The Directorate of Science and Technology, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in collaboration with the Institute of Integrative Biosciences (IIB), CECOS University organised a one day "Biotech Young Leaders Conference" at a local hotel in Peshawar.
The conference was the first of its kind in the science sector. It brought together the student community of life-sciences under one-roof to discuss the future of biotechnology in the country.
Faisal F Khan, the Director of the Institute of Integrative Biosciences said, "It is vital for us to organize these events for young students to excite them with ideas, enhance their energy levels and divert their minds from pessimism towards optimism. We believe that the future is biotechnology and the future is now'.
The event was also attended by the Director of Science and Technology, Zahoor-ul-Haq, he said, "We may be lacking behind when it comes to information technology, but we are not going to stay behind in emerging technologies such as synthetic biology. The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is working on a science policy to promote science and technology in the province', he added.
A team of young biotechnologists from Pakistan who represented the country at the international iGEM competition in Boston and bagged a gold medal was also funded by the Directorate of Science & Technology under the same project. A three year extension of the iGEM fellowship was also announced at the end of the conference which was highly appreciated by the participants.
Students can apply for the fellowship on the SynBioKP website. Participants of the conference were also awarded with participation certificates & prizes. During his closing remarks, Dr Shafeeq-ur-Rehman, CEO of Rehman Medical Institute said that research in the biotechnology field is necessary to solve some of our biggest challenges in the medical field.
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