The third graduating class of the Postgraduate Course in Family Coaching and Guidance at the UIC Barcelona Institute of Advanced Family Studies (IESF) celebrated their graduation ceremony on 5 July in the University’s Aula Magna. Mercedes Honrubia García de la Noceda, family mediator and lecturer at the university, was the sponsor of this new graduating class.

In her address, Honrubia shared her professional experience and offered words of encouragement to the students as they begin their careers in the field of family guidance. “True support means helping without offering solutions, walking alongside people so that they feel empowered to take control of their lives as protagonists of their own story” the expert stressed. Addressing the students directly, she added: “You have the theory, now you must believe in your mission. You have each other, your fellow classmates, and you have us, your lecturers. Let us not forget that those who support others also need to be supported,” Honrubia reminded them.

The graduation diplomas were presented, and the director of the Institute of Advanced Family Studies Dr Montserrat Gas-Aixendri then delivered a closing speech. She reminded attendees that the Institute of Advanced Family Studies “does not aim to train ‘familyologists’, that is, experts in identifying and diagnosing the challenges families face, but rather action-oriented professionals who, in addition to analysing, know how to support the real families around us.” Dr Gas-Aixendri thanked the students for their commitment, generosity and the passion they demonstrated throughout the postgraduate course and congratulated them all on the excellent work they had done, wishing “that this may be just the beginning of a fruitful journey in service of families and society.”

With this event, the University welcomes the new graduates of the Institute of Advanced Family Studies into the UIC Barcelona Alumni community.