The ILF Class of 2022 celebrated its graduation on 14 July 2022. Just like in pre-pandemic times, the official graduation ceremony was held in the foyer of the House of Finance followed by a dinner and dance held in the Festsaal of the Casino Building on Campus Westend. With disruption caused to our graduation ceremonies in the past 2 years, we were most delighted to be able to once again hold a full-blown graduation to celebrate our students’ achievements with their families and friends as well as ILF lecturers and administrative staff. We are proud of the ILF graduating class of 51 students from 24 nations comprising 38 graduates from the LL.M. Finance program and 13 graduates from the LL.M. International Finance program.
Prof. Dr. Andreas Cahn, ILF Executive Director, opened the graduation ceremony by welcoming 180 guests from around the world. He noted that the past 10 months of experiences gained at the ILF have not only increased the knowledge of our graduates but have also solidified the bonds that they have with one another. These experiences and friendships will support them as they continue to make important choices in the next phases of their lives and he wished them all the best in their endeavors. Finally, he thanked the lecturers, sponsors and ILF administration for their continuous commitment and support of the ILF.
Prof. Dr. Felix Maultzsch, Dean of Studies of the Law Faculty, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, was honoured to be at the graduation ceremony and he was very impressed by the internationality and vibrancy of the graduates of the ILF Class of 2022. He congratulated them on their accomplishments and for having chosen to come to the city of Frankfurt am Main in Germany to study a Master of Laws at the ILF which is awarded by the Law Faculty of Goethe University.
Our Commencement Speaker, Dr. Pedro Gustavo Texeira, Director of the European Central Bank, spoke about the complexity of the current issues (climate crisis, invasion of Ukraine, Covid pandemic) happening in the world today and that there is an urgent need to work together in order to resolve them. With so much information around us and also easy access to information, the ability to be able to filter what is the truth and what is important should not be undermined. He is fully optimistic that after studying at the ILF, our graduates are well equipped with the essential tools which they could use to support the work in these complicated areas that eventually have an impact on the everyday lives of all. He congratulated everyone on their success in completing the LL.M. programs at the ILF!
The LL.M. Finance Class President, Mr. Andres Mejia Barboza from Venezuela, and the LL.M. International Finance Class President, Mr. Mingsen Xie from China, related their experiences at the classes and activities held at the ILF during their year of study. Both Presidents reminisced about their year of studies at the ILF and on behalf of their fellow classmates, thanked everyone who made the year at the ILF a dream come true.
The Class Vice-Presidents, Mr. Sahadev Khatry from Nepal (LL.M. International Finance) and Mr. Fabian Schmidt from Germany, honored four lecturers, two from the winter semester and two from the summer semester, with the Lecturer of the Year 2022 Awards, nominated by each group of students. Our Class Vice-Presidents expressed their gratitude on behalf of their classmates, thanking each lecturer for their dedication. All four lecturers were present to receive their awards. They thanked the students for being a great class and gave some words of wisdom for the students to take with them as they move on to the next stage in their career paths!
Winter Semester:
LL.M. Finance: Dr. Carsten Angerbach
LL.M. International Finance: Dr. Rüdiger Litten
Summer Semester:
LL.M. Finance: Dr. Stefan Henkelmann
LL.M. International Finance: Dr. Oliver Heiland
This was followed by the commemorative certificates award ceremony where each graduate of the Class of 2022 received his/her certificate and was personally congratulated by Prof. Dr. Maultzsch.
Upon the conclusion of the official ceremony in the House of Finance, all guests were invited to the Dinner & Dance held at the Festsaal of the Casino Building on Campus Westend. During dinner, our guests also enjoyed a 20-minute video made by Dr. Rolf Friedewald, ILF Managing Director, recapping the special events of the Class of 2022 such as a city tour, boat trip, christmas event, dinner and beer garden event, ILF 20th Anniversary celebrations, field trip to Heidelberg, conferences and alumni events.
Celebrations continued late into the evening and we were happy to see our students having a wonderful time with families and friends that day!
Our heartiest congratulations and all our best wishes go to the Class of 2022!
