Music

Trondhjems Studentersangforening | Conductor: Daniel Zakarias von Gertten

• «Gaudeamus Igitur», arrangement: Gavin David Lee

Academic Procession

Music

Trondhjems Studentersangforening | Conductor: Daniel Zakarias von Gertten

• «Naar Fjordene Blaaner», lyrics: John Paulsen, melody: Alfred Paulsen

Dear guests, dear colleagues and friends.

Congratulations, today we celebrate a record number of PhDs graduating from NTNU – Never before have so many candidates defended their Phd thesis as in the spring semester of 2025.

Today you receive your doctoral diploma, a tangible confirmation of the competence, skills and knowledge you have achieved through your PhD. A PhD title represents academic weight, authority, and integrity.

The academic endeavor you have carried out has been special in several ways. You have pursued your research during times marked by a global pandemic. And your career continues in times where the future is unpredictable and uncertain.

We are facing a world that no longer resembles the one we knew just a few years ago. Yet it is precisely your competence, skills and knowledge that make you better prepared to navigate in a turbulent world and changing work environments.

The road to a doctoral degree is not straight forward without its bumps and hurdles. There is commitment and hard work behind every dissertation and a journey that has required an impressive amount of effort.

Once more, congratulations. And thank you for your dedication.

Now, let me continue in Norwegian — to give some reflections that concern our future, and the crucial role of knowledge going forward.

***

Dear all,

Almost a year ago, at one of Europe's oldest universities, in a packed hall with leading politicians and academics, French President Emanuel Macron delivered a startling message:

"Europe is not immortal. Europe can die."

He did not mean the continent as such, but that the community of values and the ideals we hold dear can risk being lost – if we are not able to act. If we are not able to take care of our democracy and our humanism, the productive and the innovative aspects of our societies.

We live at a time where liberal democracies and academic freedom have become more constrained. We can see it in many places. Our colleagues in the United States are experiencing political censorship. And there are students at these universities who look over their shoulders in fear of the authorities. This is a development that causes concern and is happening in a country that has been an inspiration to science worldwide.

It was no coincidence that President Macron chose to deliver his message at the University of the Sorbonne. It's in rooms like this, at universities like NTNU, where critical thinking and free thought are a central cornerstone for society and democracy to develop further. We must not only protect this, but actively strengthen it.

It is easy to conclude that Europe has become old and left behind. President Macron was clear that he thinks this is the wrong conclusion, and that the biggest obstacle is not our abilities, or our resources. It's the lack of confidence and the belief that we can actually change the world.

Here at NTNU, we have a vision that says just that: knowledge for a better world. It says something about what you can accomplish, and what we as an academic community can achieve together. Knowledge is power, yes — but it is also something else, perhaps something even more important: Hope.

***

I recently was reminded of exactly that - hope - in an article in Aftenposten. It has been ten years since the Paris Agreement was signed. The ambition at the time was to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Today we are heading for 2.6 degrees.

But without critical thinking, new political solutions and, not least, new technology, we would probably have headed for 4 degrees, with more dramatic consequences than those we are experiencing now. Fighting climate change is a huge task, but with education, research and new knowledge, these challenges become manageable. What used to look impossible, is now actually possible. But it will not be easy, there is a lot that still remains to be done.

The knowledge from each and every one of you, which we celebrate here today, makes a difference to us as a society. We can see this in the results from your doctoral theses. Here are a few samples: One of you has studied how infants develop their language through rhythms, another how the structure of our city streets affects whether people walk or cycle. Or how to optimize underwater drones to navigate in fish cages. Or how to avoid a "chicken or egg problem" that prevents society from adopting solutions for carbon capture and storage on a large scale.

***

Every time I see the Aula filled with new doctoral students, I think of the meetings and conversations I have had with my PhD candidates over many years as a supervisor. And I feel a strong sense of gratitude. They have not only been skilled doctoral students. They have been good colleagues who have made me wiser and not least richer as a person. It is a great privilege to be part of the journey of each PhD candidate from beginning to end.

I am sure that the supervisors who are with us here today are terribly proud and impressed with what you have achieved. They have seen you grow as professionals and as individuals through all the trials that a doctorate brings.

***

Dear doctors,

Now I'm going to wrap this up.

There are no shortcuts to insight. You know that all too well.

It takes hard work, time, and perseverance to truly understand something. Over the years, students and researchers have walked these hallways to and from lectures, the reading room and the library and who have felt exactly the same as you. Therefore, it is fitting that it says above the entrance to the library:

"Per aspera ad astra" – "Through adversity to the stars".

That sums up the drive in each of you. But also a common academic tradition that stretches back almost a thousand years. Throughout these centuries, there have been many setbacks — but progress and knowledge have always won out in the end, to respond to what President Macron said.

