Hats off: LUMS graduates advised to be ‘lifelong learners’

900 degrees awarded at 28th convocation of the university

LAHORE: As many as 900 graduates of various degree programmes were awarded degrees at the 28th convocation of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) on Monday.

The ceremony started with an academic procession of the graduating batch and faculty from all four LUMS schools – Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB), Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences (MGSHSS), Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering (SBASSE) and Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law (SAHSOL).

Economist and diplomat Dr Shamshad Akhtar was the keynote speaker. Akhtar has been recognised among the top ten professional women of Asia by The Wall Street Journal Asia and is currently an under secretary general at the United Nations and the executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. She has also served as governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and as vice president for the Middle East and North Africa region at the World Bank. Addressing the graduates, she said, “Graduation is a milestone in the lives of all students. It marks your transition from the academia to the professional world that is full of opportunities and temptations. The professional world is also a lot more competitive and demanding.”



She said success in the professional world depended on one’s choices, conduct and the ability to harness one’s skills and abilities to deal with challenges and cope with risks. She said education does not end with transition into the professional life because knowledge is not static but continues to evolve. She advised graduates to heed the saying that ‘a lifelong learner is a lifelong winner’.

In his welcome address, Vice Chancellor Sohail Naqvi congratulated the graduating batch.He said the degrees awarded to the graduates certified them as captains of their own unique ships. “Where you decide to head from now onwards is your choice. It will be your prerogative to decide later to build your ship anew. We can vouch today that you have the skills and confidence to do that,” he said.

Naqvi briefed the audience on the latest developments at the university including the establishment of the Asifa-Irfan Moot Court Room at the Law School; launch of the Saida Waheed Gender Initiative; academic collaborations with University of Cambridge and University of Michigan; setting up of the Water Informatics and Technology Centre and the Biomechanics Laboratory; the Business School’s accreditation with a global organisation of educational institutes: the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB); and the placements of university graduates at various institutes and organisations.



On Sunday, the university had hosted a graduate night dinner in honour of high achievers in the graduating batch. The National Management Foundation (NMF) medals, corporate medals, and deans’ honour list plaques were distributed among graduates in recognition of their achievements at the university.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2016.