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Graduation speech 2025


Today you graduate. You have worked hard and earned your new title as engineers. Hopefully, you also enjoyed studying and immersed yourselves in the campus life. Some say it’s about the destination, some say it’s about the journey. I would say it’s primarily about the company, and I hope, it was pleasant and inspiring.


You now enter a new life chapter as engineers. It is a title, you should be proud of. Engineers build our societies, solve major issues and make dreams come true. It is a highly scientific and demanding education, that not everyone can manage. You did. Some of you probably already have jobs. Others take it slower, and some struggle to get their foot inside the door for the first job. It can be tough.


Engineering is a profession, where experience matters. That’s what makes it tough, and that’s what makes it great. There is always something new to learn, every day, in every project, for your entire career, you need to obtain new knowledge and put it together as a jigsaw puzzle. Of everything you learned here, this is the most important part: to be able to find and absorb knowledge. It is your finest trade.

 

I chose to become an engineer for multiple reasons. Firstly, I really dislike closing doors to opportunities. An engineering education spans wide in terms of possible career paths, leaving many doors still open. Secondly, I enjoy science and maths – so do most of you, probably. However, I also enjoy disciplines like philosophy, psychology, language and writing. Turns out, they can be very useful in engineering, as well – lucky me!


Lastly, and probably most importantly, engineering is both scientific, facts based and creative at the same time. Our work is necessary for a functioning society and we can enjoy very visible results. My company consults in the construction industry and it is a great satisfaction to be able to see and even touch the remarkable structures, we helped create.


So, ladies and gentlemen, do you have a career plan? Do you have any idea, what you want from your work life? Should you have a plan? I my opinion, it’s a big NO! What you need is the awareness to see opportunities and the courage to seize them.

 

The word opportunity originates from latin. "Ob portum veniens". Meaning “coming toward a port” and it refers to a favorable wind blowing ships into the harbor. So, is it the same as luck? No, not at all. Luck is pure chance – a roll of the dice. To be able to take advantage of the favorable wind, first of all, your ship must be at sea. It must also be in good condition and sailing well. The captain and the crew need to be aware and swift – otherwise opportunity blows right past.

 

If you have a rigid career plan, or if you have already decided what the destination is, or what the favorable wind looks like – you will miss so many of them. What is this old guy talking about? I probably missed many opportunities, but at least I also caught a few. When I graduated from this institution in 2000, I dreamt of moving to Copenhagen to work for one of the major consultancies.


Well, of course they were only looking for experienced engineers, until I saw the perfect job add for me. Ramboll was looking for a structural engineer with or without experience – openminded with a strong will to learn.

 

At the very end of the add, it said Location: Nuuk, Greenland. Well, it was a major consultancy, and it was a capital “city”, so why not? I sent my application, and it was one of the best opportunities, I ever took. During my two years in the North Atlantic, I learned so much and had so many unforgettable experiences – and I even met my wife, with whom I now have five kids.


I could so easily have let the opportunity blow past. I knew very little about Greenland, and I would definitely miss my friends and family. The practical issues were many – but I steered my vessel into the favorable wind and got so much more than I could have imagined.


Other favorable winds lead me to have five healthy children, build a wooden zero-energy home for my family here in Horsens and to found an engineering consultancy, which now consist of about 45 employees. There was never a plan. There are always vague dreams or blurry visions. I often visualize an atmosphere, a feeling, a sense of meaning, a community. When I register an opportunity, which I feel fits a bigger picture, I seize it, although I don’t know exactly where it leads. It is almost always about collaboration, companionship or community. What is anything really worth, if you do it alone?

 

Nothing is certain in life, except the end, they say. Well, I will dare to assure you one more thing: You have no clue, what your job looks like in the middle of your career, 20 years from now. Technology and society constantly move, and we don’t know in which direction. That’s another reason to throw away your neat career plan. It will simply not work out, because you have no chance of knowing in any great detail, what the future asks of you.


The past demanded adaptability – and so will the future. I am definitely not saying you should let go of the steering wheel and let the wind take you anywhere. You should be the captain of your ship. A good captain leaves the harbor with goals and aspirations, but is always ready to change course to adapt to circumstances. If the captain carried on with eyes closes and trusted the original course at any cost, the ship would hit storms, icebergs and other ships.


The future demands collaboration. Nice guys finish last, they used to say. If it was ever true, it is not anymore. Don’t go out there and compete against your colleagues to impress your boss. They will call you out. The race is long – and in the long run, good guys stay in the race and finish first.

 

In your future workplace, don’t try to make strategic allies. Try to make friends. Treaties can be broken – we certainly experience this in the world right now. Friendships last. Be nice, be compassionated and share all your tricks and knowledge. Maybe it will come back to you, maybe it won’t – but you will put yourself in a better position to catch the favorable tailwind.

 

In my company we’re known for caring about each other, and we invest a lot in the wellbeing of our employees. I am often asked if it is good for business. Well, my conclusion is, that it is at least not bad for business. It is actually quite funny why good behavior needs any other justification – than just being good. Be a good colleague, it is at least not a bad investment.


Knowledge is good. Knowledge is the information you have obtained and are able to access. You need knowledge and you will always expand it. Knowledge allows you to become a decent engineer. To become a great engineer, you need something more.

 

Wisdom is knowledge AND the ability to apply it the best way. Wisdom comes with experience, and it requires awareness, curiosity and the ability to listen. Listen to the people around you. Listen, really listen to hear them, and to learn from them and about them. Wisdom allows you to become a great engineer.


Learn, listen, share and adapt – become wise, seize opportunities and good company. Get your friendships and companionships at sea. America once had a wise president... Franklin D. Roosevelt, who said: A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. That quote is actually printed right here on my t-shirt. So, I will not wish you a calm and pleasant journey. I do wish, that you catch many favorable winds during your careers and your lives.


Congratulations on your graduation.

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