On 7 July, Dosign Academy celebrated the graduation of more than thirty technical professionals in Rotterdam. Together with their lecturers, colleagues, friends and family, they marked the end of an intensive period of combining work and study.
By the end of the afternoon, the Dosign Academy building was gradually filling up. The classrooms where technical drawings, calculations and practical cases are normally discussed were now occupied by family members, friends and colleagues sitting alongside the participants. Upstairs, the diplomas were ready to be signed. Outside, the tables and food truck were already in place.
For the participants, this evening represented more than the formal completion of a programme. Most had followed their classes alongside a full-time technical role. After a day at work, they travelled to Rotterdam or Bergen op Zoom, joined an online class or set aside time at home for assignments and exam preparation. Some had maintained that routine for one year, others for two.
On 7 July, those individual journeys came together at the Dosign Academy graduation ceremony.
From the workplace back to the classroom
The graduates represented the Construction Management, Industrial Automation, Instrumentation Engineering and Piping Design & Engineering programmes. The latter included both the Dutch- and English-language groups from Rotterdam, as well as participants from Bergen op Zoom.
The programmes cover very different areas of expertise. Some participants work with industrial control systems or instrumentation, while others focus on piping design, project control or the execution of technical projects. What connects them is their decision to continue developing professionally alongside their daily work.
Throughout the programmes, participants did not only take new knowledge back to their organisations. The exchange also worked in the opposite direction: practical questions from current projects regularly entered the classroom. This interaction between theory and professional practice is an essential part of the programmes at Dosign Academy.
The graduation ceremony provided an opportunity to reflect on that process. Lecturers looked back on the development of their groups and the progress participants had made throughout the programme. Attention was given not only to the results achieved, but also to the collaboration, technical discussions and perseverance required to complete the course.
A signature representing months or years of work
During the official ceremony, the graduates were invited forward one by one. First the lecturer signed the diploma, followed by the participant. The moment was then captured in a photograph, with lecturer and graduate standing side by side.
This personal approach reflects the way the programmes are taught. Groups are deliberately kept small, allowing lecturers to become familiar with the participants, their professional backgrounds and often the technical environments in which they work. The photographs therefore show more than a formal handover. There are handshakes, conversations and genuine smiles, with time taken to acknowledge each participant individually.
The diploma is the visible result of the programme, but it does not tell the full story. Behind it are evenings when a full working day was followed by another four hours of study, assignments completed between projects and personal commitments, and exams that required participants to return to their books. For many, the programme also involved travel, switching between Dutch and English and working alongside professionals from other companies and technical disciplines.
That is why the graduates were not the only people present. Partners, relatives, friends, colleagues and employers had also come to Rotterdam to celebrate the occasion.
Graduation caps in the air, eyes on the future
After the official ceremony, the evening moved outside. The formal setting gave way to a group photograph, music and conversations around the food truck. Holding their diplomas and wearing their graduation caps, participants from different programmes, locations and disciplines came together as one graduating class.
A few moments later, the caps were thrown into the air. It was a familiar graduation tradition, but this time set against the background of careers that are already well underway. These graduates are not standing at the beginning of their professional development. They will immediately apply their new knowledge to operational installations, ongoing projects, design challenges and new responsibilities within their organisations.
During the reception, participants continued their conversations with lecturers and fellow students they had met regularly throughout the programme. Photographs were taken, experiences were shared and future plans were discussed. For some, the diploma will lead to greater responsibility in their current role. Others intend to specialise further or use the qualification to move into a new technical field.
At the end of the evening, the graduates left with their diplomas, but also with knowledge and experience they had already begun applying in practice.
Dosign Academy congratulates all graduates on this achievement and thanks the lecturers, employers, colleagues, friends and family members who supported them throughout their studies.
