KARACHI: Over 1,500 students were awarded degrees at the 9th convocation of Dadabhoy Institute of Higher Education (DIHE) held on Friday.

The graduating students were enrolled on the DIHE campuses located in North Nazimabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulshan-i-Hadeed, Gulshan-i-Jamal, PECHS Society and Sukkur.

They received their master’s and bachelor’s degrees in the disciplines of management, business administration, media and social sciences, engineering, computer science, education and commerce.

Congratulating the students and their parents, chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah hoped that the education received at the institute would help the students in exploring their potential in the future.

“Be aware of your new responsibilities as you enter practical life. You have taken a key step towards your future and it’s now up to you to build it with utmost dedication and commitment,” he said.

While motivating students to never give up hope in the face of challenges, he said that life was a series of highs and lows and the way these situations were handled by a person defined his or her true success.

“Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure,” he said while quoting the famous novelist Paulo Coelho.

DIHE vice chancellor Prof Shahana Urooj Kazmi briefed the audience about the various programmes the institute offered and its progress since 2003 when it received the charter as a degree awarding institute from the government and recognised by the Higher Education Commission.

“Our programmes empower individuals to challenge conventional thinking in pursuit of original ideas and enhance their learning capacity. We aim to transform scholars into leaders,” she said.

The institute, she said, had signed memorandums of understanding with international universities to enhance research initiatives and strengthen new academic programmes.

Over the last 14 years, the DIHE had witnessed a significant growth in almost all areas of academics, research, sports as well as infrastructural development.

The institute which took off with one campus and a few degree programmes now had over 5,000 students, a highly qualified faculty of 150 teachers and six campuses with state of the art infrastructure, she said.

In his speech, DIHE board of governors chairman Abdullah Dadabhoy appreciated the support extended by the government and senior educationists to improve academic standards at the institution.

On future plans, he said a university would be established in the Hawkesbay area.

“The project area lies within the jurisdiction of the new city proposed in Hawkesbay and we look forward to government support in providing basic facilities in this area,” he said, adding that the university’s master plan had been prepared.

Published in Dawn December 10th, 2016