The future lab starts here!

As a teacher and researcher in Pakistan's public sector, I stand at a crucial intersection where science, policy and sustainable enterprise converge. In lecture halls and research labs across the country, a pressing question arises: how do we prepare the next generation of physicists and engineers not just to understand the world, but to transform it?

The global shift toward intelligent automation and energy transition has redefined the future of enterprise. For Pakistan, this transformation is not just technological, but a developmental imperative. With rising energy challenges, economic constraints and a growing youth population, we must realign our education and research systems to foster scalable, data-driven and socially responsive innovation.

In my work supervising research in renewable energy and energy economics, I see immense potential in integrating agentic artificial intelligence — AI systems capable of autonomous decision-making — into our energy landscape. These tools can forecast demand, optimise grids, anticipate failures and minimise transmission losses. A mere 10 per cent boost in efficiency could bring significant national gains.

Yet, many of our universities lag behind. Curricula remain dominated by rote theory, with little space for simulation, modeling, or AI-assisted problem-solving. If we truly aim to leap into the next phase of energy enterprise, we must overhaul how we train our scientists and engineers. Computational thinking, data literacy and predictive modeling must become central to physical sciences education.

This is not a plea for importing costly technologies. Open-source tools, cloud platforms and accessible machine learning frameworks have already lowered the bar for entry. What we now need is institutional will and curricular flexibility. Our universities must shift from passive consumers of innovation to active laboratories of transformation.

The challenge, however, is not only technological, it is human. As faculty, we must mentor students not only in skills but also in ethical reasoning, collaborative thinking and entrepreneurial vision.

We also need to break research silos. Faculty often work in isolation, funding is limited, and academia-industry linkages are weak. A sustainable transformation demands interdisciplinary collaboration — physicists, data scientists, economists, urban planners and policy experts working together to tackle shared challenges.

Policy integration is equally vital. AI models trained on local data — weather, consumption trends, grid behaviour — can shape better subsidies, smarter energy interventions and adaptive planning. But for that, university research must be seen as a tool for national policy, not just academic output.

Above all, we must invest in our students intellectually. Equip them to model energy flows, build forecasting tools, simulate dispatch systems, and analyse energy poverty using AI. Encourage them to ask difficult, essential questions: Who gains from energy transitions? What solutions fit Pakistan's context? How can science empower the underserved?

Pakistan's energy future won't be built by hardware alone. It will be built by minds that think critically, act ethically, and lead with vision. In this light, our classrooms, labs and mentoring spaces are not merely academic, they are where tomorrow's transformation begins.

If we wish to lead the next wave of enterprise change, we must first reimagine how we teach, research and apply science. This path won't be easy, but it is within reach.

Let's not wait for ideal conditions — progress is rarely born of perfection, but of purpose-driven action in imperfect circumstances. The future lab doesn't reside in distant innovation hubs or billion-dollar facilities, it begins wherever a student is encouraged to ask bold questions, a teacher chooses to mentor with vision, and a research idea takes root despite limited means. It begins in our universities, our classrooms our laboratories. It begins when we act — with clarity, urgency and resolve. It starts here.