The Faculty of Engineering honours the completion of its graduates’ university studies with an academic ceremony, the graduation ceremony. All graduates from a given year group, their family members and guests, as well as guests of honour and members of the Faculty, are invited to this annual graduation ceremony.
The graduation ceremony at the Faculty of Engineering is designed as a special event and is intended to remain a lasting memory for our graduates, their families and guests. After all, upon obtaining their Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, our graduates deserve special recognition of their achievements in the context of a formal ceremony.
Following the traditions of graduation ceremonies in the English-speaking world, the Faculty’s graduation ceremony has for many years been held according to a set procedure. On the day of the graduation ceremony, our graduates wear a long, dark gown and a coloured sash. The Corpus Academicum, the faculty’s academic staff, and the Vice-Chancellor of the HTWK wear a gown with a stole and a black mortarboard, the academic cap.
Date & Registration
Graduation Ceremony 2027
The graduation ceremony for all graduates of the class of 2026 will take place in spring 2027.
Registration will open in January 2027.
All graduates who completed their studies in 2026 will receive an invitation by email in January 2027, containing a link to the registration form.
Please note: Due to limited seating capacity, we ask that you do not plan to bring more than two guests. We will only be able to accommodate additional guests (upon request) if there are still sufficient seats available after the registration deadline (around mid-February).
Incentive awards
Awards ceremony as part of the celebrations
During the graduation ceremony, awards will be presented for the best final-year projects.
Further information: Awards for final-year projects.
The programme for the graduation ceremony
The ceremonial entrance
The academic anthem ‘Gaudeamus igitur’ heralds the ceremonial procession. As ‘Gaudeamus igitur’ begins to play, the academic procession enters the ceremonial hall. Leading the way are the Rector of HTWK Leipzig, the Dean of the Faculty and the body of professors. They are followed by the graduates, whilst the audience stands to watch the procession. The Corpus Academicum takes their seats on the podium and the graduating students proceed to their designated seats in front of the stage. As the academic anthem ‘Gaudeamus igitur’ fades away, the Dean and the Rector sit down first, followed by everyone else present. This academic procession is followed by the opening of the academic ceremony by the Dean of the Faculty.
The Vice-Dean then welcomes the Corpus Academicum, the guests of honour, the graduates and the audience. He introduces the members of the Graduation Committee who will conduct the proceedings.
The Procedendum
The graduation ceremony, known as the Procedendum, is initiated by the Dean of Studies. He welcomes all graduates and invites one or more of the graduates to come up onto the podium. On the podium, the graduate approaches the Dean. The Dean touches the graduate’s bowed head with his mortarboard as a sign of the academic act of graduation. At the same time, the Vice-Dean places the coloured sash, which is resting on the graduate’s arm, around their neck as an outward sign of the dignity of the academic degree (Bachelor’s/Master’s). The Dean and the Vice-Chancellor then offer their congratulations as a symbol of the graduate’s acceptance into the academic community. The Diploma Addendum* (certificate) is presented to the graduate by the ceremony assistant immediately afterwards. The audience expresses its appreciation with applause, and the graduate who has just received their degree returns to their seat in the hall. The ceremony is conducted in the same manner until all graduates present have received their degrees.
Recognition of doctoral graduates
Until the Faculty of Engineering regains the right to award doctorates, graduates of the Faculty of Engineering may obtain their doctorates through collaborative programmes at other universities. In recognition of their academic achievements, these graduates are invited to the graduation ceremony. The honouring of doctoral graduates follows the ceremonial proceedings. The Dean announces the conferral of the doctoral degree and calls the doctoral candidate and the laudator to the podium. Once the supervisor has read out the laudatory address, the doctoral candidate is presented with the academic headgear, the mortarboard, by the Dean as a visible symbol of their achievement.
Awards Ceremony | Sponsored Prizes
During the graduation ceremony, the most outstanding final-year projects are also recognised each year with awards: the KARL-KOLLE Prize from the charitable KARL-KOLLE Foundation (until 2026) and the Leipzig Energy Prize from Netz Leipzig GmbH. In addition to an outstanding final thesis and excellent academic results, the awards ceremony also recognises commitment to university life and to society.
The ceremonial pledge
The ceremony concludes with the solemn pledge. A representative of the graduates reflects on their studies in the graduation speech and generally thanks the academic staff for their teaching and the university for awarding the academic degree. Together with all the graduates, the graduate speaker recites the solemn pledge as an expression of the self-assured student body.
WE, THE GRADUATES OF HTWK LEIPZIG, SOLEMNLY DECLARE:
To nurture, constantly expand and improve the knowledge and skills we have acquired;
to strive for truth and serve
science; and thereby to contribute responsibly to the prosperous development of society;
to dedicate our knowledge and skills to the welfare of all people;
To respect human dignity,
to fulfil
our professional duties with equal humanity towards all, and to yield neither to our own weaknesses nor to external pressure or threats,
to remain
faithfully connected to our alma mater, and to prove ourselves worthy of the academic degree conferred upon us.
The ceremonial procession
Following the graduates’ pledge, the Dean of the Faculty brings the academic ceremony of the graduation ceremony to a close. The academic anthem ‘Gaudeamus igitur’ now heralds the ceremonial procession. The audience rises from their seats and the academic procession leaves the ceremonial hall.
Outside the ceremonial hall, the Dean and the audience raise their first glass to mark the graduation. The Dean congratulates the graduates and delivers an academic address.
*The Diploma Addendum supplements the official certificate of the award of the academic degree (The Degree Certificate) and the final examination certificate (The Final Examination Certificate), as well as the additional information on the academic qualification recommended by the European Union (The Diploma Supplement). The Diploma Addendum from the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig formally confirms the award of the academic degree. It is presented to graduates as a prestigious scroll – the parchment – at the degree conferral table during the graduation ceremony.
