Dr. Zafar Ahmed receiving the best intern award from Dr. Robert Baker, Provost, AKU.

Congratulating the graduates and their parents, Ambassador Dehlavi said that the graduates' success was the result of their hard work and the selfless support, guidance and encouragement of their parents, taking them up the ladder of lifelong learning and devotion to humanity. Ambassador Dehlavi said the importance of postgraduate education was reflected in the expansion of speciality care areas at AKU, including, for the first time, Pulmonary Medicine and Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, which produced the first graduates this year. "As the University grows and expands its areas of research and service, the programmes of PGME will become more important not only for training physicians, but also for keeping them updated on new procedures," he added. He said that "the University's programmes were not designed to improve the health care systems of Karachi alone, but also of Pakistan, the region, and those of East Africa."

Dr. Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, President, AKU, felicitated the graduates for successfully completing their rigorous years at the University's PGME programme, and counselled them on the challenges that lie ahead. "As you enter the new millennium, you will come face-to-face with many challenges, one of which is keeping abreast of new and expanding knowledge in your field," Dr. Kassim-Lakha said.

"Become life-long learners and researchers. generating new knowledge and research is yet another challenge," he advised. Quoting from a speech of the University' Chancellor, His Highness the Aga Khan, Dr. Kassim-Lakha said AKU has become a genuine national institution engaged in problem-oriented research, and working with government on policy issues, and reaching out to become directly involved in upgrading the delivery of critical social services at the local and regional levels.  

He also mentioned the University's plans of starting the PGME programme in East Africa: "In keeping with its international mandate, AKU is working hard in partnership with Aga Khan Health Services in Kenya and Tanzania to institute PGME in East Africa from next year," he announced.

Dr. Robert Maudsley, Dean of AKU's Faculty of Health Sciences, said in his welcome address that this graduation signified an important step in the graduates' medical career, and in the continuation of their professional development, which should continue throughout their professional lives. 

Dr. Farhat Abbas, Associate Dean, PGME, said that it was a momentous day in the life of this University, as it celebrated the graduation of interns, residents and fellows, the young men and women who were the backbone of the healthcare delivery system and contributors to the educational mission of AKU. "The vision and mission of AKU, as guided by the Chancellor His Highness the Aga Khan, is to have excellence in education, research, and service to serve the needs of the society in Pakistan and Muslim Ummah. The goal of postgraduate education at AKU is to train not just competent, skilled physicians, but also generalists and specialists who are humane, empathic to the patients and are above all, ethical and moral in their conduct," he noted.

The programme also included valedictory speeches, and a certificate distribution ceremony. To date, AKU has graduated 875 young men and women from its internship, residency and fellowship programmes. Sixty-eight percent of these are working in Pakistan, and many are senior faculty members at the University.