The Hamdard University (HU) awarded degrees and certificates to 1,718 students and scholars at its 27th Convocation that was held at its main Madinat al-Hikmah campus here. Of the over 1,700 awardees, seven scholars were given PhDs and 130 MS, ME, and MPhil degrees. The ceremony was presided over by HU’s Chancellor Madam Sadia Rashid and former Federal minister and senator Javed Jabbar was the chief guest. In recognition of their excellent performance in various courses of studies, gold medals were conferred on about 40 students. The best teacher award was conferred on Prof Dr Syed Mohammad Mubin and that of best researcher on Hafiz Imran Nawaz. In his welcome address, Vice Chancellor Syed Shabib-ul-Hasan pointed out that during this convocation more graduates are being awarded degrees than ever before. The reason obviously lies in the growth in number of students who are being admitted to HU each year. In 2024 alone, the university admitted over 3,200 students, which shows the university’s growing popularity among students as well as their parents. The student population has now risen to 10,000. Prof Dr Shabib-ul-Hasan said his university is offering more than 100 programmes that are being run by seven faculties as per the guidelines provided by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and other professional and regulatory bodies. He said that in 2024 the faculty members of the university produced 294 research papers that were published in peer-reviewed journals recognised by the HEC. In the last five years the total number of such papers has topped 1,000. The Faculty of Engineering, Sciences and Technology has set up a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Laboratory which is equipped with the latest technology, he said. In the last financial year, the university provided concessions/scholarships worth Rs159 million among hundreds of meritorious students. The 1,700 students that are passing out now will join the 36,000 alumni of the university, who are already working in various capacities both nationally and internationally. Chancellor Sadia Rashid said that after graduating from the university the new alumni would not just face challenges but opportunities as well. “Please keep in mind that you should never fail to grasp the opportunities and at the same time meet the challenges with confidence,” she remarked. She urged the graduating students to renew their commitment towards serving the nation as per the vision of Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said, the founder of HU. Former federal minister, Javed Jabbar recalled with fondness his association with Hakim Said. He said on various occasions the founder chancellor of HU visited parts of interior Sindh on his invitation. Praising the performance of HU in the field of research, the retired senator said that unlike most universities that retreat into their shells, Hamdard’s research projects have a lot of relevance for the wider world. He was of the opinion that HU’s graduates and alumni should count themselves as extremely fortunate because they have received higher education, that too at an institution like Hamdard. “Just imagine how lucky you are; you have received higher education in a country in which dozens of millions of children never go to school,” he said. He urged the graduates to forge ahead in life with confidence. The proceedings were conducted by Registrar Kaleem A. Ghias. Advocate Anwar Ahmed presented the vote of thanks.