Students, manufacturers putting some teeth into dentistry

The first Asian Congress on Dental Education and Research took place at the Expo Centre in Karachi.

KARACHI: With over 150 stalls, 2,500 registered participants and three halls at the Expo Centre abuzz with activity, the first Asian Congress on Dental Education and Research is being referred to by many as a “great place to socialise while scoping new equipment and technology.”

The main hall was filled with stalls of mostly Pakistani or Pakistan-based multinationals, while lectures and debate sessions were organised in the adjacent hall. “Thirteen interactive sessions are being held during the three-day event. Six sessions include young consultants presenting their research papers along with 10 limited clinics,” explained one of the event’s organisers, Dr Wahab Qadri.

Dr Junaid Lakhani, incharge of the scientific committee responsible for the sessions, said the team had managed to get about 100 keynote speakers for the event. Prominent names include Dr Marwan Qasim who was flown in from Jordan, Dr Saqib Rashid, Dr Yawar Abedi, Dr Mehmood Haider and visiting from the United Kingdom is Dr Riaz Qureshi.

Attracting students

Colleges and universities had set up stalls in an attempt to attract potential medical students to their institutions. Sir Syed College of Medical Sciences for Girls is in its first term of offering a bachelor’s degree in dental surgery. Representing her programme and college, Faria Tofique said such conferences were a “great idea”. “Since we are a new batch, we still need to get some exposure and this conference has provided us the perfect opportunity to interact with other colleges and see what their curriculum is like and how they execute their syllabus,” she explained.

Students from the Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine were a little more creative. With a big sign reading “Bet on your Chick”, their stall was a magnet. Students bet on ‘Sheila, Munni or Basanti’ - names of the chicks - in a short race in a cardboard box. After enjoying the race, the crowd heard a short pitch by students Zarak Jarrar and Munazza Owais on how their institute “was not just about hard work but also some fun”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2011.