Friday, 19 September 2025. Rome Business School, part of Planeta Formación y Universidades, an international network of 22 educational institutions created by De Agostini and Grupo Planeta, celebrates the educational journey of its more than 2,800 students, both international and national talents, at the 2025 Graduation Ceremony at the Palazzo dello Sport, in front of an audience of families, authorities, companies and international partners, for a total of over 5,000 participants.
Among the guests of honour were Nicola Drago, Executive Vice Chairman of the De Agostini Group and patron of the event, Carlos Giménez, Chief Executive Officer at Planeta Formación y Universidades, Maria Ángeles Martos Molina and Antonio Ragusa, respectively General Manager and Dean of Rome Business School, ambassadors, and representatives of universities and business schools from around the world, including Switzerland, the USA, Cameroon, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
Nicola Drago addressed the graduating students as follows: "The Rome Business School has prepared you in the best possible way to face some of the challenges that await you. But your learning journey will certainly not end with your graduation. You will need to find people who inspire you, who become sources of knowledge and experience for you, and certainly not just technical knowledge. In particular, they should help you identify a set of values to consolidate and draw inspiration from over time, in a path of personal growth that is humanistic rather than analytical and scientific. Only in this way can you truly become “better managers for a better world”".
Antonio Ragusa, urged students to be future agents of change: “From today, you have the task of transforming knowledge and values into concrete actions. Lead with empathy, act with courage and bring the light of unity and hope to the world. From this moment on, you are no longer just students. You are leaders, agents of change, architects of a better world. May your journey be extraordinary.”
With a 22.5% increase in graduates compared to 2024, Graduation 2025 saw students aged between 25 and 35 take to the stage, a mix of young graduates, career professionals and executives. One of the most touching moments was when three student representatives took to the podium to recount, with emotion and pride, the most significant milestones and personal achievements during their time at RBS. Among them was Emina Efendic, from Germany and a graduate of the International Master in Finance, who said: "Rome Business School has become the place where we have transformed ourselves. Diversity here has not only meant passports or languages, but ideas, perspectives and the way we have challenged and enriched each other. This diversity has enhanced our learning, fostering creativity, innovation and a broader understanding of the world."
An invitation to take responsibility and have the courage to face global challenges also came from the students. Andrew Nader, a Lebanese student on the Global Master in International Management, said from the podium at the ceremony: "Let us carry forward RBS's call to build businesses that empower societies, preserve our planet and leave a positive impact for those who come after us. Create teams that challenge you. Enter rooms where you are not the majority. Lead with curiosity and act with empathy, because the world is the greatest classroom, and our ability to learn from it will define the kind of leaders we become."
The Better Managers for a Better World Awards
RBS rewards excellence at this ceremony: five awards were presented to students, teachers and companies that have distinguished themselves during the year: Louis Vuitton won the Talent Partner Award for recruiting the highest number of Rome Business School students in the last year; Vincenzo Mazzotta, Programme Director of the Executive Master in Finanza e Mercati Finanziari, was awarded the Program Director Award of Excellence; Francesco Landolfi, Programme Director of the International Master in Marketing and Sales, received the On Campus Teaching Excellence Award; Raffaele Mannella received the Online Teaching Excellence Award as Programme Director of the International Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Concluding the list of award winners was Mame Khary Diene, from the International Master in Sustainability and Circular Economy, who received the RBS4Entrepreneurship Award for Momelle, an innovative start-up part of the Rome Business School RBS4Entrepreneurship business accelerator, created to transform unsellable fruit from small farmers in West Africa into natural and sustainable products, helping to reduce food waste and ensure fair remuneration for producers. This award is a concrete example of RBS's commitment to entrepreneurship, sustainability and innovation: RBS4Entrepreneurship has incubated 24 new projects in the last year and, since 2021, has already supported over 209 start-ups in 57 countries and 18 markets, contributing to the creation of more than 500 new jobs.