21st Century Mathematics: opening ceremony of fifth World Conference held at GCU

Mathematicians from all over the world have gathered at Government College University for fertilisation of new ideas through sharing of knowledge and interaction. European Mathematical Society President Professor Dr Marta Sanz-Solé was the chief guest at opening ceremony of the 5th World Conference on 21st Century Mathematics 2011. Above 200 research papers are scheduled to be presented at the five-day conference spread over 22 scientific sessions besides meetings and talks.
Delegates from 40 countries including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, England, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Norway, Nepal, China, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Turkey, USA and Vietnam also attended the opening of the biggest ever international conference in Pakistan.
Addressing the conference, European Mathematical Society President Professor Dr Marta Sanz-Solé congratulated the GCU Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences on organising the fifth edition of a series of successful congresses, the World Conference on 21st Century Mathematics, under the auspices of the National Centre for Mathematics, the Higher Education Commission Pakistan, the European Mathematical Society, the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Italy, the International Mathematical Union and UNESCO. She said that the Mission of such conference is to provide the Nation of Pakistan with the scientific base, innovation and workforce it needs to compete with the world in 21st century for a prosperous future.
Professor Marta said that Mathematics is the language of all natural sciences. Historically, she said, mathematics has played, and continues to play, a crucial role in the scientific, technological and cultural development of humanity. Mathematical theories underpin many of the most brilliant discoveries in physics, chemistry, life sciences, economics, etc. Mathematics is one of the fundamental sciences, which drives most of the advances in applied science and in technology. It is also a crucial ingredient in industrial innovation. In these ways, mathematics brings economic wealth and development to society.
Professor Marta said that GCU ASSMS and some other top-class research centers outside Europe have been declared the Emerging Regional Centres of Excellence by EMS. She that the EMS strongly believes that the expertise and extensive connections of the large and diverse network it is representing, can be successfully used to reinforce these Emerging Regional Centres of Excellence in countries outside Europe. The idea is for the EMS to select, endorse and help a number of such centers to offer training to MSc level to students in their region. Subsequently, the EMS would provide help to those who might wish to and who are capable of continuing their studies, either in their countries of origin or (partially or totally) in European research institutions. The EMS can also facilitate and collaborate in the organisation of lectures and courses at the Emerging Centres of Excellence, given by leading researchers, and provide grants for members of the centres to attend conferences abroad. We see several advantages of this project, among others.
Addressing the conference, GCU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Aftab said that the conference would provide a platform to the mathematicians from all over the world to exchange ideas about mathematics, education and research and such an interaction can lead to fruitful long term collaborations, which would be beneficial for the development of mathematics in Pakistan. He also termed the conference an opportunity for young Pakistani scholars to interact with well-known mathematicians from abroad and learn from their knowledge and experiences.
Professor Aftab laid a stress on promoting research culture in the country's universities, saying that it makes teaching learning more effective. "It contributes in developing the culture of reading and writing, publication, paper presentation, using libraries and participating in workshops, conferences and seminars," he added.
Addressing the ceremony, GCU Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS) Director General Dr A. D. Raza Chaudhry credited the success of holding such huge gathering to the scientific committee of the conference chaired by Professor Gert-Martin Greuel, the Director of the world-famous German Mathematics Research Centre, Oberwolfach. He told the conference that in years 2009-2010, the GCU ASSMS students and faculties published more than 270 research papers in core areas of mathematics in good international journals and out of these 148 papers are also published by the PhD students. "The activities at ASSMS have provided a direct or indirect upward push for a large number of Pakistani mathematics institutions. This push resulted in a remarkable increase of graduate students in Pakistan as well as significant enhancement in the quality of research.