05 October 2004	Tuesday	19 Shaban 1425

ISLAMABAD, Oct 4: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Nauraiz Shakoor on Monday asked the students to excel in every field of education as economies had become knowledge-based in the modern world.

He was speaking at a convocation of the Comsats Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) held at Convention Centre here. He termed the information technology education the virtual index of economic growth and development of the country.

Countries lacking natural resources, but well endowed with the wealth of knowledge are able to lead from the front, he added. Human resource development, he said, was the cry of the day and the country would have respond to that more positively.

The government, he said, could achieve its targets only if the students devoted their energies and efforts to get distinction in the fields of science and technology. He said the graduation ceremony was commonly called "commencement" in North America, as it marked the beginning of a new journey, a journey into practical life.

Dr S M Junaid Zaidi, the CIIT rector, gave a review of the significant achievements made by the institute. Despite the lack of resources, the institute was now possessed well-equipped laboratories, trained faculty and brilliant students.

Degrees were awarded to 272 students of Islamabad and Wah campuses in the disciplines of Bachelor of Computer Science (BCS) (Fall 1999, 2000 and Spring and Fall 2001), Bachelor of Computer Engineering (BCE) (Fall 1999, Spring 2000), Master of Software Engineering (MSE) (Fall 2001), Master of Business Administration (MBA) (Fall 2002), Master of Business Administration in Information Technology (MBAIT) (Fall 2002, Spring 2002) and Master of Computer Science (MCS) (Spring 2002).

Medals were also awarded to 15 students for earning distinctions. The Chancellor's Gold Medal was awarded to MCS (Spring 2002) student from Wah campus, Shafqat Ali Sajid.

The Chancellor's Gold Medal also went to MBA (Fall 2002) student from CIIT, Wah, Ayesha Kanwal Zishan, while her fellows Adnan Akhtar and Waqas Ahmed Qureshi were given the gold and silver medals respectively.

Mohammad Asim Bhatti, a student of MBA (Fall 2002), Islamabad campus, was awarded the silver medal and his fellow students Lubna Riaz and Sobia Zafar grabbed the bronze medals.

Qazi Emadul Haq and Haroon Asher of BCS (Fall 2000), Islamabad, received the gold and silver medals respectively. The gold medal was also given to Mohammad Arif of BCE (Fall 2000) and Noor-ul-Amin of MSE (Fall 2001), Islamabad campus. Chairman of Board of Governors (BOG), CIIT, Hameed Ahmed Khan along with the BOG members, faculty staff and parents was present on the occasion.