19 May 2025

This spring’s Academic Celebrations will take place on 23-24 May, in connection with Linköping University’s 50th anniversary festivities. Among the highlights are the performance of a new piece of music specially composed in honour of the university, and open lectures by this year’s honorary doctors, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Speaker of the Riksdag Andreas Norlén.

A procession is passing through a festively dressed crowd
New doctors are celebrated for two days and receive symbols of their dignity. Photographer: Thor Balkhed

First out of the honorary doctors is Angela Woods, Professor of Medical Humanities. Her lecture, on Campus Valla on Friday, will be about how we are affected by stories about health and illness. After her, the other Faculty of Arts and Sciences honorary doctor, Speaker Andreas Norlén, will talk about Parliament, academia and democracy. The same morning, on Campus US, Gillian Einstein, Professor of Psychology and Honorary Doctor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, will also give a lecture, on why more women than men get Alzheimer’s.

Jensen Huang, CEO of the global electronics company Nvidia, will become an honorary doctor at the Faculty of Science and Engineering. His lecture, on Saturday in Värmekyrkan in Norrköping, is designed as an informal conversation about AI, a so-called fireside chat. All lectures are free of charge and open to the public, but registration is required for the Jensen Huang lecture.

Gala Concert with an air of anniversary celebrations

This year’s Academic Gala Concert celebrates LiU’s 50th anniversary. Seven pieces of music will be performed, among them one that Johannes Brahms wrote when he was appointed honorary doctor by the University of Breslau, and one newly written piece by Mikael Fall, composed in honour of Linköping University. Participants include mezzo-soprano Ebba Lejonclou, Linköping University Chamber Choir, Linköping University Male Voice Choir, Linköping University’s women’s choir (Linnea), Norrköping Symphony Orchestra and musicians from Linköping Academic Orchestra. Merete Ellegaard and Jakob Grubbström will conduct the Gala Concert, which takes place on Friday evening in De Geerhallen in Norrköping.

Saturday's doctoral conferment ceremony will also be held in Norrköping. More than 100 new doctors will be conferred. For the second time, a number of people will also become jubilee doctors, which means that they received their doctoral degrees 50 years ago. LiU got its first jubilee doctors in 2023, but since the conferment ceremonies were initially only held every two years, no new jubilee doctorates were awarded last year.

One ceremony becomes two

What is new for this year is that the Academic Ceremony will be divided into two. The inauguration of new professors will from now on take place in the autumn. This is partly due to concerns that the ceremony might get too long. In recent years, the event has grown ever bigger, with the increasing number of new doctors and professors.

Translation: Anneli Mosell

More about the honorees and the celebrations

Contact the master of ceremonies

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