Klaus and Polina actually arrived 40 minutes early. No one wanted to arrive too late and make a bad impression in front of so many important professors and school officials.
When Klaus briefly turned his head around and looked up, he could see a growing gathering of mech designers and other distinguished teachers sitting at the most elevated seats at the back.
They did not attend in order to upstage or replace the new professor today, so there was no need for them to make themselves more visible at the front.
Not everyone hired to teach at the Eden Institute decided to attend, though.