Jacobs University celebrates fifth graduating class

On June 3, graduates from 58 countries will attend Graduation 2008. The Class of 2008, 333 young people in total, is the fifth class to graduate from Jacobs University. Almost one half of the class are graduate students: 93 will receive their MA’s and 54 will be awarded a PhD, the largest number to date. With a passing rate of 95 percent, the 186 BA and BSc graduates have again secured Jacobs University a top rank among German universities. The average age of the BA and BSc graduates is 22 years.

[ May 30, 2008]  A highlight of the graduation ceremony will be the keynote address by Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate. The Ethiopian prince was born in 1948 in Addis Abeba as the son of count Asserate Kassa, a leading politician under Emperor Haile-Selassie, Prince Asserate's great-uncle.

Asserate, who now lives in Frankfurt/Main and became a bestselling author with his book on German and European manners, studied Law, Economics, and History at the universities of Tübingen, Cambridge, and Frankfurt, where he was awarded his Dr.phil. degree in 1978. Between 1974 and 1991, Prince Asserate played a major role in the fight against the marxist dictatorship in his country. He is the founder of the first Ethiopian human rights organization "Council for Civil Liberties in Ethiopia", which he used as a forum to denounce the communist oppression of his people on an international scale.

Graduates will have a chance to celebrate their achievements and reflect on the future with family and friends at the Gala Ball, held in the Campus Center Tuesday evening and aptly themed "A Whole New World." The future of the members of the Class of 2008 is sure to be as bright as it was for members of the first four graduating classes.

Click here for more information on the graduation ceremony 2008.