SWABI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan said on Tuesday that the secret of success in the highly competitive 21st century lied in acquiring, accumulating, sharing and implementing contemporary knowle dge.

He was speaking at the 19th convocation of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology here. He conferred degrees on 335 BS and 29 MS graduates and two PhD scholars.

Mahtab Khan said implementation of the WTO regime posed great challenges to developing countries like Pakistan.

`If we wish to remain in the mainstream, we must increase our capacity to diversify our industrial products, improve their quality and keep the cost at internationally competitive level,` he stressed.

`We need to develop indigenous technologies to cope with our typical problems and requirements of the industry.

In this scenario the role of engineers becomes critical,` he said.

Pakistan now needs a new breed of engineers who have the will and the capacity to accept the emerging challenges, the dedication to pursue higher goals while having professional competence and capability to be trouble shooters and problem solvers, Mr Mahtab maintained.The governor said that the educational institutions especially the centres of higher learning would require extra efforts in inculcating in the students the habit of critical thinking and moral attitude to put the larger good of the nation above their personal, private advancements.

Sardar Mahtab said that the age-old ideas of money and commodity economy had been superseded by concepts of knowledge economy and human resource development. `These developments require a change in our thinking, our attitudes towards issues and problems, and our methods of work,` he added.

The governor said that if Pakistan was to survive as an honourable member of the world community, it would have to keep pace with the rapidly advancing world. `We will have to keep our knowledge continuously updated.

Mahtab Khan paid homage to late Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the former president of Pakistan and founder of GIK Institute. `He (Ghulam Ishaq Khan) was true visionary who conceived the idea of this (GIKI) centre of excellence, he added.

The governor announced Rs2 million for horticulture department of the institute. On the occasion, Engineer Shamsul Mulk,presidentofSocietyforPromotion ofEngineeringSciencesandTechnology in Pakistan (SOPREST), said that 21st century was century of innovation.

Jehangir Bashar, Rector of GIKInstitute, said they strived to produce graduates who could make substantial contributions to society. `We encourage students to think and discover innovative solutions to the complex problems of both the workplace and outside,` he added. Professor Dr Javed A Chattha, Pro-Rector (Academic), said the Institute had undertaken and completed research projects in various fields of engineering and sciences.

Those who received PhD degree were Rahim Khan and Raheel Quraishi.

Quaid-i-Azam Medal was awarded to Iqra Ali and Ghulam Ishaq Khan Medal to Waleed Ahmed. Those who got the faculty-based gold medals were Ali Yousuf, Ch Rehan Ikram, Mohammad Hissan Babar, Hasan Riaz, Waleed Ahmed and Ahmad Raza.