Islamabad:Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Monday asked universities to start modern technology based courses for the students in entrepreneurship to boost the country’s high value export.
He was speaking at a two-day 19th International Conference on ‘Frontiers of Information Technology’ (FIT-2022), organised by Comsats University, Islamabad (CUI) here. Highlighting the importance of Information technology in today’s era specially for the economical growth of Pakistan, he shared that universities needed to take rapid action to start new courses in entrepreneurship and exports for students which would help to boost economy of the country.
He also shared the seven-point framework for universities, academic excellence, research and innovation, social community service, technology enablement, corporate governance, industry academia linkage and quality of products. Speakers from France, Netherlands, China, Ireland, Portugal, UK, USA and Pakistan are participating in the two-day conference organised by Comsats University, Islamabad in COMSTECH Secretariat, Islamabad.
Ambassador Dr. Mohammed Nafees Zakaria speaking at the opening ceremony lauded the efforts of FIT organizers for providing an esteemed platform to researchers, scientists, and industry practitioners from across the world to present their cutting-edge research as well as sharing latest industry insights. He mentioned that the Comsats lays its emphasis on building indigenous capacity and competence in the emerging sciences and technologies.
Moreover, efforts are being made by the Commission to bring the dividends of technological advancements in the areas of education, health, and energy to a large cross-section of the populations, particularly of the Member States. Co-Founder and CEO KnowlEDGE Streams (Private) Ltd., Dr. S. Sohail H. Naqvi, delivered a keynote address to the participating technical experts, students and dignitaries.
In his address titled ‘Bridging the Academia – Industry Divide’, Dr. Naqvi highlighted the importance of Bridging the Academia – Industry Divide and presented several initiatives which have led to novel solutions in present day Pakistan. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tabassum Afzal, Rector, Comsats University Islamabad, in his welcome address appreciated the support extended by the government in promoting the research and development. He said that Pakistan was in a dearth of high-performance computing infrastructure and there was a need to realise the economic potential of Information Technology through better training and resource management.
