4th Graduation Ceremony of USPCAS-W, and the 4th session of the 24th annual Convocation of Mehran University, Jamshoro

Mr. David Young, Deputy Missions Director USAID, Islamabad, was the Chief Guest on occasion. Dr. Muhammad Aslam Chaudhry, Chief of Party HESSA project at University of Utah, USA, and Mr. Andrew Rebold, Director USAID Office of Sindh & Balochistan, were the guests of honor in the graduation ceremony.

While addressing the ceremony, Dr. Uquaili welcomed all the guests and thanked USAID and the University of UTAH for their continuous technical support, guidance and mentoring helped the Center today as one of the leading Water research Center in Pakistan. This water Center is an outcome of the generous financial support of USAID. Dr. Uqaili said this Water Centre provides analytical and research support and contributes to Government agencies, public and private organizations, and communities. He said that academic and research programs at USPCAS-W were well aligned with the market needs, and the MS and Ph.D. scholars were properly guided, adequately trained, and mentored to meet the needs of the water sector in the country. Three batches consisting of 150 students have already graduated with MS and Ph.D. degrees from this Centre. The majority of graduates, about 80%, have joined their jobs and 40 students are pursuing PhD degrees in and outside Pakistan, including the USA. Today 4th and 5th batch of students consisting of 48 students are graduating, said Dr Uqaili. He told the Centre plays a significant focus on applied research within the well-conceived water-related theme framework. These themes carry in build guide on Water SDGs, particularly SDG6. The Centre has completed more than 100 research projects and consultancies funded by different national and international organizations. We have compiled these data in the form of a report, research paper, and policy paper, said Dr. Uqaili.

Further, he added to his speech that this Centre offers seven-degree programs, three Ph.D. and four MS. The Centre is providing reliable data through the research to resolve the problems. Dr. Uqaili thanked USAID, the University of Utah, for providing technical support to the Center, Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan, the Government of Sindh, and other organizations for their generous support.

In addition to the speakers, the Chief Guest of the Ceremony, Mr David Young, congratulated the graduates of USPCAS-W who have completed rigorous academic programs and are now equipped with advanced research skills needed to lead and serve the Pakistan Water Sector. USPCAS-W programs are well on the path to materialize Pakistan state of the art and modern applied research centre a reality said, Mr David. Since its inception, this Centre has focused on sustainability and jeopardy of this Centre beyond USAID support; I am proud and excited to see the steps this Centre has taken to embrace the private sector and other donors to embrace the sustainability of the work through Mehran UET.

And through this partnership with both the govt and the University, this is now a Water Hub of water expertise. The Centre achievements are testimony to the successful partnership and collaboration. In the end, Mr David thanked the MUET administration, federal and provincial governments, the University of Utah, HEC Pakistan for supporting this Center.

In the graduation ceremony of the Center, the degrees were conferred on over 48 Scholars. Dr Uqaili and Dr Mahar presented the traditional gifts and the shields to the honorable guests. MUET Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr Tahua Hussain Ali, Deans of different faculties, include Prof. Dr Khan Muhammad Brohi, MUET, Registrar Mr Lachman Das, Controller of Examinations Mr Kahlid Channa, senior faculty members, and distinguished guests from the public and private sector participated in the 4th session of 24th convocation of the University.