KARACHI, July 11: A batch of 19 graduates were conferred the degree of Master of Engineering in Nuclear Power at the 7th convocation of the Kanupp Institute of Nuclear Power Engineering (KINPOE) here on Thursday.
The Sindh Governor, Mohammedmian Soomro, was the chief guest, while the vice-chancellor of the NED University of Engineering and Technology, Abul Kalam, presided.
In all 18 graduates (1999-2000 batch), which included a female engineer as well, received degrees in person, while one was awarded in absentia.
The governor awarded gold medals and merit certificates, as well as souvenirs, to the graduates. Muhammad Sohail Niazi got the KINPOE gold medal and merit certificate for achieving the first position and the highest GPA.
Merit certificates were also given to Arshad Habib Malik (2nd position) and Abdul Basit (3rd position). With the latest passing-out of graduates, the tally of Master course graduates at KINPOE has reached 138.
In his report, the director of the institute, Dr Ansar Parvez, said that the name of the degree had recently been changed by the NED university from Master of Science to Master of Engineering, while the prerequisite academic qualification for admission was BE or BSc in engineering, or MSc in a few related physical science disciplines.
He informed the audience that after completion of the four semesters, students are allowed a few weeks to complete their projects that are generally based on nuclear power plant-related problems, while on completion of the degree, all the graduates are offered jobs in Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).
KINPOE, which offers one-year training to diploma-holders, has also started a one-year postgraduate training programme in order to meet the immediate manpower requirement of the PAEC, he added.
He said that the institute believed in quality and strived to ensure that the standard of our masters programme was comparable to that offered in any foreign university.
“There is one simple objective that the students and faculty of the institute must jointly achieve, and that is to produce people who can be usefully employed in the area of nuclear technology,” he added.
The Sindh governor, while appreciating the efforts of faculty members and students of the institute, mentioned that technology is important for the survival and development of any country. He said that KINPOE’s educational programme pertains to an area in which education and training is denied to the country, while on the other hand transfer of technology, if any, is also slow.
He pointed out that security of a nation depends on its economy, which can be attained once high-quality trained manpower is available with it. He expressed the view that unless nations are able to produce the required numbers of well-trained scientists, engineers and technologists, their attempts at socio- economic transformation would remain devoid of real depth and meaning.
He noted that the PAEC has made significant progress in promoting the peaceful use of atomic energy in the areas of nuclear power, agriculture, medicines and defence productions. The successful nuclear tests of 1998 and missile tests in the later course of time have strengthened the country’s overall defence, he added, saying that these achievements have enabled the people of the country to compare themselves with people in any other part of the world.
In his welcome address, the chairman of PAEC, Parvez Butt, said that the commission could not have progressed in various disciplines of engineering and science, in general, and in the areas of nuclear power production, medicine, agriculture and defence, in particular, had it not been for the availability of high-quality manpower, selected on merit and trained to a high degree of competence.
He said that about 300,000 patients are being provided cancer diagnosis and treatment facilities annually at a nominal cost at 12 nuclear medical centres, including two at Karachi, established by the PAEC. The commission now awaits ECNEC’s approval to begin work on the extension of its nuclear medical centre, KIRAN, at Karachi, while it is also making progress in the establishment of a nuclear medical centre at Nawabshah, he informed further.
He also mentioned the PAEC programmes already launched for utilization of salinity-affected lands in Jacobabad and Badin.
The NED vice-chancellor also spoke very briefly on the occasion.
KARACHI, July 11: A batch of 19 graduates were conferred the degree of Master of Engineering in Nuclear Power at the 7th convocation of the Kanupp Institute of Nuclear Power Engineering (KINPOE) here on Thursday.
