President prods students to grasp opportunities flowing out from modern knowledge

Islamabad : President Dr Arif Alvi Saturday said that the doors of modern knowledge were kept ajar with vast opportunities peeping out, giving ample encouragement for the know-how experts to embark upon a new journey of progress and prosperity.

Addressing the 18th convocation of Riphah International University here at Jinnah Convention Center, the president urged the students to utilize all the modern resources to seek knowledge and serve the country.

He said today’s world was guided by the latest revolution through artificial intelligence and other related innovations that were contributing to human intellectual enhancement and human resource development. Sharing his anguish over the 28 million out-of-school children in the country, he stressed that online and virtual modes of education should be promoted.

Referring to the prevailing scenario across the globe and particularly in Gaza, he regretted that vested interests were dominating the world.

The world was crying for the equal distribution of wealth, an end to the exploitation of the poor, and widespread destruction, he added. The president regretted that in the older world, the incidents of cruelty and carnage were known to the rest of humanity after a lapse of months, but in this modern era, the imagery from Gaza was being reported instantly, but the hearts of human beings had been hardened.

He urged the students to equip themselves with the modern mode, leading to a bright future for the country, and expressed confidence that if the modern means of education were promptly utilized, Pakistan would be able to lead the world in a decade.

The president also underscored the significance of research in various fields of life and cited the achievements of smaller countries like Estonia and the Netherlands in agriculture. "Netherlands is 19 percent smaller than Pakistan in size, but it is the second largest exporter of food in the world owing to development in the agri-sector," he added.

"These smaller countries have bigger footprints in the world," he said, adding that research and better decision-making were critical for the attainment of progress.

The president recalled that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan was declared the 5th most efficient country in the world to handle the deadly disease, and that was possible due to joint cooperation and unity among the entire nation. Lauding the sacrifices of the parents, he opined that they were taking pains to educate their children and urged the students to repay them after completing their education.

The family structure system in Pakistan, molded by compassion and forgiveness, had roots in the religion and culture, he added. The president also felicitated the functioning of the university and its contribution in the field of modern education.

In his welcome remarks, Vice Chancellor (VC) Dr Anis Ahmed said that one of the students of the university, Dr Namra Khan, was given an award by Howard University, US, in the field of research on cancer. Besides, its nine scientists were among the top others included in the global list.

He said that Riphah was ranked at 196 in the recent Asia universities ranking, adding that the Quality Enhancement Cell of the university got the first position in the private sector ''W'' category of universities in the country, according to the scorecard formulated by the HEC. The VC said Riphah was the first university in the country that had been certified under standards and announced by the UK-based Lloyd’s Register. On this occasion, the president also gave away degrees to PhD students.