19.5.2025
Åbo Akademi University to celebrate doctoral conferral ceremony on 23 May
Åbo Akademi University celebrates its most dignified academic tradition as 108 new doctors, 14 honorary doctors, and 8 jubilee doctors are conferred during the doctoral conferral ceremony on Friday, 23 May 2025.
The conferral ceremony is the most dignified academic celebration and has been part of university tradition for centuries. It honours academic achievements and the contributions of the sciences to society.
The first conferral ceremony in Turku was held at the Royal Academy in Turku in 1643. Åbo Akademi University held its first conferral ceremony in 1927, and today we celebrate our 29th conferral ceremony.
At the ceremony, those who have earned their doctoral degrees are conferred with the title of Doctor and receive the symbols of their dignity in the form of insignia, i.e., the doctoral hat, and in some cases, a doctoral sword, an embroidered collar, or a brooch.
Latin is prominently spoken during the ceremony. When the conferrer presents the hat, sword, and diploma, the words “accipe pileum, accipe gladium, accipe diploma” are pronounced – meaning “take the hat, take the sword, take the diploma.” The farewell is expressed with “valete, praeclarissimi doctores” – “farewell, esteemed doctors.”
The ceremony begins at 12:00 at the Turku Concert Hall. After the conferral act, the newly conferred doctors, academic staff, and guests proceed in a stately procession down Aninkaistenkatu to an ecumenical celebration service at Turku Cathedral. The procession is expected to depart from the Concert Hall around 15:00 and is an impressive sight.
The tradition of walking in procession to the church and then onward to the celebratory dinner dates back to the 17th century. The spires symbolising the university’s judicial freedom are carried at the head of the procession.
Following the service, the festivities culminate in a banquet at Logomo. Approximately 500 participants are expected at the conferral ceremony and around 300 guests at the subsequent banquet.
For the university community, the doctoral conferral ceremony is a way to honour the academic heritage while looking forward. For each promovendus, it is a memory for life!