Islamabad : Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal visited National University of Modern Languages (NUML) and laid the foundation stone of ‘Bayt-ul-Hikma’ (House of Knowledge).
NUML Rector Major General (r) Muhammad Jaffar, Director General NUML, pro-rectors, deans, directors, faculty members, and a large number of students attended the ceremony, said a press release issued here. Speaking on the occasion Federal Minister highlighted that the concept of Bayt-ul-Hikma is inspired by the 8th-century Abbasid era ‘Darul Hikma’. He said that it is a part of a larger plan to get world-class knowledge accessible to the people of Pakistan through translation and dissemination of eminent works produced in the world.
He said that our universities need to promote research and innovation to create a culture of the knowledge economy. Ahsan Iqbal said that being a leader in knowledge production is the only way forward. To this end, we need peace, stability, and continuation of policies.
He said that universities must create an eco-system whereby the knowledge-building and thinking abilities in students can be enhanced and it can be achieved by strengthening the institution of libraries and laboratories. It is worth to be mentioned that this project is worth of Rs485.498 million and the Minister announced Rs500 million to create an endowment fund also. Earlier, NUML Rector Major General (r) Muhammad Jaffar in his address said that concept of Bayt-ul-Hikma was conceived by Honourable Minister Ahsan Iqbal and NUML will make all-out efforts to bring it to reality. He thanked the minister and presented him with a NUML memento.