ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Rana Tanveer Hussain Wednesday said that government was committed to strengthen linkage between centers of S&T and production sector for economic development of the country.
He was addressing a one-day consultative workshop organized by Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST) in collaboration with the University of Manchester on "University- Industry Collaborative Interactions: Policy and Practical Implications for Pakistan".
Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Rana Tanveer Hussain was the chief guest.
The ceremony was attended by a number of dignitaries including heads of R&D organizations, Vice Chancellors, eminent scientists, representatives of private sector and industry, civil society and others.
Speaking on the occasion, Rana Tanveer Hussain said that one of key challenges in economic development of Pakistan was weak linkages between centers of science and technology and the production sector.
Government was well aware of this issue and was fully committed to bridge this gap and explore all potential areas that would harness economic development and prosperity for the future generation of the country, he said.
The Minister also appreciated the role of PCST in organizing this important workshop and providing a platform to the experts to share their knowledge in identifying key challenges and way forward for promoting an enabling environment for demand-oriented industrial-lead research culture in Pakistan.
Secretary Science and Technology, Fazal Abbass Maken emphasized upon the urgent need of University-Academia collaboration as this phenomena is very common in other countries whereas in Pakistan this was not happening.
He further said the universities were widely viewed by the world as an economic engine that could positively contribute to a country's growth in addition to its primary role as a center for knowledge.
He said Pakistan had many world class universities, producing high quality research but the challenge lies in how to transform this research into socio-economic well-being which can best be achieved by creating strong bonding between knowledge creator and knowledge consumers.
Chairman, PCST Prof. Dr. Anwarul Hassan Gilani, Dr. Khalil Malik University of Manchester UK and ED, HEC Dr. Arshad Ali also spoke on the occasion.
The objective of this workshop would provide basis to chalk out policy proposals and recommendations about different aspects of the issue dealing with weakness in academia-industrial linkages which would be presented to the Ministry of Science and Technology for consideration and implementation.
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