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MSM Graduation Ceremony 2026

10-09-2026

On Thursday 10 September 2026, MSM organises its Annual Graduation Ceremony. During the Ceremony the Master in Management and Master of Business Administration graduates will receive their well-deserved degrees.

The Ceremony will start at 14.00 hrs CEST and will end at 17.00 hrs CEST, followed by a reception until 19.30 hrs CEST.

The awarding of the degrees and awards is the most important part of the Ceremony - the long-expected moment for our students. To celebrate this memorable moment, the Ceremony will be enriched with a keynote address, graduate valedictory speeches and a musical intermezzo.

Programme

14.00 hrs.	Welcome Dr. Diederik de Boer, Director a.i. MSM
14.15 hrs.	Speech Prof.dr. Mariëlle Heijltjes, Dean Maastricht University School of Business and Economics
14.30 hrs.	Keynote address Liesbeth Wijlaars AI Strategist, CEO The AI Playground, Speaker Strategic and Human AI
15.00 hrs.	Awarding of the degrees
16.15 hrs	Musical intermezzo MSM Quartet
16.25 hrs.	Student awards
16.35 hrs.	Valedictory speeches graduates
17.00 hrs.	Closing remarks Dr. Stuart Dixon, Director of Academics MSM
17.30 - 19.30 hrs.	Reception (drinks & bites)

Key-note speaker

Liesbeth Wijlaars
AI Strategist
CEO - The AI Playground
Speaker Strategic and Human AI

Liesbeth Wijlaars is an AI Strategist, columnist, speaker and CEO of The AI Playground. Based in Limburg (NL), she works with organisations throughout the Netherlands. She helps them get a grip on AI. From the inside out.

Her conviction is simple: AI is about technology. And above all about people. In a market full of AI hype and promises of quick wins, she helps organisations take back control. Real transformation demands a solid foundation, with the human dimension at the wheel.

Her own story proves that reinvention is possible at any stage. After a rich career of more than twenty years in marketing, branding and building teams, Liesbeth changed course. She chose a study in AI and technology at the Brightlands AI Academy, and on the day of her own graduation ceremony she founded her company. Today she is a Certified AI Governance Professional, a trusted AI guide for boards and directors, and the creator of The AI Playground method, which grows an organisation's own people into AI Strategists within a single year.

Under her label herAI.tech, she works to bring more women to the tables where technology gets built and decided. Women should empower AI. AI should empower women.

On stage, she bridges the boardroom and the shop floor, with humour, realism and sharp insight. Her message is clear: getting a grip on AI is a shared responsibility. Boards, managers and employees alike.

Registration

The MSM Graduation Ceremony is on invitation only. The registration link will be shared via the invitation.

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