LAHORE - The 20th convocation of University of Engineering and Technology (UET) was held Monday. Punjab Governor/Chancellor Makhdum Syed Ahmed Mehmud was the chief guest on the occasion. He conferred degrees upon the graduates and postgraduates (MSc, MPhil and PhD) of various disciplines.
A total 37 PhDs, 269 MSc/MPhil and 1,826 bachelor students were awarded degrees at the event.
The governor congratulated the graduates particularly the award winners on their brilliant performance. “This is indeed a memorable occasion for them, for their parents and for their teachers. It is a significant moment for the nation as well because another batch of professionally qualified people has been added to the National Talent Pool,” he said.
“Unfortunately, priority has not been given to education in Pakistan. Education, particularly in Science and Technology, is the need of the hour. Today global wealth is concentrated less and less in factories, land and machinery, rather human capital is concentrated more important”, he said.
The governor said the developed nations were continuously enhancing their capabilities through education and research. Technology was a direct product of the academic and research endeavours carried out at the institutions of higher learning in the developed world, he said.
The governor said in the US more than 75 per cent of the registered patents have their origin in the universities. The University-Industry linkages and Industry-Academia collaboration and partnership have increased the possibilities ever than before to convert the knowledge and innovative ideas into commercial undertaking.
Universities in Pakistan, particularly the engineering universities must modify up-date and over-haul their traditional systems and curricula while following the international best practices and helping Pakistan develop and prosper.
He appreciated that the UET had shown remarkable progress and expansion by establishing its campuses at new location like Kala Shah Kaku, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Norowal, which was certainly a valuable and meaningful addition to the engineering and technological educational facilities in the country.
The establishment of Energy Development and Research Centre at Kala Shah Kaku Campus was expected to play role in resolving the energy crisis.