 |
 |
 |
|
   |
 |
||
    |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
 |
|  |
|
 |
|---|
|
|
|
 MASTER OF SCIENCE GRADUATION CEREMONY 9th ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT PROGRAMSpeech at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien)Ambassador W.L. Lyons BrownNovember 11, 2004Magnifizenz Skalicky, Ministerialrat Novotny, Dean Frick, Professors Kheir and Kopacek, Graduates and Honored Guests! I am very pleased to offer my congratulations to the 9th graduating class of the Engineering Management Program of the Technische Universität Wien and Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. I am grateful to Professor Kopacek for including the American Embassy in this annual ceremony, since the first in 1996. This is the third ceremony in which I have taken part and I am especially pleased to be with you today. The Engineering Management Program is very special. I know from my long experience as a businessman that more and more companies are looking for not just an MBA, but for a combination of degrees that unite disciplines. In your case, the graduate is able to combine the technical and product development side and the overall management of a business. There are still only a limited number of these kinds of programs available, which makes each of you as graduates more competitive in today's job market. In preparing you to be highly sought after graduates in the international job market, this kind of cooperative program also positions you to take your places as responsible and thoughtful international citizens. In support of this goal, the American Secretaries of State and Education initiated International Education Week four years ago and the Embassy will support this important effort again this year. Secretary of Education Page, and Secretary of State Powell have said - "We should do our best to give our students the skills they need to be successful global citizens. It has become very clear that broadening our international understanding is critical." Students who come to Vienna from around the world to take advantage of the Engineering Management Program are doing just that. Secretary of State Powell adds that, "People-to-people diplomacy, created through international education and exchanges, is critical to our national interests. Americans who study abroad expand their global perspective and become more internationally engaged. Foreign students and individuals who participate in citizen exchanges return home with a greater knowledge of our democratic institutions, the free market and America's enduring values." I was on the board of a great American University for many years, and I know the challenges and difficulties faced by higher education. Educators, often confronted with greater enrollment and limited budgets, have to provide students with the finest quality and most progressive education so they can effectively compete with the best students entering the global economy from around the world. The success of the joint program between the Technische Universität Wien and Oakland University is a credit to the professors and administrators who are part of this effort. Without the hard work, the long, increasingly uncomfortably trans-Atlantic travel, and most importantly without the vision and leadership, this program could not enjoy the success that you as graduates are benefiting from today. All of you who are graduating will really continue your international education as you build your careers in different parts of the world. I know you will learn from the cultures in which you find yourselves and I encourage you to work to promote understanding and tolerance between peoples though out the world. You are finishing your program at the beginning of a new millennium, at a time of great hope, but also great challenge. You are the leaders of tomorrow and I congratulate you again on your academic achievements and I wish you every success in the years ahead. Thank you very much. e-mail: embassy@usembassy.at |
|
   American Citizen        |
|---|
