EPFL celebrates 1,043 new Master's graduates

The Magistrale, EPFL's traditional Master's degree graduation ceremony, was held on Saturday, 6 October at EPFL's SwissTech Convention Center (STCC). In addition to the school's 2018 graduates, the event honored two new Doctor Honoris Causa recipients and a number of outstanding students, professors and alumnae. It's been five years in the making: this past Saturday, 1,043 students received their coveted Master's degree from EPFL. The event, held at the STCC, was attended by some 3,000 people, including the students, their families and professors. A number of guests, such as Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, also took part. EPFL President Martin Vetterli started off by taking a look at EPFL's history and missions, before pointing out that today's students don't just want to understand the world, but have a hand in shaping and influencing it as well. "We are innovators, risk takers and knowledge entrepreneurs," he said. But he warned that science and technology can't provide all the answers in life. His closing thought: "Now that you have your degree, the world is your oyster. But never forget: you are responsible for our planet." Doctors Honoris Causa Professor Vetterli then awarded two Honoris Causa degrees. The first went to Martine Clozel, a trained doctor who today runs Idorsia, a company that develops molecules used for pioneering therapies. The second was for Yann LeCun, Facebook's chief artificial intelligence scientist, who is also behind a number of important advances in the area of machine learning. Unbeatable grade point average