RSU Winter Graduation Ceremonies Take Place in Person Once More

On Friday, 10 February, Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) celebrated almost 400 Latvian and international students as they received their long-awaited diplomas. The winter graduation ceremonies could finally take place in person after a two-year break.

131 young medical doctors and 19 dentists from 17 countries graduated this year and five local students from the Faculty of Medicine also received their diplomas at the first graduation ceremony of the day.

At the second ceremony, 27 students from the Nutrition and Art Therapy programmes graduated from the Faculty of Rehabilitation while those graduating from the Faculty of Public Health and Social Welfare included 37 health sports specialists, 12 social workers, five masters’ students in health management, 13 health psychologists, as well as nine health sports specialists from RSU’s Liepāja Branch. 

Two new social anthropologists graduated from the Faculty of Communication, and three international marketing and business management specialists and three international business and law specialists graduated from the Faculty of European Studies.

Diplomas were also awarded to 56 law graduates and 63 internal affairs employees. These are mostly police officers who have upgraded their knowledge and qualifications in the RSU Police Work programme.

A second degree

‘Today I am getting my master's degree in Law and, of course, but I am not straying far from medicine,’ Rafaels Ciekurs, team leader at the State Emergency Medical Service, physician’s assistant and now graduate of the RSU Law programme, said in an interview with LTV News correspondent Aija Kinca. ‘There are interdisciplinary connections today. Nobody is interested in medicine in isolation from patients' rights and doctors’ interests. This was my motivation to come and study law.’

Ludmila Hrižanovska also obtained her second degree at RSU. She is a pharmacist and works for the drug manufacturer Grindeks. ‘Industrial pharmacy is the future,’ the graduate of RSU's Industrial Pharmacy programme said in an interview with Kinca.

Watch LTV video about RSU graduations (in Latvian)

Alongside RSU management, the students were also addressed by Līga Meņģelsone, the Minister of Health, Armands Ruks, the Chief of the State Police, as well as the management of Riga Technical University, with whom RSU jointly implements study programmes.

The band Dziļi violets played for the graduates, and musician Nauris Brikmanis was the day’s host.