The opening ceremony included the award ceremony for the 2012 graduates of the Executive Master of Public Management (EMPM), a joint programme with the University of Potsdam, and a welcome to the incoming students. With a keynote by Michele Lamont (Professor of Sociology and African and African-American Studies, Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies, Harvard University) and remarks by Hertie School President Helmut K. Anheier, EMPM Programme Director Gerhard Hammershmid, and the elected student speaker Karin Müller-Badoreck.