Rector UMT Delivers Welcome Address at 12th UMT Convocation
Saturday, April 16 2016
Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad, welcomed the distinguished guests, graduates and their parents to the 12th UMT Convocation held this evening. He said that convocation is a cherished occasion; in fact the noblest of all activities is to convey knowledge to others and celebrating a convocation in fact symbolizes the rise of a new generation, the development of a mindset and the transition of young people confined to their educational institutions to the practical world.
Giving an overview of the progress of UMT over the past year, Dr Hasan informed everyone that we now have 10,000 students, 453 full time faculty members including 125 PhDs and a wide range of programs ranging from the social sciences to business education, engineering, health sciences, textiles and much more. He added that the UMT student body truly represents Pakistan as we have students coming from Interior Sind and Punjab, KPK Turbat, Balochistan, and other remote areas. UMT also has a large number of expatriate students from the Gulf region as well.
Dr Hasan added that UMT is now focusing transformational learning and the academic structure is now aligned to it. The best infrastructure is being provided to achieve these ends. New building of the School of Textile and Design will be completed soon while the Dr Hasan Murad School of Management, School of Social Sciences and Humanities and School of Health Sciences will get new buildings as well.
Elaborating the importance given to promotion of research at UMT, Dr hasan said that last year, 70 articles by UMT faculty members were published in HEC recognized journals and 41 of these had impact factor. Dr Hasan added that internationalization is also a major focus of UMT. At present, 20 faculty members are en-route to George Mason University, USA for faculty training and development. Prof Bob Wheeler from USA would soon be taking over as Dean HSM and this will present a great opportunity to our students and faculty members.
Concluding his address, Dr Hasan advised the graduates to set goals for themselves in the coming years. Achieving these goals, he said, would determine the future of the country.