HYDERABAD - The Executive Director Higher Education Commission Prof Dr Arshad Ali said that academia in Pakistan has to work for knowledge transfer as to benefit the community.
This he said while visiting U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W) at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology Jamshoro on Monday.
He said that the community is supposed to be the ultimate beneficiary of research carried out by the academia in Pakistan. The days were gone when the research work was compiled and decorated for the bookshelf of libraries but now the modern Information Communication Technologies have paved the way for various vistas and new corridors of research especially the applied research, he said.
He said the sustainable solutions to the problems faced by the communities in Pakistan could be sought through the applied research. The successful achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals depends on the industry-academia and government linkages, he added.
While interacting with USPCAS-W students, he inquired about their research work, implementation, and the target beneficiaries. He emphasized on the research students to initiate the entrepreneur activities based on their respective research and also to build strong and effective linkages with industries and communities. Dr. Ali visited all the sections, laboratories and libraries of the center.
The Director Career Counseling and Placement Dr. Kamran Ansari briefed HEC Executive Director about the targets, facilities and research projects of the center while touring the center’s building.
Dr Ansari said that the center is educating next generation of scientists, engineers, and policymakers through innovative academic programs on the water to focus on applied research and solve the country contemporary water problems.
The HEC Executive Director appreciated the Center’s efforts for undertaking various applied research projects and also thanked US Agency for International Development (USAID) Pakistan for the generous support in establishing this water research center at Mehran University.
He also met with faculty of the center and representatives from the University of Utah, USA, which the partner university provides technical support to USPCAS-W MUET for advancing its development and growth.
Among others, Dean Faculty of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering Mehran University Prof Dr Bhawani Shankar Chowdhry, Dean Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering Prof Dr Khan Muhammad Brohi, and Regional Director HEC Karachi Engr Javed Ali Memon, accompanied with HEC Executive Director during his visit to the Water Center.