As many as 1,418 students received degrees in their relevant disciplines at the 21st convocation of NED University of Engineering and Technology, here at the varsity's main campus on Thursday.
Vice Chancellor of the University Engr Abul Kalam presided over the convocation due to absence of the Chancellor, the Governor Sindh, while Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh Minister for Finance, was the chief guest. 1,289 students were awarded Bachelor Degrees while M Engg/MCICT/MCIT degrees were awarded to 127 students. Dr Arjumend Masood, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Dr Sadia Muniza Faraz, Assistant Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering were awarded PhD degrees.
Addressing the ceremony, the chief guest congratulated the graduating students and asked them to work hard and prove the worth of their degrees in practical life. He quoted the saying of founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam in which he had said: "Pakistan is proud of its youth, particularly the students - the leaders of tomorrow".
He urged upon the students that "when you venture into your practical lives, keep the words of Quaid-e-Azam in your mind." In his address, the Vice Chancellor congratulated the students on successful completion of their studies. He also congratulated the two faculty members for earning doctorate degrees after successfully meeting all the formalities.
"The university has restricted its Doctorate programme to its faculty members only. This restriction was necessary in order to increase the number of PhD faculty, which had now risen to 93 from just 15 in 1997," he added. He said that total enrolment of the university, which was 3,014 in 1996-97 had increased to 8,443 in 2012-13. Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Sahibzada Farooq Ahmed Rafeeqi and other faculty members were also present on the occasion.