PhD dinner
It is your choice what form the PhD dinner should take; a large white-tie dinner, or a buffet at the end of the public defence, or no dinner at all. Whatever you decide, the meal must be held on the same day as the public defence. It is customary, but not necessary, to hold a PhD dinner where the dress code is black tie or dark suit. The dinner is formal, but can also have a less formal element.
Speeches
The chair of the public defence, the third member of the adjudication committee and the candidate’s supervisor normally give a speech. It is also traditional for the PhD candidate to give a speech and to thank the university, committee, research community and his/her family etc.
Seating
There are no fixed rules for seating. The PhD candidate and his/her escort, the committee members, supervisor, chair of the public defence and head of department should, however, be seated centrally.