Abu Dhabi: More than 600 students graduated from the American University of Sharjah (AUS) in a ceremony held at the university’s commencement hall on Saturday.
Congratulating graduates on their academic excellence, Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, said: “We emphasise our commitment again and our keen interest in developing this university to maintain its high academic level among the world’s top universities.”
“This commitment has been fruitful, as late last year AUS was ranked among the world’s top 500 universities,” he added.
Dr Shaikh Sultan also attributed this achievement to the hard work of all members of faculty and students who had been involved at the university.
Dr Shaikh Sultan also highlighted a milestone in the number of degrees conferred at AUS saying: “Upon your graduation, this university will have awarded more than 8,000 students with degrees and these graduates are the university’s ambassadors to the world.”
Families and parents also attended the ceremony to celebrate their children’s achievements and urge them to continue on their paths.
Dr Peter Heath, AUS chancellor, also applauded the graduates. “I congratulate all of you for accomplishing the goal you set yourself all those years ago. When you arrived at AUS, you made a commitment to yourself, to your parents and to your university to follow our demanding programme of study.”
Luis Garcia, a former AUS student council president and the student speaker at the ceremony, said: “The best part about studying at a university like AUS is that we all took away something more significant than just specific information about fields and disciplines.
“Our interaction with classmates, friends and professors from over 80 nationalities enabled us to open our minds to different perspectives and beliefs and exposed us to very different ways of interpreting life,” he added.
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The breakdown of the AUS graduates:
Total number of graduating students: 642
Total number of UAE nationals: 127
