Hi Hanna Sundelin, Master of Ceremonies at KTH

Are the students disappointed at not being able to attend in person?
“Of course, many of them have been looking forward to dressing up and celebrating with friends and relatives. The most important thing about the ceremony is that the students feel they are being seen, and this is something I have focused on when planning the digital ceremony. The students have been invited to send in a photograph of themselves, that will then be displayed as their name is read out.

“We are encouraging all participants to dress up and participate remotely by actually standing up when their names are read out. I hope many of them arrange some kind of celebration at home, maybe with good food, close friends and family even if this is online.”

What has been the biggest challenge when planning the new arrangements?
“Of having to be prepared at all times for a change in time schedules. And to adapt the event in line with ever tougher guidelines that have been laid down to be able to organise the physical part of the ceremony in a Covid-secure way.”

Are there any advantages in holding the ceremony digitally?
“One advantage is that the students can invite as many people as they like and send the link to an unlimited number of guests, who can then watch the ceremony via a live broadcast”. The broadcast won’t show the digital participants, but you can interact by sending a heart emoji when a student’s name is read out.

“The actual diplomas are being sent to the home address of students requesting this. The diploma is a memory of the day and not their degree certificate, but it is a physical hard copy. Which is great.”

Katarina Ahlfort
Photo: KTH

About digital Academic ceremonies

• The four ceremonies, on 15-18 December, are being held via Jirango, a digital platform that is used by many universities in Sweden.
• There will be 17 key university personnel on site in Stockholm City Hall, including the President, Deputy President, THS Chair and Deputy Chair, Lord Marshall and Deputy Lord Marshall, plus flag bearers, five of whom march in for each ceremony.
• The academic capella has been replaced by a piano trio on the main stage, and a speaker’s chair has been installed so speakers can alternate between the two.
• The Annual Promotion and Installation has preliminarily been moved to 3 and 17 June 2021, respectively.