Final-year undergraduate students graduated during an event held in the Aula Magna on the Barcelona Campus, a memorable occasion presided over by the dean of the Faculty, Dr Enric Vidal Rodà, with the participation of the vice-dean, Dr Maria Pujol Valls, and Xavier Tarré, business coach and advisor, as the class’s guest of honour.

Xavier Tarré has worked as a business promoter for the Government of Catalonia abroad, and this experience served as inspiration for the opening of his keynote address. “I met Jaume, an exceptional worker who, after leaving, became a great friend, and over time our relationship has grown increasingly deeper.” Through this example, Tarré highlighted the value of the friendships that unite students in the final days of their academic journey. “As Aristotle said, no one would choose to live without friends, even if they possessed all other goods,” he stressed.

Tarré’s words were inspiring and clearly humanistic and encouraged the new graduates to “always put the person first”. “As educators, you will come across children who are very different: some full of confidence and others full of insecurities. They will all end up trusting you more than you can imagine,” he explained. Finally, Xavier Tarré stressed the importance of nurturing human relationships with care and of “orienting them towards the common good”.

The Faculty dean, Dr Enric Vidal Rodà, thanked this year’s guest of honour for his words and added that future teachers must “professionalise their vocation”. “During the interviews, you said you wanted to become teachers because you liked children. That is no longer enough: you must become experts in learning and continue to learn throughout your lives,” the Dean emphasised.

Enric Vidal also discussed the Catalan education system’s current context, marked by teacher demands over the course of the academic year. “The demands are positive and justified: teachers deserve fair pay, real inclusion in the classroom and more resources. However, we must avoid a sense of professional incapacity; you must learn to maintain limitless passion in a limited environment,” he concluded.

The evening’s most moving moment came with the speeches by the student representatives, Alejandro Magdaleno, Marta Andrés Elorduy and Júlia Sensada. “We have learned to look at children with respect. The classroom will be where their identities are shaped and questions are formed. Our goal is to offer them support and open windows to different realities. Every gesture, every moment of attention, counts. At the University, we have been taught to be present, critical and committed teachers,” the students shared emotionally.

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of sashes to the graduates and the traditional singing of the university anthem, Gaudeamus Igitur. With this event, the Faculty of Education Sciences proudly bids farewell to a new class of teachers and welcomes them to the UIC Barcelona Alumni community.