PESHAWAR, April 9: NWFP Governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah has called upon engineers to keep abreast of latest developments in their field and prepare themselves for the future challenges to put the country on the path of progress.

Speaking as chief guest at the annual convocation of the NWFP University of Engineering and Technology here on Wednesday, the governor urged engineers to prepare themselves to meet modern day demands of the people, as scientific development had made a tremendous progress.

The governor said nature had provided various resources to our country like minerals, forests and water and there was a need to utilize them for the benefit of the people.

Mr Shah said young engineers should be encouraged to undertake research and prepare feasibility studies as part of their projects which would put the province on the road to prosperity. The engineers, he added, would be facing many challenges during the coming days for which they must prepare themselves by acquiring knowledge in modern technologies.

The responsibility for economic development of the country rest with engineers as they were better placed to bring peace and prosperity to fellow citizens, he added.

The governor stressed the need for improving standard of research projects and establishing a sustainable linkage with industries.

Research-oriented projects of industrial significance should be accorded top priority, he said.

The governor described the opening of new campuses of the university at Mardan and Bannu in a record time of 10 months as the historic step. A campus in Abbottabad is in the process of establishment, he added.

He welcomed the launching of PhD programme, saying the step was in line with the government’s policy to provide opportunities of higher education in the field of engineering.

Vice-Chancellor Sardar Khan said the university was making efforts to promote research activities.