Bart Delrue

Yesterday was my fifth graduation ceremony at UC Odisee.

Before class starts again on Monday, I'd like to take some time to reflect on yet another generation of students whom I had the pleasure to guide, teach and see develop from pimply 18-year-olds to these amazing well-rounded adults with new hopes, ambitions, and opinions.
From their point of view, of course, they had the pleasure to see my hair fall out, to sigh and roll their eyes at my efforts to cringemax (oops, I did it again) my presentations, and to see the despair growing in my eyes.
Perspective matters.

A special recognition

I give a required course in the first and third year of our bachelor, no student can escape me, and I can't escape them. So it's hard to mention every student of the class of 2026 who made an impact during our time together. Really! I'm not just saying that because of the debilitating fear that I might forget to mention someone. I inevitably will.

Sometimes it's easy.
And this year again, it's clear that my students of Web Topics Advanced (:last-of-type) deserve a shoutout.

Antje Meiresonne for consistent hard work and creativity. Kilian Leroy for his
amazing growth as a student and his eagerness to slap Michiel in the face (more on that later). Jelle Fauconnier, perhaps the brightest of the bunch, albeit also the quietest. And, of course, Art - ponycamp - Van der Vennet who surpasses me in humor, wit, and critical thinking.

BUT. There's more.
Higher education is not always easy, nor completed in a straight line.
Given my own meandering academic career, I've never been one to judge. And yet I think that that's perhaps one of the hardest parts of my job: judge. Judge the work delivered, judge the effort, judge the earnestness of excuses, judge whether JavaScript really is the most important part of a student's life (it is, it always is).

So Avkaran Sarminder, Quinten Conil, and Luka Vandenweghe, thank you. Thank you for your words during the reception. Thank you for being the amazing, kind-hearted people you are.

Why Kilian will slap Michiel in the face

Last year I could continue what had been becoming a tradition: promoting a bachelor thesis about data ownership and interoperability. Another :last-of-type, bachelor theses have been scrapped from our curriculum.

But it's not just the last one. It's one I could copromote with Pieter Colpaert, one that exceeded even my expectations, and one which has a genuine chance of winning the Vlaamse Scriptieprijs!

Provided... Michiel Van de Velde finally gets off his arse and submits his thesis.
The pressure is on. One of the benefits of a graduation ceremony with reception is the presence of champagne and its effect on the freshly graduated mind. During his last moments of glee and nostalgia for a time gone by, Michiel agreed to endure physical violence at the hands of a very ecstatic-looking Kilian Leroy should he fail to submit his thesis by Monday.

I neither condone nor encourage violence between students. But, Michiel, if you deny me my chance of winning that prize by proxy... I hope it hurts ;)