Islamabad - The second brainstorming session, with a resolve to make Pakistan a science conscious country, was organised by the the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) at the HEC headquarters, Islamabad.
The major objective of these events is to encourage and motivate young scientists of the country to promote science and technology with the support of technocrats, industrialists, science lovers, intellectuals, government organisations, and the public at large.
The event was attended by all the stakeholders, including senior scientists, university professors, decision makers, heads of academic and scientific organisations and postgraduate students in various sciences.
The proceedings of the event started with an appealing sermon by Coordinator of the event Dr Hamid Saleem, who is a fellow of the academy.
He emphasised for and encouraged the participants for collaborative efforts by seniors (i.e., experienced scientists) and youngsters (i.e., young academia and postgraduate students) to promote science and technology in the country for benefit of the society.
He also recited a poem, of his own, to encourage the younger generation to work for the pursuit of science against all odds.  The President of Pakistan Academy of Sciences Dr Anwar Nasim shared the mission of the academy with the audience for the promotion of S&T in the country. Also, he read out a short story, written by him, with the audience aimed at encouraging the younger generation to shoulder the responsibilities in filed of science and technology for the benefit of the average persons in the society.               
Prof. Dr Javed Ashraf, Vice Chancellor, Quaid-i-Azam University, shared his life-long academic experiences in the US with the postgraduate students to motivate them for concerted efforts with optimism for professional excellence.  Prof. Dr Masoom Yasinzai, Rector, IIU, invited the attention of the seniors, in particular the university heads and the Chairperson of HEC, for containing a serious malpractice at some universities of assigning irrelevant supervisors for postgraduate students.
A former Chairman of Pakistan Science Foundation and Fellow of PAS, Dr. N.M. Butt, motivated the postgraduate students by sharing his exciting experiences of annual Lindau Noble Laureate Meetings in Germany.
Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairperson, Higher Education Commission, appreciated the PAS for taking the initiative for the promotion of S&T, welcomed the participants, and made an elaborate presentation about HEC’s efforts and contributions for the promotion of higher education and S&T in the country. The participating young faculty members and postgraduate students took great interest in the event by asking probing questions from Chairman HEC and other senior scientists.
The consultative event was attended by senior scientists of the country, including Prof. Dr M.D. Shami, Prof. Dr G.A. Miana, Prof. Dr Kauser A. Malik, and Prof. Dr Asghri Maqsood. The next consultative event in the series will be held on March 5, 2015 at the PAS headquarters in Islamabad. Two young scientists of Quaid-i-Azam University volunteered to act as chairman and vice chairman for the March event. It was resolved that all future monthly meetings will be coordinated by the young scientists.