PESHAWAR, Dec 30: Pakistan needs to locally develop necessary technology to exploit the country's vast natural resources such as gold and copper mines, which will also solve its energy and economic crisis, said renowned scientist Dr Samar Mubarakmand while speaking at the convocation of University of Engineering and Technology (UET) here on Thursday.

Dr. Mubarakmand, who is also member of the Planning Commission of Pakistan, conferred degrees, awards and medals on the successful and outstanding graduates, says a press release.He said that Pakistan had rich reserves of natural resources and minerals such as charcoal reserves, gold and copper mines in Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), which, if exploited indigenously, could change the economic landscape of this country.

He highlighted the important role that seats of higher learning such as the UET Peshawar had to play in the economic emancipation of this country. He also stressed the need to work on alternative energy sources such as wind, nuclear and solar energy to reduce reliance on fossil fuel sources. He congratulated the graduates on their successful completion of studies.

About 887 UET Peshawar graduates (sessions 2008-09 and 2009-10) were awarded PhD, MSc, and BSc (honors) degrees. The degrees were given in the field of agriculture, chemical, civil, computer systems, electrical, electronics, industrial, mechanical, mining, telecommunication, and software engineering as well as in computer science, information technology and architecture.

UET Vice Chancellor Imtiaz Hussain Gilani presented the university crest to Dr Mubarakmand, who was the chief guest on the occasion. At the convocation, 27 graduates from various disciplines were awarded gold medals and six students coveted presidential award for achieving distinctive positions in their respective disciplines. Also, five candidates were awarded PhD degrees in engineering.

Earlier, in his welcome address Mr Gilani congratulated the graduating students and their parents and said that UET Peshawar was the premier engineering institution in the province which was offering quality education along with modern engineering consultancy services to both public and private sectors.

In this regard, he mentioned the recently-conducted live tests by the university's Earthquake Engineering Center on two bridges linking Ring Road to Jamrud Road using eccentric mass vibrator, for Peshawar Development Authority. The EEC is among the world's top 10 such centres, he said.

The VC stressed the need for having young entrepreneurs to realise the dream of a knowledge-based economy. He mentioned the Technology Incubation Center established in the UET, which is helping engineering graduates launch their own startups.

He also mentioned the UET's initiative of establishing a Continuing Engineering Education Center (CEEC), which is offering education and training programmes not just to its own faculty, but also to engineers and scientists at large to update them on latest developments in their fields.

Mr Gilani also counted the university's academic linkage programmes with prestigious universities around the world. He said that the UET had been working in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, UK, on alternative energy sources and nanotechnology.

He said that the UET's research scholars were carrying out their PhD research at partner universities in Europe and North America. The strength of PhDs currently serving in UET Peshawar is 60 and this number would grow as more and more scholars would return.

He specifically mentioned the multibillion Jalozai Campus Project which would feature around 200 PhD qualified faculty and around 3,500 students in a sprawling new campus currently under construction. He said that the Jalozai Campus would offer engineering degrees in new disciplines such as petroleum engineering.