The opening ceremony of the 239th academic year of Semmelweis University took place on September 7, 2008, at the Budapest Congress and World Trade Center. The high point of the event was the taking of the solemn oath by some 1,400 freshmen. As Semmelweis University teaches in three languages, new students – representing more than 30 nations – took their oath either in Hungarian, German or English. The opening ceremony was attended by several VIP guests, including the State Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Culture, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Health, the Vice-President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences as well as ambassadors and diplomats accredited to Budapest. The event was closed with a spectacular performance of the Bartók Folk Dance Ensemble.
