- The University
- 25/09/2026
The students partied until midnight at the MomenTUm party last night, but the official program got underway early this morning. The first graduation ceremony for the graduates began at 9:30 a.m., and the day will not end until 7:30 p.m.
Sash and cap
Among the students and staff, proud parents are walking around campus today, dressed up and carrying bouquets of flowers. The graduates are collecting their diplomas in various rooms during three separate sessions.
Banner
One student used the occasion to protest by unfurling a banner on stage. It read: “The TU/e logo is red with Palestinian blood.”
When asked about the reason behind the protest, the student said: “As a member of the TU/e community, I have a moral responsibility for what TU/e does. If that amounts to complicity in a genocide, I believe it is the responsibility of every staff member and student to rise up against it.”
Protests have become more common at the university in recent years because of its ties with Israeli partners. Last year, a student also walked onto the stage with a similar banner.
Best teacher
Alongside all the diplomas and celebrations, awards were also presented for the best bachelor’s and master’s teachers.
The Bachelor Teacher Award went to Hanneke Gelderblom. She was praised for creating a safe environment where making mistakes is considered normal and for setting up the Wellbeing Signal Group within Mechanical Engineering. The Master Teacher Award went to Jom Luiten. Students say his enthusiasm for physics is infectious.
Best thesis
This year’s Academics Award for best thesis went to Joan Lleó Terricabras. He trained AI tools to recognize fake voices to help prevent fraud, using nine accent groups. This makes the tools more reliable at testing voices that do not sound native.
The best master’s thesis was written by Sander Driessen. He researched quantum noise and discovered that the noise that normally causes errors can, under the right circumstances, actually help connect qubits and improve their performance.
Three sessions
The fact that MomenTUm consists of three sessions is not entirely new. There were also three sessions in 2021. The year before, MomenTUm was canceled because of coronavirus restrictions. Graduates from 2020 who had missed the celebration were able to join the ceremony the following year.
The ceremony concluded with performances by students from Tuna Ciudad de Luz and Tuna Feminina de la Universidad Técnica de Eindhoven. They played the Cuban classic Guantanamera.
Sabine Jongerius, secretary of the board of the Dutch Data Protection Authority and a TU/e alumna, also took the stage for a brief conversation with presenter Chris Lukkassen. Then it was time to throw the caps into the air, officially bringing the bachelor’s chapter to a close.
This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.
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