On 26 July 2022, 12 students graduated with degrees from UNU-IAS, 10 from the MSc in Sustainability programme and two in the PhD in Sustainability Science programme. This year’s graduates come from 11 countries: Afghanistan, Ghana, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Malawi, Philippines, Sri Lanka, U.S.A, Viet Nam, and Zimbabwe. To celebrate this special occasion, approximately 70 people participated in the ceremony to congratulate the graduates at the UNU Headquarters.
Shinobu Yume Yamaguchi (Director, UNU-IAS), David M. Malone (Rector, UNU), Sawako Shirahase (Senior Vice-Rector, UNU) and Takahisa Murakami (Deputy Assistant Minister and Director of International Affairs, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan) delivered congratulatory remarks to the graduates and invited guests. In a video lecture, Melissa Brown Goodall (UNU-IAS Advisory Board Member, Senior Director of Environmental Innovations Initiative, University of Pennsylvania) praised the students' accomplishments and offered real-life advice highlighting the importance of learning by being an active listener and creating one’s personal board of advisors.
Following an introduction of the 2022 graduating cohort presented by Kensuke Fukushi (Academic Programme Advisor, UNU-IAS), the academic degrees were awarded. The graduates received their diplomas from Director Yamaguchi and celebratory gifts from Takashi Asai (Managing Director and Secretary-General, Japan Foundation for United Nations University).
Four of the new graduates, Evan Michael FitzGerald, Nam Anh Tran, Marlex Olandiz Tuson, and Bernadettah Maria Kamzimbi Zimba, gave speeches on behalf of their graduating classes.
The UNU-IAS postgraduate degree programmes are intended for future global leaders who will make important contributions to the international community by advancing creative solutions to issues of sustainability.
UNU-IAS extends its congratulations and best wishes to the graduates on their achievements and looks forward to hearing about their future endeavours.
