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Acting rector Priit Reiska stressed that the work put into a doctoral thesis always pays off. “It opens up new, previously inaccessible opportunities,” Reiska remarked. “And I don’t mean positions that require a doctorate – there aren’t very many of those. The value lies in the knowledge and skills acquired in gaining your doctorates.”

Triin Roosalu, who spoke on behalf of the students’ supervisors, reminded everyone of the happiness that can easily be forgotten when singing the student anthem Gaudeamus. She also listed the new knowledge that the doctoral theses have added to our collective consciousness. However, she also cautioned that students can sometimes focus more on certain milestones than new knowledge. “I want us to think more about what we’ve learned, and what it is we’ve learned about,” she said.

Sander Paekivi, who addressed the audience on behalf of the graduating doctoral students, focused in his speech on the new philosophy doctorates. Breaking the Greek word philosophia down into its original constituent parts, meaning ‘love of wisdom’, he said, “Wisdom is the area of interest we chose for ourselves. The more important part of that title, however, is philos or ‘love’. We aren’t doctors because we’re wise, but because we’ve come to love wisdom.”

Sander Paekivi's speech

Acting rector Priit Reiska's speech