Vice Chancellor announces upcoming 1,000-seat auditorium and state-of-the-art incubation centre at the closing ceremony
MARDAN
The second edition of the National Festival of Ideas, Art and Innovation — AGORA 2026 — concluded on a high note at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM), drawing more than 600 participants from 73 universities across all four provinces of Pakistan over three days of spirited competition.
Organised by the university’s Provost’s Office in collaboration with the Directorate of Youth Affairs, Peshawar, the festival featured 18 distinct competitions spanning the arts, ideas, and innovation — underscoring its standing as one of the most comprehensive student showcases in the country.
The closing ceremony was presided over by Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Jamil Ahmad, who distributed prizes among the winning students and addressed the gathering. He was joined by Provost Abdus Samad Khan, Deputy Provost Syed Kazim Ali Shah, Deputy Director Zubair Khattak, Additional Director QEC Abrar Hussain Omarzai, Director Sports Dr. Farooq Hussain, and Principal of Pakhtunkhwa College of Arts Prof. Fazal Sattar Durrani, along with other senior officials of the university.
Addressing the audience, Prof. Dr. Ahmad expressed his delight at the cross-provincial participation, calling it a testament to the event’s growing national stature. He also highlighted AWKUM’s academic standing, noting that the university ranks among the top ten out of 276 higher education institutions in Pakistan — a reflection, he said, of its commitment to both research excellence and student development.
In a significant announcement, the Vice Chancellor revealed that a modern technology incubation centre and a new auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,000 would soon be inaugurated at the university — developments he described as major milestones in AWKUM’s broader vision for academic and co-curricular growth.
