Minister for expanding ties with Oxford University

Ahsan Iqbal urges universities to start entrepreneurship courses

ISLAMABAD:

Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal Monday emphasised the need to expand the partnership between Oxford University and Pakistan in the education sector to facilitate Pakistani students.

According to a statement, the minister met with a high-level delegation of Oxford University here in the federal capital. The delegation was comprised of Oxford University Lady Margaret Hall Principal Professor Stephen Blyth and former President & CEO of Harvard University’s Endowment Fund, Dr Nick Brown, Principal of Linacre College, Oxford, Richard Hunt, Professor Adeel Malik, and others.

Addressing the participants, the minister said that Oxford is one of the oldest Universities in the world and several officials holding key positions in the public sector of Pakistan have graduated from there.

“Pakistan has an enormous youth bulge and several initiatives have been taken particularly in the education sector by the government to facilitate them,” said the minister, while urging the delegation to further expand the cooperation with Pakistan so that more students could be benefited.

Identifying challenges facing the higher education sector, the minister said the country needs to exert efforts on improving the quality and relevance of higher education and research. “Research is very important and there is a need to focus on it while creating links between the Oxford University and Pakistan’s research centres.

During the meeting, the minister also highlighted the importance of the UK's prestigious Chevening scholarships and said their number must be increased to facilitate Pakistani students.

Speaking on the occasion, Professor Adil Malik said that Oxford Pakistan Programme (OPP) is 1 and a half years old and the idea is to pick underprivileged students and work out a collaboration between Oxford and Pakistan.

He said that it was the first time such a high-level delegation, with senior members of the University, visited Pakistan by partnering with other programs.

The OPP is the brainchild of Professor Adeel Malik of the University of Oxford, said the statement.

Professor Stephen Blyth, who is heading the delegation, assured the minister to extend scholarship programmes for Pakistani students in future.

Meanwhile, Ahsan Iqbal on Monday urged universities to introduce modern technology-based courses for students studying entrepreneurship to boost the country's high-value export.

While speaking at a two-day 19th International Conference on ‘Frontiers of Information Technology (FIT-2022), organised by COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), he highlighted the importance of Information Technology in today’s era, especially for the economical growth of Pakistan.

He said that the universities needed to take rapid action to start new courses in entrepreneurship and exports for students which would help to boost the economy of the country.

He also shared a seven-point framework for universities, academic excellence, research and innovation, social community service, technology enablement, corporate governance, industry-academia linkage, and quality of products.

Ambassador Dr Mohammed Nafees Zakaria speaking at the opening ceremony lauded the efforts of FIT organisers for providing an esteemed platform to researchers, scientists, and industry practitioners from across the world to present their cutting-edge research as well as sharing latest industry insights.

He said that efforts were being made by the commission to bring the dividends of technological advancements in the areas of education, health, and energy to a large cross-section of the populations.

COMSATS University Rector Dr Muhammad Tabassum Afzal, in his welcome address appreciated the support extended by the government in promoting research and development. He said that Pakistan was in a dearth of high-performance computing infrastructure and there was a need to realise the economic potential of Information Technology through better training and resource management.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2022.