11th convocation: 1,050 SZABIST students step into real world

Besides the degrees, a total 186 gold medals also awarded.

KARACHI: Dressed smartly in their blue graduation gowns, 1,050 young men and women were awarded degrees in business studies, media sciences and computer studies at the 11th convocation of the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (Szabist).

The event was held at Karachi Expo Centre on Saturday. The students received their degrees and awards from chancellor Dr Azra Fazal, acting president Shahnaz Wazir Ali, vice-president Nasreen Haque and former ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman, who was the chief guest at the ceremony. More than 3,500 people, including graduates, their parents, members of corporate delegations and faculty and staff members of Szabist, attended the event.

“We consistently try to revise the bar of our education quality,” said Ali, while congratulating the students. “National and international rankings are the result of our struggles. At Szabist, each and every student is important for us.”

Rehman, in her congratulatory remarks, said that she was there to celebrate their [students’] success.

Apart from the 1,050 degrees, a total of 186 gold medals, both merit-based and corporate, were also awarded to the high achievers.



Behroze Mirza with his 10 gold medals. PHOTO: AYSHA SALEEM

 

A student, Behroze Mirza, who graduated from the Karachi campus of Szabist in June, 2014, with a degree in computer sciences, was awarded 10 gold medals in various computer subjects. Mirza, who now works at State Life as information technology manager, is also serving Szabist as a visiting faculty member. “To achieve something, you have to lose a lot of things.”

According to him, education is the only way forward. “I am ready to help other students in their studies because education is the only way to move forward,” he told The Express Tribune. “I am now a master of my destiny.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2015.