“Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi (UAIC) organized the graduation ceremony of the first generation of students who graduated from the interdisciplinary master’s program “LIFELINE – Lifelong well-being and Healthy Ageing”, coordinated by UAIC within the EC2U university alliance. During the ceremony, each of the 4 graduates took the floor and shared some thoughts at the end of the academic cycle.

“It has been a challenging journey, but it felt like family. Thank you for the whole experience, I am very happy to be part of the EC2U family.” – Ayse Nur METIN (Turkey)

“I want to thank everyone involved in this Master’s program, from professors to colleagues. These two years have been one of the best times of my life, meeting new people, visiting new places, gaining new knowledge and skills and learning to adapt. I wish this program much success in the future, because this is just the beginning.” – Flavius-Andrei BUCUCI (Romania)

“The word that best sums up for me the two years of my Master’s degree is transformation, because during this period I have evolved academically, professionally and personally in a way I never imagined. Thank you all!” – Henriette TUGIREMARIYA (Rwanda)

“I am extremely grateful because this master’s program helped me find my way, figure out what I want to do next with my life. Thanks to the whole team who made this whole journey possible.” – Mahsa SAFARI (Iran)

The ceremony took place during the EC2U Work Package 4 board meeting, hosted by “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi on 10-14 September 2024. Work Package 4 is coordinated by UAIC and manages the GLADE Virtual Institute, including LIFELINE – Lifelong Well-being and Healthy Ageing, a joint master’s program of the EC2U Alliance. More information about LIFELINE can be found on the alliance website: https://ec2u.eu/for-students/ec2u-master-programmes/masters-degree-lifeline-lifelong-well-being-and-healthy-ageing/

The WP4 board meeting of the EC2U Alliance included discussions and exchange of best practices between team members and UAIC experts, the LIFELINE graduates’ thesis defense and graduation ceremony and a feedback session where graduates shared their ideas on how the experience of future students can be improved.

The European Campus of City-Universities Alliance (EC2U) is an academic consortium of 8 universities from different regions of the European Union: the University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” of Iasi (Romania), the University of Pavia (Italy), the University of Poitiers (coordinator, France), the University of Coimbra (Portugal), the University of Salamanca (Spain), the University of Turku (Finland), the University “Friedrich Schiller” of Jena (Germany) and the University “Johannes Kepler” of Linz (Austria). The Alliance is based on a unique cooperation between universities and cities, involving academic communities, municipalities, regional authorities, socio-economic actors, and citizens. EC2U promotes an unprecedented, challenge-driven, global initiative at the forefront of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More information about the EC2U Alliance is available here: https://ec2u.eu/