islamabad - Quaid-i-Azam University Alumni Association has been urged to play role for bringing the country’s top university out of financial constraints.
The call was made at a reception organised by the association in the honour of an alumnus Ashraf Mahmood Wathra, who is currently heading the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Wathra holds masters degree in business administration from Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU).
Addressing the reception, Wathra pledged support for Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) to meet its financial needs. He shared his memories and paid tribute to the alma mater, the role it had played in his career and personal development. He urged the alumni to come forward and support the university.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Vice-Chancellor QAU Dr Javed Ashraf said the university has consistently been ranked the top university in the country by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). “In addition, according to the US News and World Report, QAU is the only academic institution in Pakistan among the top 500 universities in the world. However the financial constraint is the main hurdle for QAU towards achieving its desired goals of providing best physical infrastructure and academic standards to its students,” he added.
Dr Shahid Hameed, Director Office of Research Innovation and Commercialisation (ORIC), QAU, gave a detailed presentation to the governor on the research projects of commercial importance including plasma-assisted sterilisation, functional energy materials for super capacitors, fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries applications, indigenously produced enzymes for poultry use, making of environmentally friendly leather, use of microbial lipases in detergents and production of biodiesel from non-edible plants.
He said that a number of linkages had also been established with different industries. “We are also in a close liaison with chambers of commerce of different cities to understand the need of industry,” said the director ORIC.