colour palette to reflect both my love for plants and what I studied in my PhD, which had to do with plants.
There was also a mandatory rehearsal one day before the ceremony, which was very helpful and informative on setting expectations and what to do/not to do on the actual day. It was really funny with a few mistakes here and there.
The ceremony
The ceremony started at around 1500 in the afternoon and everything lasted for about 3 hours. It was such an elaborate ceremony divided according to the 4 faculties of SLU. Each faculty started conferring diplomas to jubilee doctors (doctor jubilaris, doctors who were awarded their PhDs 50 years ago, i.e. 1973), then honorary doctors (doctor honours causa) and then us the new doctors (doctor iuvenis). About 64 new doctors received their degrees, including those who postponed in earlier years for different reasons such as COVID-19.
The ceremony was formal, marked with traditional activities and speeches but quite enjoyable. It was mostly in Swedish but the few talks in English were great. I especially enjoyed the honorary by Prof. Stephanie Robert on the importance of the plant cell shapes. Again, plants talk.
Insignia (symbols) of the graduation ceremony
The doctoral graduation is marked by several insignia and symbolism with different meanings. These are the doctoral hat or laurel wreath, the doctoral ring and the diploma. The doctoral hat is given to those conferred doctoral degrees in agriculture, forestry, technology and veterinary medicine to symbolise freedom and power. The hand-made hats have different emblems based on the four faculties. I received (was crowned really) a laurel wreath. It is given to those of us who receive philosophy doctorates to signify honour and is made from the leaves of a laurel or Apollo's tree.
We all also received the "diploma" as a written proof of being awarded a doctoral degree and doctoral dignity. It is given only to those who attend he ceremony in person and is written in some fancy handwriting in Swedish although I hear that it can also be latin.
Here is a recording of the ceremony, I come in at 1:42:10h
A golden ring (optional) symbolises fidelity to science, and it was one of the highlights of the experience. I heard about how other universities such as MIT have rings and was delighted to find out that mine does have one too. Rings symbolise commitment and honour, and as a scientist at heart, this is a constant reminder of the values and ideals I hold dear.
More details on the ceremony and symbolism in Swedish universities is found here.
After the ceremony, we went to a dinner banquet at Uppsala castle. It was again an elaborate three course-meal formal dinner punctuated by live performance and talks/ speeches (again, unfortunately most of the speeches were in Swedish). However the food was simple and complex at the same time, and importantly, as always in Sweden, healthy.
Post event
Post graduation we decided to do sight seeing, visiting friends and family in Sweden, Germany and Netherlands. I also used the time to enjoy the Swedish tranquility as well as some traditions such as eating the kanelbullar and kebabrulle. This brought back a lot of fond, beautiful memories.
So, are PhD graduations important? After all, by the time one gets to PhD shouldn't they have had their fair share of "graduations"? I think this is a personal choice but to me, yes they are. It is important to mark the end of eras and open doors to new ones, to celebrate wins - both big and small and just have a good time. It was also nice to catch up with formal colleagues who did their PhDs during the same period as I.
What do you think, do you celebrate graduations? If yes, how?
