Graduation Ceremony | Executive MBA 2017.19 & International MBA 2019
On the past December 14th, the students from The Lisbon MBA Executive 2017.19 and International full-time 2019 graduated, at Católica-Lisbon.
Students, family, friends, professors, and staff gathered at the auditorium for a ceremony filled with emotional and motivational speeches and endless memories.
The table of honor was well composed with members from the three Schools from The Lisbon MBA (Maria José Amich, Executive Director of The Lisbon MBA, Professor Filipe Santos, Dean of Católica-Lisbon School of Business & Economics, David Capodilupo, Assistant Dean of MIT Sloan School of Management, Prof. João Borges de Assunção, Academic Director, Prof. Paulo Pinho, Academic Director, Prof. Daniel Traça, representing the Rector of Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and Prof. Miguel Athayde Marques, Vice-Rector of Universidade Católica Portuguesa) and with a special guest, Eng. Álvaro Portela, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonae Capital, SGPS, S.A.
Filipe Santos, Dean of Católica-Lisbon, opened the session congratulating each and every student in the room and asked the students to “have the vision to dream of a better world and the courage and entrepreneurial drive to enact that vision into reality in the small and big decisions.” With that achieved, the Universities can say they have reached their purpose: “to educate and empower a new generation to achieve their full potential.”
Next to the stand, David Capodiluppo, Assistant Dean of MIT Sloan School of Management, highlighted the 10th anniversary of the partnership with MIT and that “with every partnership that has meaning, it gets better and better and better.”
After the speeches of encouragement and distribution of awards to students and professors of both programs, the tone climbed to an emotional level when the students’ representatives went to the stage and dedicated their kind words to their fellow students, professors, staff and, most of all, their families.
Just before starting the diploma delivery, Maria José Amich, Executive Director of The Lisbon MBA, referred the importance of the Alumni Community and encouraged the new members to be active and engaged as they [the students] “are students for one or two years, but are alumni of The Lisbon MBA for life.”
“Continue to be lifelong learners and above all find and follow your passion. Choose to do what you really love, it’s your life, no one else’s.” Maria José advised and reminded everyone in the room that “[…] happy people, make better leaders.”
While the diplomas were distributed, the clapping echoed through the auditorium, and they were finally graduated, and new members of The Lisbon MBA Alumni Community.
On a closing note, Daniel Traça, Dean of Nova SBE, shared his advice with the recent graduates of being lifelong learners as “we live in a world that is changing incredibly fast, and […] if you stop learning, you’ll be missing out.” There will be a need for constant reinvention, where “people and purpose are in the center of organizations”, and “as leaders, you’re going to be the ones who reinvent the system”.
He recommended, at last, the students to “go out, go lead, go create, go care” but to always remember that, “we stay here ready to help, to support. That’s what a school should be about: a place where you learn, where you find friends, a place that you leave to make a difference, but which is always ready to welcome you”.
Congratulations to all our students from the Executive MBA 2017.19 and International MBA 2019! We wish them all success in their future endeavors.