KARACHI: The 19th convocation of the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology at the Expo Centre here on Saturday saw some 1,529 graduating students bidding farewell to their alma mater amid feelings of joy and sadness.

Presiding over the ceremony as the chief guest, chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said that with 65pc of Pakistan population being less than 25 years of age it was up to the universities to polish these ‘uncut diamonds’. “Only eight per cent of our youth opts for university while 92pc remain without a university education,” he said.”Therefore there is a need to increase access to universities for them,” he added.

Dr Mukhtar said that today 10 Pakistani universities were among the top 300 universities of the world. He urged the Sir Syed University faculty to do their best in encouraging good research. “Research should not be done for the sake of doing research. Maybe we have a lot of researched publications to our name but then you tell me, where is its impact?” the HEC chairman asked.

“The research carried out should be for the benefit of society. Otherwise it is just a number of research papers. You should not get trapped in the number game. There should be no compromise on quality,” he added.

He advised graduates to think more about how to give and deliver by using their expertise rather than trying to gain more. “Today, thank your parents and your teachers for supporting you throughout your educational career. Never forget your roots wherever you go,” he told them.

Earlier, presenting the vice chancellor’s report, VC Prof Dr S. Jawaid Hassan Rizvi said that the 19th convocation took up their number of graduates to 14,000 since the establishing of the university in 1994. “We started with the awarding of degrees in only two disciplines back in 1994 and just 200 students. Today, we award degrees in 10 disciplines and have 6,000 students studying at this university. Our faculty, too, has grown to 442 intellectuals,” he said.

“Our annual budget, too, has grown from Rs17 million to Rs1 billion,” the VC continued. “Students passing out from here will have the university’s support available to them throughout their lives. They will also not have any problems getting a job or getting admissions to any international university after earning a Sir Syed University degree,” he said while sharing their affiliations with several international universities and professional bodies.

The university’s governing board members — Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, retired Lt Gen Moinuddin Haider, Professor M.D. Shami, Justice Sadiq Bhatti, Sardar Yasin Malik, retired Cmdr Salim Siddiqui — were also present on the occasion.

Chancellor Jawaid Anwar and Registrar Syed Sarfraz Ali also spoke.

Students were also honoured with gold, silver and bronze medals for outstanding achievements in their fields of expertise.

Sadia Ghani Malik of computer engineering, Gul-i-Zehra of electronic engineering, Fiza Burney of telecommunication engineering, Rabia Mahmood of biomedical engineering, Mohammad Bilal Wasim of civil engineering and Wajiha Latif Khan of computer science received gold medals.

Nimra Khan of computer engineering, Amber Jabeen of electronic engineering, Mohammad Atiq of telecommunication engineering, Tehreem Hamid of biomedical engineering, Syeda Shadab Raza of civil engineering and Sara Shakeel of computer science received silver medals.

Meanwhile, Mahrose Fatima Naqvi of computer engineering, Farheen Nasir of electronic engineering, Sidra Gul of telecommunication engineering, Hira Sohail of biomedical engineering, Olas Yar of civil engineering and Arsalan Ahmed Khan of computer science were awarded bronze medals.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2016