PhD Welcome and Graduation Ceremony: Luiss celebrates its research community

On Wednesday, 7 October, the PhD Welcome and Graduation Ceremony brought the Luiss academic community together in the Aula Magna of the Viale Pola Campus to celebrate the new PhD graduates and welcome the doctoral students for the 2026/2027 academic year.

The ceremony was opened by Rector Paolo Boccardelli and Stefano Manzocchi, Vice-Rector for Research and the Third Mission. At the heart of the speeches was the value of the PhD as a gateway into the scientific community and as a pathway that not only trains scholars but also develops innovators and thinkers equipped to contribute to the challenges of contemporary society.

The day continued with talks by Kristina Stoeckl, Coordinator of the PhD Programme in Politics, and Costanza Marcellino, a PhD graduate, followed by a keynote lecture from Laurence Kotlikoff, Professor at Boston University and a scholar specialising in public finance and intergenerational equity.

The ceremony served as an ideal passing of the baton, offering a moment for different generations to come together, united by research and a shared desire to transform knowledge into a force for progress, benefiting both the academic community and society as a whole.