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HPI holds commencement ceremony for 141 graduates

Congratulations! A total of 141 students have successfully completed their studies at the joint Digital Engineering Faculty of HPI and the University of Potsdam. 71 bachelor's, 65 master's, and five PhD students were honored at the traditional graduation ceremony held on May 8 in the University of Potsdam's auditorium.

Prof. Tobias Friedrich, Managing Director of HPI and Dean of the Faculty of Digital Engineering, opened the ceremony with an address to the graduates: 

Congratulations on your degree and your outstanding achievements. You’re the very reason why Hasso Plattner, our founder, established this institute, namely to educate and shape the IT experts and leaders of the future.

Prof. Tobias Friedrich, HPI Managing Director and Dean of the School of Digital Engineering, at the podium during the graduation ceremony

The HPI Graduate Award honors outstanding academic achievements

In addition to the presentation of diplomas, the ceremony featured keynote speeches and the presentation of the HPI Graduate Awards. Three master’s graduates were honored for their exceptional academic performance and outstanding master’s theses:

  • Jessica Dierking — Master’s thesis: “Single-winner elections in structured, complex domains” in the Research Group Algorithmic Decision Making and Society
  • Tobias Fiedler — Master’s thesis: “Domain-Adaptive Pretraining for language-based detection of acute heart failure decompensation” in the Research Group Digital Health – Connected Healthcare
  • Magnus Menger — Master’s thesis: “Efficient aggregations for ad-hoc stream processing: Sharing intermediate results across different filters and aggregation functions” in the Research Group Data Engineering Systems
  • The graduates receive their diplomas one by one
  • Graduates, dressed in their graduation gowns, are celebrating and chatting during the ceremony
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  • Graduates are hugging their professors and relatives
  • Festive speeches during the graduation ceremonies
  • The graduates receive their diplomas one by one
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  • The group photo shows graduates proudly displaying their diplomas

Studying at 14, launching a startup at 16: Mona Ghazi delivers keynote address

This year’s keynote address was delivered by guest of honor Mona Ghazi. The successful entrepreneur began her studies at the age of 14, founded her first startup at 16, and by the age of 21 had already sold her second software company to a global logistics corporation. Today, she is pursuing doctoral research in the field of neuro-entrepreneurship and, as founder and CEO of the Neuropreneur Institute, coaches entrepreneurs on stress management and mental resilience.

Her achievements have earned her numerous accolades: in 2023, she was named “Newcomer of the Year” at the German Startup Awards; in 2024, GLAMOUR Germany recognized her as “Woman of the Year”; and in 2025, DUP included her among the “Top 50 Women Shaping Germany’s Future.” She was also featured in Capital magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” in Germany. 

You’re here today because you made it. Because you’re among the people who not only got in, but also graduated successfully—and that’s something you can be incredibly proud of.

Entrepreneur Mona Ghazi at the podium during the HPI graduation ceremony

Straighten your crown, build your network, and enjoy the journey

Mona shared three key takeaways with the graduates to help them navigate future challenges — foundations she believes were already laid during their time at HPI:

  1. The “straighten-your-crown mindset”: She encouraged graduates not to be discouraged by setbacks, but to “straighten their crown” and keep moving forward. “Getting back up again and again, continuing even when it feels like there’s no way forward. That’s a mindset I know from HPI.”
  2. The “2 A.M. Network”: According to Mona, graduates found like-minded people at HPI whom they can rely on — even in the middle of the night. “Your network is your net worth.”
  3. “Just Have Fun”: She encouraged graduates to approach life with optimism and openness. What may initially feel like failure can sometimes become the beginning of something new. “The next time something you truly wanted doesn’t work out, ask yourself: What if this is actually the best thing that could have happened to me?”
  • The photo shows proud graduates in the audience, holding their diplomas and bouquets of flowers
  • HPI alumna Catarina Mandel during her speech
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  • The photo shows proud graduates in the audience, holding their diplomas and bouquets of flowers
  • The photo shows proud graduates in the audience
  • The photo shows proud graduates in the audience
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A community for life

HPI alumna Catarina Mandel also offered the graduates valuable and inspiring advice. She emphasized that their connection to the HPI would last a lifetime, providing a source of support and a sense of belonging. In his commencement speech, bachelor graduate Karl Duda addressed his fellow students with an appeal:  

My message to all of us is ‘let’s appreciate one another.’ We’re all going our separate ways now. But let’s still help each other out. What matters most are the people—the connections we’ve made over the years.

Master’s graduate Lukas Hüller echoed this sentiment: “The people we’ve met have shaped who we are today and motivate us to go the extra mile.” He noted that HPI has given graduates the tools they need for their future — and now it's up to them to use these tools to the best of their ability. 

We warmly congratulate all graduates on the successful completion of their studies and wish them every success in the future!

Graduates of the Hasso Plattner Institute toss their caps into the air on a lawn in front of the institute building

Photos: HPI/Nicole Krüger

Last change: 21/05/2026, Patrick Lenz