KARACHI: Like previous years, girl students outshone boys in engineering exams and clinched first positions in most disciplines at the 27th convocation of the NED University of Engineering and Technology held on its campus on Saturday.

A total of 1,974 students graduated this year, including 830 students who received their master’s degrees. Twenty-seven students were honoured with gold medals.

Students who stood first in the Bachelor of Engineering examination (2014-15) were: Juwairiyah Khurram (civil engineering), Tooba Mahnoor (civil engineering construction), Komal Ashfaq (mechanical engineering), Syed Wali Abbas Rizvi (electrical engineering), Maham Arif (computer systems), Mafaz Ahsan (electronic engineering), Firza Aijaz (telecommunication), Hunain Ashraf (industrial and manufacturing engineering), Hafiza Afia Ahmed (textile engineering), Sana Wajid (urban engineering), Syed Maisam Abbas Zaidi (petroleum engineering), Junaid Jawaid (automotive engineering), Ahmed ul Bari (chemical engineering) Ibrahim Khan (materials engineering), Yashra Ali (metallurgical engineering), Syed Zohair Ahmed (polymer and petroleum engineering), Shaista Abbasi (software engineering), Tooba Arshad (biomedical engineering) and Shafaq Aftab (food engineering).

Position holders in the Bachelor of Science examination (2014-15) were: Tasbiha Fatima (computer science and information technology) and Nida (applied physics), Adeena Nasir (industrial chemistry), Aiman Afaq (computational finance), Iqra Gulzar (development studies), Fatima Tuz Zehra (management sciences), Uzma Tariq (textile sciences).

The first position in Bachelor’s of Architecture went to Tooba Jamil.

Congratulating the students, their proud parents and teachers, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, also the chancellor of public-sector universities in the province, said that the convocation was a rewarding moment for everyone and surely students should take pride in the fact that they were educated at one of the best institutions of the country.

Giving students a word of advice, he said: “As you step into real life, be mindful of the fact that you can achieve goals that may appear impossible to you, only with sincerity of purpose and dedication. Never settle for anything less than excellence and never lose heart. Success always embraces those who know how to rise after a fall.”

He also appreciated tremendous growth of the university starting its journey from an engineering college. “The NED University has a history of excellence spread over nine decades. Its alumni are not only contributing within Pakistan, but also serving in key positions across the world.”

A university, he pointed out, not only imparted higher education, but also conducted research and the performance of NED had been at the forefront of research endeavours in the country with its qualified faculty, strong infrastructure and talented students.

Vice Chancellor of NED University Prof Sarosh Hashmat Lodi briefed the audience about the university’s progress and said that the institution currently had facilities imparting education and training in the field of cyber security, artificial intelligence, data analytics and cloud computing, robotics and automation.

“The university will soon have a centre for nanotechnology. All these research centres are creating research avenues for students,” the vice chancellor said.

He urged students to take advantage of the opportunities being created by China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. “Ours is the only university in the country where learning Chinese language is compulsory. This initiative on part of the university would greatly benefit engineers in coming years.”

He also congratulated students of mechanical and petroleum engineering who had recently won local and international contests.

Ashraf Habibullah, former student of the NED University and president of Computers and Structures, an engineering company based in California, US, was the chief guest.

Mr Habibullah spoke on the occasion and recalled his time on the campus. He briefed students as to how he managed to succeed in life despite facing many challenges and failures.

The chief minister of Sindh was the honorary guest of the ceremony.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2019