LAHORE: The 9th convocation of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore was held here on Wednesday.
Livestock and Dairy Development Pro-Chancellor/Punjab Minister, Asif Saeed Manais presided over the convocation in which 1,256 graduates were conferred upon degrees and 67 position-holders were awarded medals. The graduates who were conferred degrees included 252 DVMs, 282BS (Hons), 83 pharm-D, 50 doctors of nutrition and dietetics (DND), 40 MBAs, 20 MBF, 36 BBA (Hons), 157 MSc, 311 MPhil and 25 PhDs.
Addressing the convocation, the pro-chancellor congratulated the graduating students on getting degrees and medals and urged them to play their due role in nation building. He lauded the progress achieved by the UVAS referring to its position among the top 25 universities of Asia, the seven best universities of Pakistan in sports and the top 10 universities in the country.
He listed the various initiatives in livestock and education sectors for development, including Rs 2 billion initiative for poverty alleviation and the Dairy Development Programme under the “Kissan Package” of Rs 10 billion that will provide heifers, sheep and goats to poor women.
Presenting the welcome address, Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha spoke about the academics, research, development, extension programmes and community services of the university. He said that with a history of 135 years of excellence, the UVAS had now positioned itself among top 2.5 per cent Asian universities as per World Universities Rankings 2018.
“As per Higher Education Commission (HEC) Sports Ranking 2017, UVAS got the 4th position among public sector universities and the 7th position among all public and private universities of the country”, the vice chancellor observed, adding that UVAS is also among the top 10 universities of Pakistan according to HEC’s overall ranking of Pakistani higher education institutions for last two years.
Professor Pasha said that UVAS was swiftly achieving milestones of need-based multi-level education and establishing itself as a talent development institution by using its knowledge, resources and skills for the growth of human resources. He stated that this year UVAS also secured an affiliation with the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC).
The vice chancellor informed the audience that UVAS scientists are executing 91 research projects worth of Rs 1,051 million, all won by the faculty members from national and international funding agencies. He further informed the students that the university was executing 10 development projects worth Rs 4.5 billion which was being funded by the Punjab government. Seven of them are ongoing and three new ones were approved during the current financial year.
The vice-chancellor also said that UVAS was uniquely structured to provide wide-ranging services to the community including farmers, public and private stakeholders and others. These noteworthy services are diagnostics facilities, vaccine production, 24/7 clinical and extension services, consultancy and advisory services, and policy framework.
The university’s outdoor facilities and teaching clinics handled over 20,000 cases during the year. He stated that the centre for applied policy research in livestock is generating innovative ideas from the laboratory and classroom into the public policy arena; encouraging economic growth, creating jobs, spurring investment, and increasing exports – delivering benefits for farmers and agricultural businesses across Pakistan.
Given these facts, UVAS is assuming a new role as an effective think tank, the VC concluded.
