SWABI, May 31: NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has said the country needs highly skilled manpower and self- sufficiency in modern sciences and technology.

Speaking at the seventh convocation of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology in Topi, he said: “We should think that either we depend on what others may offer to us or develop our own indigenous technology, which suits the national requirements of Pakistan.

“Much is being done in our institutions, but our country needs solid, result-oriented, problem solving, basic and applied research, which should enable us to be self-sufficient in technology.”

The governor said: “The young engineers have to work with zeal. Future Pakistan will be what they make of this country. Let us not forget that reaching a point of prestige entails a high price and once one embarks on a voyage of the discovery of excellence, nothing should tempt you to lower your anchor as the quest for excellence is a continuous and never-ending process.”

He said that the institutions of higher learning were raised on the solid bedrock of the hard work of a committed and dedicated faculty who perspire to build a brighter future.

“I firmly believe that teaching faculty is the most significant indicator of the quality of any educational institution,” he said, adding that he knew that the GIK Institute was founded with a vision to impart high standard engineering and technical education and conducting research to widen the frontiers of knowledge in the field of engineering sciences and technology.

The governor said that Pakistan was a developing country, it could not wait for miracles to happen. “We need to tackle the problem of the poverty and under-development on war footing. For achieving this cherished objective, we need competent and motivated manpower able to accept the challenge and deliver the goods,” he said.

He told the graduating students that the practical life was different in many ways and it was not only full of challenges and opportunities but also competition. Changes, he said, were occurring at a staggering pace and only those who had the ability to keep up with it would survive.

About the institute he said that within a decade it gained well-deserved international recognition for the higher standard and its graduates were highly valued and preferred in the job market.

The governor conferred degrees on 148 graduates and 19 MS students.

The Ghulam Ishaq Khan gold medal for best academic performance among all the faculties was awarded to Jehanzeb Hameed Chaudhry and the Quaid-i-Azam gold medal for over all best performance and co-curricular activities among all the faculties was awarded to Mohammad Ali Khattak of the faculty of computer sciences.

The gold medals for best academic performance for master degree were awarded to Abdul Majid Awan (computer sciences), Sobia Baig and Asma Latif (electronic engineering), and for the BS degrees the gold medals were captured by Jehanzeb Hameed Chaudhry (faculty of computer sciences and engineering), Khurram Mahmood Zia (electronic engineering), Omer Ahmad Khan (engineering sciences), Sana Mahmood (mechanical engineering) and Syed Mohammad Saifur Rehman (metallurgy and materials engineering).

In his welcome address, Prof Mohammad Naseer Khan, rector of the GIK Institute, said that the institute was known by its quality and standard of its graduates.

DONATION:The People’s Republic of China donated five latest computer sets and printers to the institute.