DkIT Graduation 2020 To Take Place Online

25 September 2020

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) has today confirmed to graduating students that this year’s conferring ceremonies will take place virtually due to necessary health and safety precautions around COVID-19. The announcement was made in direct consultation with the DkIT Students’ Union and the Institute confirmed that online award ceremonies will now take place in later in the year but prior to the commencement of Semester 2. Exact dates will be confirmed to students over the coming week, however it is anticipated to take place in mid-December 2020 or early January 2021.

Speaking today, DkIT President, Michael Mulvey, PhD, added:

“It is with some regret that we have to inform our students of this news however, the decision to go online has been made to prioritise the health and safety of our students and staff. Graduation is a momentous occasion for our students, our institute and our wider region and we carefully considered all options before arriving at this conclusion. We are firmly committed to delivering an engaging and accessible virtual conferring ceremonies which will be both interactive and enjoyable for our students and their families.

It is important that the formal elements of conferring are completed this semester, so that students are formally conferred with their degree and that graduates can receive their parchment which enables them to proceed to work or further study. We look forward to working with colleagues in the Students’ Union to invite all 2020 graduates to a celebration on-campus organised together when the public health advice allows, but at the moment we cannot be sure when that will be possible.”

Also speaking today, Taidgh Kavanagh, President of the DkIT Students’ Union added:

“We are of course disappointed that our students cannot celebrate graduation in person this year, however we recognise that the decision to move to a virtual ceremony is the only viable option due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Graduation is a milestone in every student’s academic journey and an important recognition of their hard work and dedication. We are working with the institute to ensure that the virtual ceremonies are student-focused and will be the very best that they can be for our graduates. We have already engaged in discussions with the Institute about how we can organise an on-campus celebration for 2020 students at a time in the future when it is safe and appropriate to do so.”

Exact dates for conferring will be published via our website shortly and students will receive updates to their DkIT email addresses. The schedule of ceremonies will soon be available to view via our conferring webpage where information on how to access the online broadcast will be provided.