ISLAMABAD: A total 2,820 graduates were awarded degrees at the 18th convocation of Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) on Thursday. The ceremony of awarding degrees and medals was held at the convention center. As many as 43 graduates got gold medals, 8 silver medals, 8 bronze medals, while 1,785 postgraduate, 1,000 undergraduate and 35 PhD scholars were awarded degrees. Two students also got gold medals sponsored by Bank of Punjab while a student of Literacy Centre also got a gold medal. Federal Ministry for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmad was the chief guest. PMAS-AAUR Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Rai Niaz Ahmad, Pakistan Agricultural Research Center (PARC) Chairman Dr Yousaf Zafar, faculty members and graduates were also present on the occasion. Federal Minister Sheikh Aftab Ahmad said the adoption of modern agriculture accompanied by trained manpower would not only help improve living standards, but also produce quality commodities for the international market. He said there was a dire need to put in efforts in research related activities and it was highly encouraging to know that the university had been playing its due role in this respect. “We are living in the era of advance technologies where life has become sophisticated and survival of nations greatly depends upon education and learning only,” he said. He advised the students to take a lead in the practical endeavors with full zeal and confidence as the nation is anxiously waiting for the fruit of their hard work and dedication in the form of improved livelihood of fellow countrymen. While appreciating the efforts of the vice chancellor of PMAS-AAUR, he said that the university was engaged not only in conventional agriculture rather embarked upon highly sophisticated and advanced methods of 21st Century’s agriculture. “The efforts of the vice chancellor convinced me to have a sub-campus of the university at Attock. Today, a good number of students have been enrolled in this campus and it would be hopefully flourishing even bigger in the days to come,” he said. He lauded the idea of placing undergraduate degree programmes at sub-campuses while postgraduate studies at main campus that would not only help facilitate the better management of students, but also serve the students belonging to the underprivileged and marginalised segments of the society. “It is an effort for provision of higher education facility at the doorstep of the community at large in the entire Potohar region. I extend my full cooperation and support for implementation of these visionary ideas and initiatives,” he said. He also congratulated the parents on the success of their children. Earlier, in his welcome address, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Rai Niaz Ahmad congratulated the graduates for achieving degrees and said them that technological advancement and globalisation have led the mankind to complex living which adversely affected the docile cultural values. He advised that they must have to play a positive and constructive role for amicable resolution of food security, environmental degradation of agro-systems and worst of all extremism. He pointed out that in order to cater to the needs and broaden the scope of agriculture and allied disciplines academic programmes had been enhanced from 67 to 81 degree programmes at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. At present, he said the student strength has reached to 12,000 as compared with 6,000 in the year 2012-13 and the academic structure of the university had been strengthened through establishment of two new faculties including Faculty of Agriculture Engineering and Technology and Faculty of Social Sciences. He said three new institutes had also been established comprising Institute of Hydroponic Agriculture, Institute of Food and Nutritional Sciences and Institute of Geo Information and Earth Observation. He said that the discipline of criminology had been set up to provide the students with proper understanding of nature and causes of crime and its evasion. He said PMAS-AAUR was emphasising pragmatic research with advanced farming techniques and paying due attention to cope with food security issues, acute shortage of Energy and curb menace.