HYDERABAD: Sindh Minister for Mines and Mineral Development Mir Shabbir Ali Bijarani has called for cutting-edge research to face natural catastrophes following climate change in the country and to find a solution to these problems.

He said this while speaking to students at a graduation ceremony of US-Pakistan Centre for Advan­ced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W) in Mehran University of Engin­eering and Technology Jamshoro (MUET) held on Tuesday.

“The water centre of Mehran University has [won] laurels at both national and international levels because the entire team of the varsity is well qualified,” he said and lauded services of the centre to achieve the target of clean water mentioned in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

USAID mission director for Pakistan Julie Koenen said Pakis­tan was undergoing economic and social challenges like other countries in the world while there was a major problem of pure drinking water in the country.

She asked faculty members of the varsity and students to coordinate with the US top educational institutions to resolve these burning issues.

She said the US and Pakistani citizens retained good relations with each other.

She hoped that those teachers and students of the centre who came back from the US would impart high-tech knowledge and research that would definitely benefit all countrymen in future.

“If water crisis is resolved, it will safeguard hundreds of thousands of lives. Teachers and students of the centre need more work on potable water, sewage, environment and other water-related matters,” she said.

She said that although USAID provided a budget to the centre for five years and that phase was completed successfully, as per the accord, the US would continue joint educational activities and research with the centre and other universities.

“The centre is now being recognised internationally while both teachers and students ought to knuckle down joint efforts and researches,” USPCAS-W director Dr Steve Burian said.

He stressed that students must create better atmosphere for their aspiring colleagues.

He said that it was not a relationship of only five years with teachers and students of the centre, but it would last for life because the centre was like a family. He congratulated all students for earning degrees and their parents.

MUET Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Aslam Uqaili said that more than 300 students secured masters degrees in water and environment from the centre during the span of five years while nine PhD degrees were awarded.

He said that over 150 students made full use of an exchange programme and studied at the University of Utah (US) for six months while 15 Pakistan scholars were doing PhD from that university and other US institutions.

Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) Islamabad executive director Dr Fateh Mohammad Marri, MUET pro-vice chancellor Dr Tauha Hussain Ali, registrar Dr Abdul Waheed Umrani and MUET USPCAS-W project director Dr Bakhshal Lashari also spoke.

Degrees awarded

Hamza, Falak Naz and Moham­mad Shoaib were declared the best graduates in environmental engineering, water resources man­age­ment and integration and water resources management, respectively, and awarded appreciation certificates while seven PhD and 69 masters degrees were conferred on successful students.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2020