GRADUATES from the Fiji National University’s (FNU) College of Engineering, Science and Technology (CEST) were today urged to use education as a tool and change the world.
Speaking to about 248 graduating students, chief guest Irwin Alsop Pacific Ltd managing director
Warren Yee challenged them to use their newly attained qualification, skills and knowledge positively at the work place.
“The sea of knowledge knows no boundaries. This phrase reminds me that learning does not begin and end with a university education,” said Yee.
He urged graduates to be open to learning from their more experienced peers and at the same time share their knowledge with those that may be new to advancements.
“All of us here today are the swimmers in the sea of knowledge, on our own continuous journey of learning without boundaries, whether at home, work, school, whether we are graduating today or here to support the graduates, we should strive to learn something new every day,” he said.
Yee said tertiary education laid the foundation for individuals to become independent and critical thinkers.
“University life and study builds your strength as a person. Do not forget those who supported you financially and emotionally during this journey, your parents, your friends, your study group and your lecturers,” he said.
“It is important to remember that the certificates, diplomas and degrees you received today are paper qualifications, their real value relies in how you apply the training you received. To succeed in life, you also require personal value which if applied well will mold you into a responsible citizen.”
FNU Vice Chancellor Professor Nigel Healey said he was proud of the wide range of programs offered by College of Engineering Science and Technology as it provided employment to those working in different sectors including the land, air and sea.
“We train students to sail ships in various capabilities, service the vehicles that run on our roads, maintain our commercial aircraft, construct roads and buildings, as well as supporting a range of sectors from computing and pure sciences to food technology,” said VC Healey.
Professor Healey said as Fiji’s national university, it was mandated to offer study and training programmes that are targeted to meet the human resources needs of employers.
One of the main highlights of the CEST graduation was the graduation of students from the Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Honours) programme.
Two students Sitiveni Filipe Hicks and Taniela Lutumailagi were the pioneering students that graduated from this programme.
Two staff from the College of Engineering Science and Technology scooped the inaugural Vice Chancellor’s award for Research.
The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence was recently launched through the Pro Vice Chancellor’s Research office to promote the importance of research and recognize individual researchers whose research achieved considerable impact and recognition outside the University.
Dr Rajeev Bhat, won the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence, while Dr Patrick Mark Singh received the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence for ECR (Early Career Researcher).
Dr Patrick Mark Singh, an early career researcher who shared the same sentiments was recognized for achieving excellence in research as an Early Career Researcher with seven highly ranked journal papers; six best paper awards for conference papers and achieving a h-Index of 6. His contribution to knowledge is in the discipline of Mechanical Engineering. Dr Singh completed his PhD from Mokpo National University in South Korea earlier this year.
Tomorrow, students from the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (CMNHS) will graduate at the FMF National Gymnasium.
The event which will be divided in two sessions commences at 9am. The second session starts at 2pm.
