Commencement Ceremony

Commencement will place on Saturday, May 13, 2023 at the Imperial Hofburg Palace.

This opportunity will allow graduates of the class of 2023 to walk across the stage of the Hofburg, have their graduation portraits taken, and commemorate the moment with a toast with their loved ones, peers, and faculty.

Biljana Weber, Commencement Speaker for 2022

Biljana Weber is a seasoned IT executive, with more than 25 years of experience at IBM, Microsoft and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. She is a transformational leader with a passion for people and technology.

Weber joined HPE in March 2020 as Managing Director for the HPE CERTA (Central Europe, Russia, Turkey and Africa) region. In this role, she leads teams across three continents to inspire commercial and public sector customers to digitally transform their businesses, provide technical and industry expertise, and deliver high-quality solutions and services.

She joined HPE from Microsoft, where she was leading Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relationship Management business across 12 countries in Western Europe. Before that, she served as the company's General Manager for Slovenia, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Under her leadership, Microsoft became No. 1 employer of choice in these two countries for three years in a row, and attracted many top local and international talents.

Over the past two decades, Weber has received numerous public awards to recognize her industry and social contributions such as the Artemida Award of Slovenian Management Association for Special Achievements in Management, and ranked among the top 25 Women of Czech business in 2014, 2015 and 2016. She is an advisory board member of Webster University in Vienna, supervisory board member of HPE Germany, member of World President Organization, IMD Lausanne Alumni, strong driver of diversity and inclusion initiatives, and active in charities. Weber is an Austrian-Slovenian national and holds a degree in informatics and business, and an MBA.

Eligibility

Students eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony are all students who completed all their degree program requirements in the 2022-2023 academic year (August to May). In addition, students expecting to finish all requirements by the end of the 2023 summer term, and have 6 or less credit hours left to complete are eligible. Please contact your respective department coordinator, if you have any questions or doubts. The contact information for all department coordinators can be found in the contacts section below.

Final Steps For the Ceremony

Registration deadline will be announced soon.

All the payments are via bank transfer. Please, ensure a timely process of your payment, considering the deadline (Date to be announced).

Bank details:

Account holder: Webster Vienna Private University

Bank name: Erste Bank AG

IBAN: AT47 2011 1310 0310 1197

BIC: GIBAATWW

Payment reference:

your name or student ID + graduation payment

Pick up gown on campus at Gowns and Bubbles. Date to be announced

Gowns and Bubbles

Gowns and Bubbles is an event for graduating students, where they receive their gowns, pick up their guest tickets, and enjoy a light snack and some bubbly beverages with their friends and colleagues. This year’s Gowns and Bubbles event will take place in WVPU’s atrium. Date to be announced.

Regalia Pick Up

Your regalia may be picked up at Gowns and Bubbles in the Atrium (date to be announced), when students may also pick up guest tickets, and enjoy a light snack and beverages.

You may give permission to someone to pick up your regalia on your behalf. Permission must be sent to graduation@webster.ac.at. Please ensure that your email indicates (Regalia Pick Up/LastName/StudentID) in the subject line, and in the body of the email include the full legal name of the individual picking up the regalia on your behalf, and your email signature, which should be your full legal name and student ID number.

Costs and Payment

Graduation Fee:

Commencement Ceremony Package

The Commencement Ceremony Package is 90€ for Undergraduate students, and 110€ for Graduate students. It is mandatory for all graduating students attending the ceremony, and includes:

Complete graduation regalia (cap, gown, and tassel). Graduate students will also receive a hood with colors symbolizing their degrees.
Two guest tickets (graduating students do not need a ticket).

Additional tickets (subject to availability): 30€ per additional guest ticket.

Payment information:

When the registration period is ended, you will receive an email with the detailed payment instructions. No credit card payments will be accepted. Please note that tickets will not be distributed to students whose payment has not been received. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the amount has been transferred and received on time.

Hofburg Palace entrance

The Day of the Ceremony

Timeline

On the day of the ceremony, all students are required to arrive at 9:00. Doors open for guests at 13:30, and the ceremony starts at 14:00. A Champagne reception will follow the ceremony and last until 16:45.

Accessibility

Please notify the graduation team of any disabilities or special requirements so we can ensure the appropriate accommodations.

Directions

The entrance to Hofburg Palace is at Heldenplatz. It can be easily reached via metro U3 (station “Herrengasse”), or by trams 1, 2, D, 71 and U2Z (station “Burgring”). Please note that there is no parking available directly at Hofburg, but you can find the nearest parking garage at MQ, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Wien.

Dress Code

The Commencement Ceremony is a premiere moment as you prepare for the next chapter of your life. To ease your decision on the outfit for your big day, please keep the following in mind:

Dress code: Business casual. Please wear comfortable shoes or bring a second pair of shoes. It will be a busy day with several activities, and being comfortable is important. There will be a break when you can change your shoes.

Considering the current distancing restrictions, we ask that you arrive at the Imperial Hofburg Palace fully dressed in your regalia or have it prepared on a hanger. We will have a coat check area where you can leave your belongings, however, we will not offer a dressing room for steaming your regalia, applying makeup, or styling hair.

Photography

Professional photographer Gabriele Paar will be on site to take pictures of the event, including professional portraits. One week after the graduation ceremony, students will be able to choose and order their photos from a password-protected online shop. The photos will be sent to each student's home address after online payment.

Students will have the option to choose between the following photography packages:

One Group Photo 25€ - print 15x22cm.
Digital Package 55€ - including 1 group photo, 1 individual portrait, 1 portrait on stage with diploma. All photos are edited professionally and sent as .jpg files (ready to print).
Print and Digital Package 85€ - including 1 group photo, 1 individual portrait, 1 portrait on stage with diploma. All photos are edited professionally and sent as .jpg files (ready to print), PLUS 3 Prints in 15x22cm will be sent to the selected postal address.
Ambient Shots, Family Portraits or extra Portraits: digital 10€, print 7€; print + digital 15€.

Costs for postage: 3,90€ Austria; 9€ EU; 15€ Worldwide

Please Note: Payment is due prior to event

Deadline payment for your photo package will be announced on time. Students who do not submit their photo payment on time will not be able to have their portrait photos taken at the event.