Mayor of Jeddah Saleh Al-Turki attended the graduation party for 467 undergraduate and postgraduate students at Dar Al-Hekma University. The students who graduated in the academic year 2018-2019 represented the 17th batch of the School of Design and Architecture, the School of Business and Law and the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education.. The ceremony held on Thursday was attended by mothers of the students. In her welcome speech, Dr. Suhair Al-Qurashi, president of Dar Al-Hekma, congratulated the students and their parents for their outstanding achievements and wished them best of luck and success. She urged students to apply the knowledge they acquired at the university in their life to serve their religion and country. "Today we celebrate the graduation of a new batch who will join the labor market. I am quite confident that our students will be valuable to the labor market and society and contribute to economic development because they have been well prepared by the highly-qualified faculty members who enjoy global experience," she said. "Certainly, this is one of the most beautiful moments in your life. Today you are reaping the benefits of the years you have spent studying at the university. Your efforts have paid off. You are about to start a new phase of your career and I am confident you will be successful. Keep up the persevering and fruitful efforts to reach the top," she told the graduates. Mayor Al-Turki, who is honorary president of the university, said he was happy to attend the graduation party. He hoped that the new batch of graduates would follow in the footsteps of their predecessors and contribute to the development of the country and society and play a national role as citizens. He congratulated the students and the parents on this outstanding achievement, which reflected the high standard of Dar Al-Hekma. Dr. Al-Qurashi thanked the sponsors and founders of Dar Al-Hekma University who have dedicated their time and efforts to the university. Speeches were also delivered by representatives of the board of directors, parents and the graduates. A documentary highlighting the development and achievements of the university was shown to the audience. The recognition of outstanding students, donors and sponsors followed. — SG