Former Head of the German Chancellery Wolfgang Schmidt urges graduates to work across fields and political divides to find common solutions.
In a festive culmination of the 2025-2026 Academic Year, the university came together on 22 June to celebrate the Class of 2026. This year, over 300 students graduated from our Executive Master of Public Administration (Executive MPA), Master of Data Science for Public Policy (MDS), Master of International Affairs (MIA), Master of Public Policy (MPP), and PhD programmes. The ceremony in the Kammermusiksaal of the Philharmonie Berlin was attended by over 1000 guests, including about 280 graduates, faculty members and families and friends from around the world.
Dean Thurid Hustedt urges graduates to engage constructively despite differences
Addressing the graduating class, Dean of Graduate Programmes Thurid Hustedt emphasized the importance of engaging with those whose opinions you do not share:
“You are graduating at a time when polarization has become a defining feature of public life. Whether you go on to work in government, international organisations, business, or civil society, your success will depend not only on what you know, but also on your ability to engage constructively with others. I hope you take away from your time at Hertie the confidence to enter such conversations.”
Wolfgang Schmidt: “Get out of the silos, work hard, and seek common ground”
This year’s commencement speaker was former Head of the German Chancellery and Minister for Special Tasks Wolfgang Schmidt. Speaking to the students, Schmidt shared his wisdom from over 20 years in politics, especially from his time in Germany’s federal “traffic light” coalition.
“When a chapter like this closes,” he told the graduates, “it’s a good moment to stop and learn.” He gave them three pieces of advice for their future journeys:
1. Get out of your silos: Today’s challenges are too big for one group to solve on its own. Talk to others working in your field and beyond it, then work on solutions.
2. Do (and love!) the hard work: Take nothing for granted and stay sceptical. And you will need a high degree of tolerance for frustration!
3. Work across the aisle and value compromise: In an increasingly fragmented political landscape, it is important to take the other side seriously and seek common ground.
The Hertie alumni community gives the Class of 2026 a “beary” special gift
This year’s graduating class received a special gift from our alumni community. Each graduate received a teddy bear – a symbol of Berlin and the Hertie School – to remind them of their time at the university and to accompany them in their professional endeavours. The bears were presented by Ximena Docarmo, a 2024 MPP graduate and Head of Impact and Learning at the Better Politics Foundation.
Student commencement speaker reminds students to listen and take responsibility
This year’s student commencement speech was delivered by Italian MIA graduate Alessandra Ghitturi. Reflecting on her enriching exchanges with her fellow students, Ghitturi urged her fellow graduates to listen to each other’s experiences, because this “opens a world that we should explore and not forget”.
Ghitturi also reminded her fellow graduates of their responsibility to make the world a better place:
“As political science students at the Hertie School, we have the privilege of studying what we are interested in and discussing, reading, producing, and challenging. But I believe we also have a duty: the responsibility of not being indifferent, of doing something to open these opportunities to others, of never forgetting where we come from, what we have built, and for what purpose we are spending our time and energy.”
Master’s Thesis Poster Competition winners and special awards bestowed upon outstanding students
Alongside celebrating the graduating class, Dean Hustedt also recognised the four winners of the Master’s Thesis Poster Competition. In a cherished Hertie School tradition, all master’s programme graduates are invited to present their thesis on a poster. After a team of PhD researchers shortlisted the best entries, a jury of faculty and staff selected the winning posters. This year’s winners are:
- Evelyn Denham (EMPA winner): “Shifting Investment Priorities During Times of Polycrisis: A Case Study of the German Green Party during the Traffic Light Coalition (2021–2025)”
- Elena Dreyer (MDS winner): “Damage Detection of Energy Infrastructure Using Open-Source Satellite Data: Evidence from the War in Ukraine”
- Louca Derville (MIA winner): “Wired Differently: France, Germany and the politics of de-risking semiconductor supply chains under the EU Chips Act”
- Johanna Guttenberger (MPP winner): “Paper Tigers or Policy Anchors? Analysing Strategy – Spending Alignment in Research & Innovation Funding in German Federal States”
The ceremony also included the awarding of the 2026 DAAD Prize to Esther Ndagire and the Dean’s Prizes to Johannes Edding.
Moving on to new horizons
We wish our new graduates all the best as they leave our university to embark on new adventures. They now join the ranks of around 3,400 Hertie alumni who work and thrive around the world.
Congratulations, Class of 2026!
Watch the commencement speeches below.
View all graduates' profiles in our CV book.
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Thu Hà Đặng, Associate, Event Management