KUALA LUMPUR: The 47th Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Convocation Session 2 is set to honour 328 graduates from various agricultural programmes at the Dewan Besar, Pusat Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah tomorrow.
UPM vice chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah said the batch was part of the overall 6,051 graduates from numerous disciplines who will obtain their degrees and diplomas during the varsity's convocation this year.
They include 520 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) recipients, 1,532 Bachelor (3,988) and Diploma (11) recipients in ceremonies that will be divided into six sessions between tomorrow and Nov 30.
He said UPM Chancellor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah will be presenting PhD, Masters, Bachelor and Diploma degrees to recipients at the ceremony.
During the ceremony, Sultan Sharafuddin will also confer the Honorary Doctor of Finance to Tan Sri Azman Hashim and Professor Emeritus to Datuk Dr Mad Nasir Shamsudin and Datuk Dr Abu Bakar Salleh as well as Professor Emeritus (Posthumous) to the late Datuk Dr Yaakob Che Man.
"In the previous session on Nov 4, 487 graduates marked the beginning of the 47th Convocation Ceremony at the UPM Bintulu Campus (UPMKB).
"The convocation ceremony will also witness the presence of three UPM pro-chancellors, Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj, Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Muhamad Zohadie Bardaie and Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Syed Jalaludin Syed Salim.
"Tengku Amir Shah will also award the Emeritus Professor to Datuk Dr Jalil Nordin, Dr Jinap Selamat and Dr Robiah Yunus in the third session on Nov 27," he said in a statement.
Additionally, Sultan Sharafuddin will present awards to University-Level Award winners such as the Chancellor's Gold Medal Prize to Sharifah Norziana Sayed Salleh from the Bachelor of Education (Guidance and Counselling) programme, Faculty of Educational Studies; Royal Scholarship Award (Bumiputera) to Nor Izwan Hakimi Nor Azmi, Bachelor of Biological Sciences with Honours, Faculty of Science.
"Other awards to be presented by Sultan Sharafuddin are the Royal Education Award for non-Bumiputera to Ong Jia Xin, who is receiving his Bachelor of Science in Cell and Molecular Biology with Honours from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science.
The Alumni Gold Medal will be given to Tan Pei Qin, who is receiving a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology with Honours, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science.
"Apart from that, The sultan of Selangor will present the Pak Rashid Foundation Gold Medal to Dr Aniisah Khoirunnisaa' Pg Kamaluddin of the Bachelor of Agricultural Science programme, Faculty of Agriculture; Putra Agribio Medal to Muhammad Maleq Isqandar Nor Jalal Bachelor of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering programme with Honours, Faculty of Engineering; and Razlan Putra Medal to Jonathan Nyepa Bachelor of Science (Human Resource Development) programme, Faculty of Educational Studies."
Also included are the Shell Tiram Wawasan Entrepreneurship Award to Hoh Jia Da, Bachelor of Software Engineering programme, Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology; and Tun Abdul Razak Award to Nur Fatihah Ahmad, Bachelor of Education Guidance and Counseling programme, Faculty of Education Studies.
Other awards are the Malaysian Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals Doctor of Philosophy Gold Medal to Dr Nur Syahirah Wahid (PhD in Applied Mathematics), Faculty of Science; Master's Gold Medal With Thesis to Islam Md Tariqul (Master of Tourism Science), School of Business and Economics; Doctor of Philosophy BasNet Gold Medal to Dr Latif Badar, (PhD Accounting), School of Business and Economics; and the Syed Kechik Award to Ahmad Safwan Hazim Aminudin, Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences Honors programme, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Newly-introduced university medals include the Farm Fresh Food Security Award to Ummu Qatrunnada Liyana Kamarudin, Bachelor of Agricultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture; Sultan Idris Shah Endowment Award to Syazwani Muhamed Zabidi, Bachelor of Business Administration, School of Business and Economics and Shell MyDinar Award Nur Aina to Amirah Azmi, Bachelor of Agriculture (Livestock Science), Faculty of Agriculture.
"The ceremony will also recognise national athletes such as Jonathan Nyepa, Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli, Eng May Xin Winnie, Muhammad Ameer Nasrun Zulkeffli, Muhammad Azwan Zuwairi Mat Zizi, and Karishma S. Loganathan, who will be graduating this year."
UPM has entrusted the responsibility of managing this year's convocation festival to student associations.
"This is aimed at providing students with valuable experience, self-discovery, leadership skills, and the opportunity to voice their opinions within their respective association bodies.
"Some of the programmes at this year's convocation are the sale of agricultural saplings and products such as durian, sun melon, MD2 pineapple, chilli, mini eggplant, and mushroom as well as livestock, and the Putra Agricultural Clinic."
There will also be the Gema Seni Dikir Barat, 14th Intercollege Nasyid Festival, Intercollege Choir competition, Green Drama Musical, e-Sport Challenge: Mobile Legend Bang Bang and the Convo Party Futsal Open Championship as well as UPM PESKON Paintball competition 2023 involving eight teams from neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Myanmar and Brunei.