Campus - 07.10.2024 - 11:00
The fear of doing something wrong is rooted in our culture, but mistakes can happen anywhere, no matter how hard you try to avoid them. This also applies to science, said President Manuel Ammann in his speech – for example, errors can occur in the research design, in data collection, in the analysis or in the interpretation of results. And yet: "As annoying and tragic as mistakes can be, they are a substantial part of the cognitive process," emphasised Manuel Ammann.
Eliminating faulty methods and excluding false hypotheses: If there were no mistakes, any critical review of facts, measured values and results would be superfluous, explained Rector Manuel Ammann. What's really important, he continued, is to practise a positive, productive attitude towards mistakes. "We can learn that failure is an intermediate stage on the way to success," he said.
One example is the famous Post-it notes from 3M, which were the result of a mistake. The chemist Spencer Silver was trying to develop a particularly strong adhesive, but ultimately produced a weak glue that was easy to remove. Instead of discarding the Post-its, his colleague Arthur Fry recognised their potential as reminders in various formats and colours. And President Manuel Ammann cited another example: Steve Jobs also initially failed with his business model for Apple computers. He was dismissed from the company he founded himself, Apple – with which he finally achieved his big breakthrough with iPhones years later after he had returned.
Creative and innovative solutions often go hand in hand with deviations from plans, and it is important to scrutinise existing rules and norms, Manuel Ammann said. This is also the case for young founders in the start-up scene: "They are prepared to invest a lot of time and energy in their ideas, with no guarantee of success. The risk of failure is something they consciously accept," he continued. "You can be proud of your efforts and your work – mistakes included. And if you don't succeed at the first attempt, maybe it will work the second time round," Manuel Ammann told the graduates. Because: "Dreams and imagination cannot fail".
Mathieu Jaus, President of the HSG Alumni Network, studied at the University of St.Gallen himself. In his speech, he reminisced about his student days, telling the audience that what he most remembered were the fun, the interesting people and course content, and the positive campus culture. "We want to be and remain a vibrant and inspiring community," emphasised Mathias Jaus. Uncomplicated interactions and a refreshing approach to new things are also what characterise the alumni events, he went on to say. After all, the fun doesn't all have to end with graduation, he said, wishing the graduates plenty more of it in the future.
The Bachelor Graduation Day took place on Friday in the Olma Hall. The graduates gained their degrees in the following majors:
The Master Graduation Day took place on Saturday. Degrees were awarded in the following majors:
Images: Foto Lautenschlager GmbH
(Cover image: Master's degree ceremony)