Turkey's prestigious Marmara university on Wednesday conferred on Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani the honorary doctorate degree in Journalism. Marmara University's Rector Professor Dr Zafer Gul awarded the degree to Prime Minister Gilani, at a special investiture ceremony attended by academia, intelligentsia and the university students.
National anthems of the two countries were also played on the occasion. Gilani after receiving the degree termed it an honour for him and said he was delighted to be included in the list of luminaries who have been awarded honorary doctorates by this great institution. "My joy at receiving this honour has increased manifold since I came to know that this University is also the alma mater of my brother, Prime Minister Erdogan," he said. He said the institution is renowned for its legacy of producing students who have created a prominent niche for themselves in society.
The Prime Minister appreciated that the faculty of economic and administrative sciences is taught in four languages, which makes it the only "multi-lingual" university in Turkey.
Gilani said with an impressive number of 3000 distinguished faculty members and a student body reaching 60,000, Marmara graduates are setting new standards in important fields like social sciences, engineering, medicine and humanities, and are fully equipped to take on the changing dynamics of the modern world. The Prime Minister said Marmara University is unique in encouraging research and scholarship for its students and faculty alike. Besides imparting quality education, it has enabled an environment of understanding and co-operation between peoples and cultures, he added.
Gilani said knowledge and innovation are the basic tools for progress and development, adding, these tools are best acquired through education. He said, modern education is pivotal in propelling socio-economic development, adding, it is equally essential to promote enlightenment, tolerance and civic values for harmonious societies and communities. "Change is the only constant. Rapid change is transforming the world and our daily lives. We must not only adapt to change but also be its proponents", the Prime Minister remarked.