KARACHI: “The government should bring about transparency in hiring procedures and end the culture of nepotism — the two major reasons leading to brain drain in the country.”

That’s how Syed Shahrukh, a position holder, offered his comments at the 26th convocation of the NED University of Engineering and Technology, which was held on Saturday on its main campus.

More than 1,800 students received their degrees at the ceremony.

A recipient of a gold medal in the petroleum engineering department, Shahrukh, also a research assistant at its department, was one of the few boy students who showed outstanding performance as most positions went to girls.

“The government should look at fresh university graduates as an asset and develop a mechanism that could facilitate them in finding a job,” he said, adding that the key to success was in respecting teachers and performing to the best of one’s abilities.

Sharing similar sentiments, Sarah Iqbal, who secured third position in the civil engineering department with a major in construction management, said that the government should follow new engineering trends that would create opportunities for new graduates.

“Unlike other parts of the world, specialisation in construction management and building information modelling are still new concepts in our country especially in the public sector. There is a great need to promote this body of knowledge as it helps avoid many on site errors and create a better design.”

Sharing her secrets to success, Syeda Wajeeha Naqvi, who secured third position in a biomedical engineering department class of 77 students, said that she gave her 100 per cent in the class and always remained attentive. “You don’t have to spend a lot of time on studying, if you are attentive in the class. My friends couldn’t believe, though, that I have got a position,” she said with a smile.

On her future plans, she said that she would continue her studies and make a difference through research. “It’s unfortunate that people don’t know much about biomedical engineering and take it as a field restricted to medical equipment. It’s a multi-disciplinary field and applicable in areas like rehabilitation, artificial intelligence and design modelling,” she said.

Earlier, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, the chief guest, and former informer information minister Javed Jabbar, the guest of honour, congratulated students, urging them to aim for excellence in life.

“Build on the knowledge you have acquired. Whatever you do, do it with love and passion. You will succeed,” the chief minister said, adding that students must not forget sacrifices of their parents as they moved ahead in life.

Lamenting shortage of engineers in the country, he asked students to try finding jobs within Pakistan that now had a great collaborative project like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Mr Jabbar urged students to enhance their knowledge, develop a strong reading habit and learn the skill of good time management.

Vice chancellor Prof Sarosh Hashmat Lodi presented a detailed report on the university’s progress. He also spoke of the financial challenges the university had been facing for some years. However, the institution had managed to become one of the top Asian engineering universities, he added.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2018