740 UMT students awarded degrees

Governor Khosa was scheduled to preside but was unable to attend convocation.

LAHORE:

The 7th convocation of the University of Management and Technology (UMT) was held on Saturday at the UMT campus in which 740 graduates were awarded degrees in various disciplines.

Governor Latif Khosa was scheduled to preside over the convocation but was unable to attend.

Senator Prof Khurshid Ahmad was the chief guest at the ceremony which was also attended by former Punjab University Vice Chancellor Dr Rafique Ahmad and Animal Sciences University Vice Chancellor Dr Manzoor Ahmad.

As many as 31 students were awarded medals for outstanding academic performance.

Kiran Shabbir, who graduated with a master’s in media and communication, was awarded the Dr Muhammad Ahmed Gold Medal along with a cash prize of Rs50,000. The Sardar Muhammad Ghalib Gold Medal was awarded to Aisha Aziz, an electrical engineering graduate.  Arslan Javaid, an MBA-P graduate received the Ahmed Dawood Gold Medal along with a cash prize of Rs100,000.

Speaking on the occasion, UMT Rector Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad, congratulated the graduating students. He said that he was absolutely confident that they had the potential to become catalysts for change in the world.

Outlining  development plans for the future, he said that globally connected smart class rooms were envisaged to enable UMT faculty to teach and co-opt faculty from anywhere in the world. “This would lead to the creation of a global educational network,” he said.

Dr Murad said that special programmes will be organised across major cities in Pakistan, the Gulf and Europe to honour ILM andUMT alumni.

He hoped that this would help UMT graduates access opportunities in the international job market.

Murad further said that new hostels would be constructed to accommodate the increasing number of students. The number now stands at 1200 male and 800 female students.

Prof Ahmed said that UMT was not just an academic institution, it also represented a vision. “UMT does not just churn out batches of graduates with homogenous market-driven skills but produces confident, self aware individuals who are mindful of their own identify,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2011.