MIPLC Celebrates the Graduation of the IP LL.M. Class of 2004

On August 7, 2004, the MIPLC held a graduation ceremony for the very first MIPLC IP LL.M. graduating class - the Class of 2004 - in the center of Munich on the premises of the "Akademischer Gesangverein," a student organization of which Max Planck himself was once a member.

Among the participants were:

• the LL.M. students, accompanied by relatives and friends
• members of the local faculty most of the tutors the MIPLC
• staff members of the MIPLC Boards (Prof. Dr. Dres. h.c. Joseph Straus; Prof. Dr. Christoph Ann; Prof. Dr. Michael Kort)
• the Vice-Rector of the University of Augsburg, Prof. Karin Aschenbrücker

After the ceremony opened with a piano composition for four hands, Prof. Straus spoke, thanking all the institutions and persons who made the MIPLC project possible, including the four partners and the Bavarian Ministry for Science, Research and the Arts. He then addressed the students both personally and on behalf of Professor Robert Brauneis of The George Washington University, who had sent a message expressing the MIPLC's thanks to and esteem for the very first class of IP LL.M. students.

Prof. Kort, who spoke on behalf of the University of Augsburg, also used the opportunity to express his thanks to the MIPLC's many supporters, particularly the "Verein der Freunde der Universität Augsburg," which provided generous financial support to the venture.

The highlight surely was the speech by Mr. Hans Christian Ruschke, the representative of the students. He gave a very lively, humorous and enthusiastic review of the academic year and a summary of the characteristics and achievements - both academic and personal - of his classmates.

After another musical interlude, the students were called one by one to receive their certificates from Prof. Aschenbrücker and Prof. Straus. Prof. Kort and Prof. Ann congratulated the students on their success. During the reception glasses were raised to the students' graduation and to the successful completion of the MIPLC's very first LL.M. course.