It may not be something that lasts forever, but the hope for a better world lives on in the best of ways.

Dear everyone,

The PhD marks the end of this part of your journey. But a PhD also marks the start of something new and the next step in life and career. I look forward to seeing what you all do next. Thank you very much for your efforts, and once again congratulations on your PhD!

Music

NTNU Brass

• «Nachtmusik, Op. 44: I. Nokturno» - composer: Oskar Böhme

Professor Maria Viklander from Luleå University of Technology is a recognized researcher in sustainable water management. As an expert in stormwater quality and management in cold climates, she also specializes in snow quality, snow melt and snow management in the face of a rapidly changing climate, where she contributes with insights that are important for securing society against flooding. Since 2017, she has led the DRIZZLE Centre of Excellence in stormwater management, which has made the group at LTU the world's largest research group in stormwater.

She also leads a national research cluster called "Dag och nät", which includes partners from municipalities, industry and consulting firms from all over Sweden, where NTNU is also a member. She is currently involved in 25 national and international projects.

Music

Aleksa Borojevic

• «Capriccio Prestissimo no.13» - composer: Ante Grgin

Professor and emeritus reader Timothy J. Steiner has dedicated his more than 40-year-long career to studying headaches and migraines as a global public health problem. It is estimated that almost 15 per cent of the world's population is affected by migraines every single year. Since 1996, Steiner has worked closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) on headaches as a public health disease. He has been central in the development of international guidelines for research on headaches, and as a professor at NTNU from 2009 to 2018, he has contributed to research that has shown how widespread and stressful migraines are.

His work has been important for the health authorities in various countries in helping put migraines on the map. And he has been both a resource and a significant source of inspiration for the academic communities at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Music

Aleksa Borojevic

• «Five pieces of solo clarinet» - composer: Gordon Jacob

Award of doctoral degrees and congratulations to the new doctors by Pro-Rector for Research and Innovation Toril Hernes

Dear new doctoral graduates,

You have completed the highest level of education our university can offer. This achievement is recognized across countries and represents an important moment in your career.

You know better than anyone: a PhD is not a sprint. It is a journey. There are no shortcuts. No ready-made path to the insights you are now holding. The knowledge you have gained is something you have shaped yourself — through patience, curiosity, and determination. A platform for further development.

We often say that knowledge is power. And indeed, knowledge can improve lives. It can help build trust between people, strengthen communities, and support better decisions in society. But power, in any form, depends on how it is used — and by whom. That is why the values you bring with you from your academic work are just as important as your skills.

As new doctors, you carry a responsibility:

• To use your voice and contribute to the conversations that matter.
• To ask difficult questions when others may hesitate.
• To search for solutions that are not yet visible — but can be found.

***

Today, we celebrate what each of you has accomplished. And at the same time, we celebrate something larger: the belief that knowledge has the power to move the world forward.

A PhD opens many doors. It offers possibilities that you may choose to pursue in different ways — in research, in society, in industry, in public service.

And holding a PhD is also a privilege. Not everyone gets this opportunity. So, as you go forward, carry that awareness with you.

There will be moments when you wish the world worked differently — that decisions were more thoughtful, more informed, more based on competence. And in those moments, remember that you as individuals can make a difference.

It will not always be easy. Leadership rarely is. But the knowledge, competence and experience that you have gained here will serve you well. You have learned to navigate complexity through the slow and uncertain progress that research often requires. You have already shown that you can stay committed to the task and true to your goals, even when the path forward may have been unclear, invisible or troublesome.

You did not turn away from what was unknown. Instead, you leaned into it — not out of fear of what you might find, but out of curiosity for what you might uncover. That curiosity, that persistence, that willingness to keep going — that is what brought you here today. And that the world needs.

***

Before we begin the diploma ceremony, I would like to recognize those who have supported you along this journey.

To the families and friends who are here — thank you. Your encouragement has mattered more than you may know.

I would also like to thank the academic staff at NTNU for their guidance and collaboration. And our partners in the private and public sectors, as well as our colleagues in universities around the world. These partnerships are essential. They ensure that doctoral research remains relevant and connected to the challenges of our time.

With these words, we will now begin the diploma ceremony.

After the diploma ceremony:

You are hereby promoted to doctors of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and granted jus docendi — the right to lecture at NTNU.

I also declare those not present here today to be promoted in absentia.

Music

Trondhjems Studentersangforening | Conductor: Daniel Zakarias von Gertten

• «Sjungom»,  composer: Prins Gustaf av Sverige og Norge, lyrics: Herman Sätherberg

Catarina Gärtner is born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden and studying her third year at the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art. She has a background in crafts (glass and metal) and have an interest in form, materiality, scale shifts and iterations.

This piece of art was made with acrylic on cardboard.