Erika Piirmets cum laude Reception Speech

Honoured rector, dear fellow Master students and guest

In the everchanging world the winner is he, who keeps up, or better yet, gets the lead with the said world. Who foresees the questions, but more importantly, is able to find solutions to what the life has to offer. This thought belongs to the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, who hit the bullseye by
stating so. Dear Master students, during the past intensive two years, so have we ourselves asked a mountain of questions, but even more often had to find answers to what we were asked.

Tallinn University is not isolated from the society. On the contrary, it is collaborative with the stakeholders and focus fields while pliantly adapting to the needs of the society. I am confident that the practical competences we have obtained during these studies are the same ones we take along keeping in mind our personal, professional and perhaps even the society’s interests. Otherwise, what good would the studies be if we would not implement them. In this case the waisted time has been two-fold – firstly, time of our own, and secondly, the one of our teachers’.

I work in education and during the current year I was the class teacher of Form 5 students. I was amused to find out that the ups and downs in education are similar throughout all the stages –students wish reward and recognition from their teacher; they long for comfort and reassurance, that despite the mishaps, one needs to continue on their path. They need a teacher who would wipe out any doubts that arise from uncertainty, and a teacher who would care sufficiently to pass along their best knowledge. Dear graduates, please join me in giving thanks to all the lecturers. Thank you so much.

Similarly to teaching, one leads as an example, as well. A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor and accepting new challenges requires always courage to begin and also courage to take responsibility. Today a top leader in education sets a proper example. Let us also be bold to step out of the comfort zone in order to contribute the acquired skills and knowledge where it is needed the most. Honourable rector, Mr Tiit Land, we thank you for a successful and fruitful leadership in Tallinn University and wish you the best of luck in your new position.

Five years ago, when I graduated from this very university, the Dean of faculty compared the undergraduates to the novice drivers – we drive carefully in the right-side lane with a reduced speed, but still diligently moving forward. As I continue this comparison today, I must say that the beginners days are over, as we are seated in the driver’s seat with greater confidence and more experienced. Let's grab onto the new challenges, let's take on tasks with escalated complexity because the results can be expected as follows: we either fail and gain a valuable lesson, or we thrive in our success.

I congratulate us on graduating from the Master studies with the sublime score!