When it became clear that MomenTUm was not going ahead, the day on which graduating bachelor's students - all across TU/e and all at once - receive their diploma's, ESA came up with an alternative. The plan was to have the certificates physically collected by the students, from mid-October onward, in the form of a big 'walk-through'. During a given time slot, students would walk past a desk in the Senaatszaal to collect their diploma and a gift. The latter is a token of appreciation by TU/e in the form of a goodie bag - and it includes special TU/e socks.

Floris Verhagen, a member of staff at Education and Student Affairs, has calculated that with a flow rate of fifteen students (each of whom may have one guest with them) every fifteen minutes, the space will never be occupied by more than thirty persons. 

Tricky

This event was initially due to take place in mid-October, but that left no time to make the arrangements, reports Verhagen. “Then at the end of October we would be running into exam preparations, so we proposed November. But since the decision by the Executive Board on October 15th to cancel all events and graduation ceremonies, we cannot organize anything for at least four weeks.”

This time the delay is for an indefinite period. When the measures are sufficiently relaxed that thirty people can gather together for a graduation ceremony, the plan will be taken off ice. At that stage students will be mailed by the BSc Graduation working group. Anyone who cannot wait and needs a certificate now for a program of further study or a job application can apply to DUO for a digital version.

Master's diplomas

Some of the master's diplomas achieved during the past period have, however, been physically awarded. But other sessions have been cancelled. At Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics and Computer Science, for example, not a single master's diploma has been awarded during this calendar year. This past week, one of the two award ceremonies planned for the interfaculty Master's of Mechanical Engineering has been held.

Manon van Run, in her capacity as ESA staffer responsible for certification at Built Environment, had one more corona-proof ceremony to go on October 16th in the Blauwe Zaal. Still, the department has been able to give fifty students their master's diplomas, spread over several award ceremonies, each for no more than ten students, each accompanied by no more than two guests. These occasions were held on October 8th and 13th. "They were allowed to engrave their names on the glass of Alumni Avenue, and they received a hoodie. Unfortunately I have no future date to tell the thirty-five graduating students I had to call and cancel. So it's still a question of wait and see.”