CEC staff member Liesbeth Castelijns has been involved in organizing MomenTUm since its very first edition in 2018. “Last year, for the first time, we were actually hoping for ‘no-shows’ because the number of registrations exceeded what we could handle. We just managed to award 1,747 diplomas without any issues, spread across 23 rooms at a time, twice over. This year needs to be different, as there are even more graduates.”

MomenTUm was created to celebrate all TU/e bachelor’s degrees annually on a single day, with a festive evening beforehand. First, graduates receive their diplomas in groups by program, after which a show takes place in the Markthal of MetaForum, which they open with a catwalk-style entrance. During the show, Teacher Awards are also presented, including awards for the best lecturers in both bachelor’s and master’s programs.

Alternatives

The organizers explored whether adding an extra day to MomenTUm would help. “But that’s not desirable. The next day is the weekend, which creates staffing issues, and the day before the rooms are needed for education. We also don’t want to separate the diploma ceremony from the main celebration, as that would require guests to come to campus twice,” says Castelijns.

“We’re now starting half an hour earlier, shortening the break by half an hour, and adding a third session in the evening. That works fine for this year. However, we do need to look at a long-term solution, as the number of TU/e students continues to grow.”

The working students who help build the stands in the Markthal will have to start as early as 6 a.m. This is because the student party will take place there on the evening of Thursday, September 24. The organization of that event is in the hands of a student working group, which has recently started putting together the lineup of artists.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.