KARACHI, Dec 16: As many as 722 graduates in Bachelor and Master programmes of the 1996-97 session were conferred degrees at the 11th convocation of the NED University of Engineering and Technology on Monday.

Sindh Governor Mohammedmian Soomro presided over the programme, while former chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Dr Ishfaq Ahmed, who is also the special adviser to the Prime Minister, was the chief guest and delivered the convocation address.

In all, seven graduates, including two girls, in the BE programme were awarded gold medals for securing first position in their examinations. Mushtaque Abban of the civil engineering department got an additional gold medal instituted in memory of Dr A.T. Khan, a former vice-chancellor of the university.

The convocation was attended by a good number of graduates, their parents, city dignitaries and educationists. About 325 students received degrees in person.

Those who received gold medals and merit certificates are: Mushtaque Abban (Civil), Mohammad Rizwan Mansha (Mechanical), Adeel Razi (Electrical), Mahmood Ismail Tily and Mohammad Umar Farooq (Computer Systems), Shenela Naqvi (Textile) and Asma Zaidi (Architecture).

Those who received merit certificates only are: Civil - Sara Ghadimi Khasraghy and Zeeshan Masood; Mechanical - Rizwan Hussain and Mohammad Usman Khan; Electrical - Uzma Afsheen and Mohammad Faraz Siddiqui (not present).

Computer Systems - Shiraz Ali and Arsalan Ahmed; Textile Engineering - Erum Shafiq and Hina Mubarak; Architecture - Qasim Raza Zaidi and Yasmeen Gul.

Dr Ishfaq said that convocations are indeed the most joyful moments in the lives of graduates while the future stretched ahead for them, full of promises. “If you continue applying yourself, as you did at the university, your future, no doubt, will be rewarding,” he pointed out to the graduates.

Referring to the pace of changes taking place in the world and the increase in human knowledge, he mentioned that technology was now science-driven and scientific knowledge has been doubling after every ten years. “Knowledge explosion is giving birth to newer and newer technologies, resulting in modern industries with an increasingly high rate of diffusion. Lifestyles are changing and everywhere there is also a problem of obsolescence,” he added.

He observed that though there had been improvements in various sectors since Pakistan came into being, the pressure of population growth, urbanization, environmental degradation and many other factors have been a drag which kept the country in a state of under-development.

He urged the engineers-of-tomorrow to prepare themselves to use the latest knowledge, skills and practices as the gap between the poor and the rich countries could only be bridged through application of the most modern technologies.

In his report, vice-chancellor Abul Kalam said that every degree awarded by the university presented international recognition. He said the NED was the first and the only teaching university in the country to obtain the ISO certification.

Referring to the model university ordinance, he expressed the apprehension that amendments, as proposed for the public sector universities, if implemented, could cause problems for the NED university as well.

“If the ordinance, which prescribes an entirely different set-up, is enforced here, not only could the university lose its ISO-9000 certification but also it will now take at least five years to overhaul all the existing systems and procedures to conform to the ordinance and then seek another ISO-9000 certification,” he added.

The breakdown of graduates conferred with degrees is as follows:

Bachelor of Engineering - Civil-158 (86 in absentia), Mechanical - 200 (95 in absentia), Electrical - 155 (74 in absentia), Computer systems - 69 (36 in absentia), Textile - 32 (11 in absentia) and B. Architecture - 19 (5 in absentia).

M.Eng or MSc: Civil-11 (5), Mechanical - 21 (20), Electrical -22 (15), Computer systems - 6 (3), Industrial and Manufacturing by Research - 1, Environmental - 8 (4) and Computer Science - 20 (8).