The 6th convocation of the School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering (SMME) of the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) was held on Thursday. Over 150 students were conferred degrees in various programmes. The graduating students belonged to different departments of SMME including Mechanical Engineering, Robotics & Intelligent Machine Engineering, Design & Manufacturing Engineering as well as Biomedical Sciences & Engineering. During the ceremony, the administration bestowed 11 students and three faculty members with awards and medals over excellence in their academic achievements. Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) President Ghazanfar Bilour was the chief guest at the ceremony. On the occasion, NUST Rector Lieutenant General (r) Naveed Zaman, NUST Pro-Rector Dr Asif Raza and SMME Principal Dr Abdul Ghafoor were present along with graduates, their guardians, faculty and officers of SMME. Addressing the audience, FPCCI President Ghazanfar Bilour highlighted the role of graduates in the enterprising landscape of emerging economies. Stressing the strong relationship between technological advancement and social prosperity, he urged the students to put their engineering knowledge to good use in pursuit of their goals. Earlier, in his opening remarks, Dr Abdul Ghafoor summarised the achievements of SMME since its inception in 2009. This was followed by the rector’s welcome address, in which he congratulated the graduating students and parents. He also gave the audience a detailed briefing about the latest developments at NUST, like the establishment of a National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and the Medical Devices Development Centre. The Presidents Gold Medal to best graduates in Master’s programmes were awarded to Muhammad Shehryar, Mansoor Ahmed Siddiqui, Amna Mahroo, Muhammad Kashan Siddiqui, Amna Malik, Zaid Tahir and Maham Haroon. In the Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering programme, Haris Shahzad was awarded the Presidents Gold Medal while Umar Farooq earned the Chancellors Silver Medal. Hamza Javed received the Rector’s Gold Medal for best project while certificates were given to Hamza Butt and Abdul Rahman on account of their projects. Azan Akhtar was declared best student in services to the community. Amongst faculty members, the best teacher, researcher and community service awards were bestowed upon Dr Muhammad Sajid, Dr Emaduddin and Naveed Hassan. Published in Daily Times, October 26th 2018.