What does the IMFSE mean to me? A look back at the IMFSE’s 10-yr anniversary and graduation ceremony 2022

9:25pm – the bus rolls into Ghent Dampoort station, a bit of rain frames the horizon, and the sky takes on a pinkish-blue hue.

As with my flair for the dramatic, the song Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) by the Backstreet Boys played in my head as I took the first steps down the bus (🎶 Oh my God, we’re back again 🎵). It felt so great to be back in eccentric Ghent! I sorely missed the people, the busy streets, and the fries and beer. But! Way up on the agenda for visiting Ghent was also to attend the 10-year anniversary of the IMFSE and this year’s graduation. These were to be very much celebrated as they highlighted a decade of long-lasting friendships, mentorship, knowledge sharing, networking, industry support, STEPS TOWARDS RECOVERY OF TRUST and COMPETENCE, and breaking barriers of social inequity when it comes to safety.

The graduation ceremony

The graduation was an important milestone for cohort 2020, as with any graduating student, because it marked the end of their two-year studies and signified the start of their journeys as newly minted fire safety engineers. Cohorts 2018 and 2019 were also there to be finally doing their graduation in-person after it was held online. To date, the programme has produced 194 quality graduates who have pledged to tirelessly advocate fire safety excellence worldwide.

The event was held at Aula Academica. My classmates (Alfred El Haddad, Martin Sturdy, Jose Morales, and Muneeb Khalid) and I volunteered to help Lies and Silke with the graduation rites. We wanted to ensure that our seniors go out with a bang and that the program ran smoothly as well.

Congratulations to our dear graduates!

The entire program was a perfect mix of impassioned speeches, nostalgia as the graduates looked back at their 2-year studies, and good cheer.

Congratulations also to this year’s award recipients:

Mohammad Seyfi – Margaret Law Award for Outstanding IMFSE Student and Best Poster Award (jury)

Nazim Yakhou – Margaret Law Award for Outstanding Thesis Research

Edwin Ayala Tovar – Margaret Law Award for Progression and Development

Lea Elhokayem – Margaret Law Award for Overall Motivation and Enthusiasm

Devmini Kularatne – Best Poster Award (public opinion)

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After the ceremony, the night festivities started with a walking tour of Ghent. We were a bit worried since it rained in the morning but Lies jokingly said that she talked to the big man upstairs to give us favorable weather in the evening. Indeed, the rain stopped, and we were able to visit Ghent’s famous tourist spots and sample the local cuisines (Stoverij, Cuberdon, Mastel, and of course beer!).  It was amazing because even though we had spent a semester in Ghent, there were still a lot of places to visit! The walking tour was a great networking opportunity too, a chance to talk with prominent personalities outside of a classroom or professional setting. But even in social gatherings, they still love to talk about fire safety and that was great because we learned a lot!

The 10-year anniversary

I was debating internally whether to write about the experience as purely news-like, but I decided to take on a more personal approach and write about what the IMFSE means to me. This is due to the highly inspiring presence of our dear faculty, the alumni, industry sponsors, and the camaraderie.

Covid has derailed a lot of in-person activities but there was one thing that it couldn’t prevent: the passion and dedication of the fire safety community. The excitement was palpable, the atmosphere electric. As we toasted and applauded 10 years of the IMFSE, I felt a renewed sense of purpose. Hearing Professor Torero’s speech On Competence, Trust and the IMFSE had me reflect on why I joined the master’s programme. Everyone has different reasons to do a master’s: to enhance their technical knowledge, to fuel their fire safety interest, or even to be economic refugees from their respective countries. Me, I have always been inspired by engineering in all forms. Sometimes when I see a bridge or a unique building, there is that appreciation and wonder. Working for 8 years in the industry, I always hear the nagging questions, “How can I better myself or what can I contribute to the field?” The questions started from Piper Alpha and the answer came in the form of the IMFSE. In our everyday tasks as engineers, I see not only buildings or bridges but also people with families. There is that drive to bring these people home safely. Fire, as a prevalent issue, is ever dynamic and we must do everything that we can to be one step ahead of it and for me, that is through honing my engineering skills in a fire safety program.

Joining a male-dominated industry, I have always felt the need to “speak louder”. However, in joining the IMFSE, I found my voice. I am always grateful to the programme for putting women front and center in fire safety. They constantly feature amazing women fire engineers and with the alumni speeches, I was further ensured that we have support and a place in the industry.

Looking around the room during the celebration, I felt immense pride and that motivation to study well so that I too will be able and competent to safeguard people, built environment, and environment safety. These engineers may or may not be the richest in the world, but they constantly inspire me that what we do for fire safety, what I do, matters.

📸 Credits to the event photographer for the photographs

When the stars align: Pt. 2

(This blog follows from When the stars align: Pt. 1. Do check it out 😊)

Lundakarnevalen or Lund Carnival has been a Lund City and Lund University staple for many years. When I say years, I mean it has been a century-long tradition. It has braved the test of time, having weathered through significant historical events such as the First World War, Economic Crisis of 1932, and recently the ongoing Corona virus pandemic of 2019. Albeit these circumstances, the carnival has been a big success every time and continues to delight both young and old as people flock to the city center to partake in numerous fun activities such as food booths, games, concerts, and the carnival parade.

According to the official Lundakarnevalen page, the first officially recognized carnival was in 1849 when students from the Småland’s nation hosted a peasant wedding in the form of a carnival procession. Over the years, the carnival started to take on more organized forms, beginning with the quadrennial celebration of the event which was established in 1894. Additional attractions such as Film festivals and a Circus were also introduced. Interestingly enough, the Lundakarnevalen has themes and the activities and over-all look adhere to the theme. Since 1954, the themes typically end with ‘-al’ (e.g. Ritualkarneval, Futuralkarneval). This year, the name of theme was true to tradition and was aptly named Katastrofalkarneval (Disaster Carnival). I have to say, me being there and witnessing the merriment and the high energy, it was an ironic homage to some recent disasters such as the pandemic and climate change.

My classmates and I took some time off from our busy schedules (exams were a week after the carnival!) to watch the parade on the last day. It was a bit confusing as some of the signages and placards on the parade floats were in Swedish. But that’s the thing about having fun, right? You don’t need to understand the words to have a good time. The parade floats were fun and funny!

After the parade, we headed to the main carnival section because we wanted to grab some carnival food. It was amazing to eat cotton candy again! I couldn’t remember when was the last time I ate such huge amounts of sugar. We got into sword fights after with the cotton candy sticks. Hey, we’re serious master’s students but that doesn’t mean we have to stop being kids at heart. The bonding was also a fun way to say goodbye to some of our classmates since we will be separating again for the third semester. Aside from cotton candy, we enjoyed craft beers specially made for the event, tacos, and popcorn. There was also a jazz concert that we happily listened to. It was good standing in the sun because it was a pleasant sign that spring and summer were just around the corner. It was also pleasant to go around and just look at people having a great time. There were also booths and games which were organized by students. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to try one because you had to exchange your money for carnival coins and use those.

In keeping up with our societal duties as fire safety engineers, some of our classmates also volunteered as fire marshals for the event. Cohort 2021 is proud of our volunteer classmates as they ensured that the event was an enjoyable and safe one.

Fire marshal Alperen Gürer at the event

The Lund Carnival was a perfect end to our semester at Lund University. I will surely miss the peace and quiet that Lund offers. I will also miss the nice people (from the local students to our professors) and Fika in Sweden! It was a great experience for IMFSE Cohort 2021 to attend both Lundakarnevalen and Gent Lichtfestival.