PESHAWAR: As many as 36 projects of the University of Engineering and Technology’s Department of Mechanical Engineering were showcased during ‘Project Exhibition 2016’ on Wednesday in Peshawar. The exhibition was organised by the Department of Mechanical Engineering under the supervision of Dr Abdul Shakoor and Dr Alam Zaib Khan and with the support of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Company Limited (KPOGCL), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and UET Peshawar students. UET Peshawar Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Iftikhar Hussain was the chief guest on the occasion. Around 190 students belonging to different groups participated in the one-day event. The exhibition was aimed at providing a platform to the fresh graduates to present their mechanical projects. A panel of judges from UET’s Mechanical Engineering Department evaluated the projects based on their presentation and work efficiency. The top three projects from the total 36 were declared as the best projects while six special prizes were also given under different categories. Dr Abdul Shakoor told Daily Times that the Mechanical Engineering Department organised such exhibitions on annual basis. “Projects are assigned to students of the department during their studies. They work round the year on these projects before presenting the final product in the exhibition,” he explained. Dr Shakoor highlighted the importance of the annual exhibition, saying that it encouraged students to come up with unbelievable projects and research work. “Each year our exhibition is frequented by industrialists, recruitment agencies, sponsors, media and general public. The presence of people from so many important walks of life encouraged our students to go beyond the expectations as they see an opportunity of getting rewards in the end,” he added. He further said that the trend of projects over the past few years has been changing and the department was seeing extraordinary research projects off late. “The research element is very dominant in the projects our students come up with. The socioeconomic needs of our society are well addressed at the Mechanical Engineering Department,” Dr Abdul Shakoor opined. Problems faced by local industries are also addressed in such projects, Dr Shakoor asserted, adding that this year we worked with a local industry, Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO), and the Higher Education Commission (HEC). “A memorandum of understanding was offered to our department by the HEC today,” Dr Shakoor informed. First prize was won by the students who made project on Mechanical Characterisation of Fiberglass Reinforced Composite supervised by Dr Afzal Khan, second prize was awarded to project on Design and Fabrication of Gravity Water Pump also supervised by Dr Afzal Khan, while the third prize won by project on Mechanical Testing and Failure Analysis of Photovoltaic (PV) Modules supervised by Dr Rizwan Gul. Talking to media, Prof Dr Iftikhar Hussain said that such projects could help minimise the gap between the students and the industry, as a number of leading industrialists have also been invited to the exhibition. He also appreciated the efforts of Mechanical Engineering Department Chairman Prof Dr Naeem Khattak and other faculty members serving the guidance of the projects in the exhibition. The projects were special, as they have the research factor attached to them, Dr Iftikhar Hussain added. UET Peshawar Registrar, Dr Khizar Azam, faculty members and large number of students were present on the occasion. Dr Abdul Shakoor was awarded for supervising Best Research Project while the Best Presentation Award was given to project on Experimental Setup for Micro Turbo Starter of Mirage Fighter Jet Engine, supervised by Dr Alam Zeb Khan. Similarly, Best University – Industry Linkage Award was given to project on Bio Gas Generation and its parametric study, supervised by Dr Ashfaq Khan. The project supervised by Engr Naveed Ahmed on Refused Derived Fuel Pellets was declared as Best Green Project and project on Experimental Study of using Nano Refrigerants (Refrigerant with nano particles) in Vapour Compression System, supervised by Engr Zeeshan Zahir, was given best Poster Design Award.