كيتب حفل ختريج الدفعة الرابعة - The Petroleum Institute

Your Excellency, Mr. Yousef Omeir BinYousef, Chairman of the Governing Boardof the Petroleum Institute, honored guests,faculty and staff of the Petroleum Institute,graduates and their families, good eveningand welcome to the 4th CommencementCeremony of the Petroleum Institute. It iswith great pleasure that I join you as wecelebrate the achievement of the graduatingclass of 2009. It is a privilege to be a partof an Institution that has charged itself witheducating the next generation of technologicalleaders in the oil/gas and the broaderenergy sector.Since our last commencement in January2009, the Petroleum Institute has continuedits progress towards its goals which have includedMinistry of Higher Education Instituteapproval in fall 2009 for a full five-yearaccreditation of all five Bachelor of Sciencein engineering programs, as well as initialaccreditation for its programs in Masterof Science and Master of Engineering. Additionally,the graduate program is makingsubstantial progress with more than 50sponsored research projects and nearly 100graduate students working toward theirgraduate degrees in less than two yearssince graduate studies began at PI. We areparticularly pleased to hear that in 2009 thefaculty of the Petroleum Institute publishedmore journal articles than the combinedcontribution of all other universities in theUnited Arab Emirates.In 2010 we look forward to ground-breaking of theStudent Center, Conference Center, the much awaitedPI Research Center (PIRC), and later, the constructionof new buildings for engineering programs.Recently we received the approval of the Board ofGovernors to launch the new Materials Science andEngineering program at the PI. We are also workingon other new degree programs at the PI, with theaim of serving the needs of our sponsors while establishingourselves as an internationally recognizedengineering school in fields of direct relevance to oiland gas and the broader energy sector.We welcome the upcoming research partnershipwith the University of Texas at Austin, as well aswith Rice University in Houston. We appreciate thesupport of ADCO and other contributors for this collaboration.The continued progress and success achieved by thePI is a reflection of the vision, devotion and contributionsof many. We thank the leadership of this countryfor the vision and support that created The PetroleumInstitute. We are grateful to H.E. PI Chairmanof the Board, Mr. Yousef Omeir Bin Yousef, for hiscontinued dedication and endless energy toward theInstitute, and we thank PI’s core sponsor, ADNOCand its operating group companies for their keeninterest in the Institute. We also thank our four internationalsponsoring companies namely BP, JUDCO,Shell and Total for their financial and in-kind supportof the Institute and recent contributions fromother companies, including ADOC, Borealis andGeneral Electric.We are very fortunate to be collaborating withworld-class partner institutions such as the ColoradoSchool of Mines, the University of Maryland,Linz and Leoben Universities and the University ofMinnesota. The students and faculty on both sidesare enjoying the educational and research benefits ofthese win-win collaborations and the useful contributionsto the sponsors research needs.Finally, today represents a celebration for the facultyand staff of the Institute for their earnest interest inand contributions toward developing our studentsand making a difference in their lives. The Institute’sachievements are indeed the results of the combinedefforts of each and every individual at PI.Now to the graduates. First, I congratulate you onyour achievements. You have worked hard, put ina great deal of energy, have experienced significantgrowth both personally and academically to havenow arrived at this juncture. We hope that you willremember the professors and all others who haveequipped you with the core knowledgeand skills for success in your professionalcareers.Second, we charge you to keep trust in Godand the spiritual values and commit to upholdthe highest standards of integrity andpersonal and professional code of conductand practice in every aspect of your lives.Third, graduates, today you enter the workforce in a country that is a role model forthe Muslim and non-Muslim world. Wecount on your efforts to serve as role models,contributing in whatever way you canto assist the PI in its mission to establishitself as a regionally and internationallyrecognized engineering university. In doingso, you may want to keep in mind aquotation by the Founder of the PI, H.H.Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, “Weneed to seek knowledge and science withhigh spirits and a strong desire to succeedin every field of work so that the UAE canaccomplish greater achievements duringthe 3rd millennium.”Fourth, graduates, I challenge you to makecontinuing education as part of your professionallife to keep abreast of the latestdevelopments in your field. We live in arapidly changing world driven by fastchangingtechnologies. As a graduate ofthe Petroleum Institute you are chargedto serve as a job creator and opportunitymaker for your sponsors, the UAE, and thegreater world around you.Fifth and last, but not least, please knowthat PI is your home, you are welcome tovisit us any time and call upon us if wecan be of assistance to you in any way possible.Once again, I thank all of you for your collectivesupport and contributions to thecontinued success of The Petroleum Institute.With hearty congratulations for our graduatesand their families, and with best wishesfor all,Michael Mohammad Ohadi, Ph.D.Provost & Acting PresidentThe Petroleum Institute, Abu DhabiDr. Michael M. OhadiProvost and Acting President, Professor of Mechanical Engineering