Healthy practice: UET Peshawar, SDPI join hands for research

Partners say other universities should follow suit.

ISLAMABAD:

A Pakistani university and an Islamabad-based research institute joined hands on Monday to conduct a joint research on technology-related policymaking in the country.

The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Peshawar, at SDPI’s office in the federal capital, under which the two will collaborate on issues of policy governance, management and policy reforms in the energy sector. It states that they will also organise joint seminars, workshops and meetings and will undertake new research and publications.

SDPI Executive Director Dr Abid Suleri emphasised on the need to conduct research in order to support progress on development policies in Pakistan. “Credible research will strengthen the policymaking process in the country,” he said while adding that more higher education institutions should develop partnerships with research organisations.



According to the UET Peshawar Vice Chancellor (VC) Imtiaz Hussain Gilani, the role of universities has grown beyond academics alone and there is a need for academic input in the policymaking process. “The faculty of UET Peshawar is actively engaged not just in teaching, but in research and development activities as well,” he said.

The university is to be the fourth-most advanced in the world regarding research expertise in earthquake prediction, the VC claimed.

Representatives of both institutes said the partnership would help nourish a culture of healthy research in the country that would ultimately benefit government policies, especially in the energy sector.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2013.