PESHAWAR: In an effort to boost industry-academia linkages, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Peshawar.
A ceremony was held at the chamber’s house to sign the MoU.SCCI president Muhammad Ishaq and Director Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) UET Peshawar Dr Nasru Minallah signed on the MoU, said in a press release here on Friday.
Senior member of the SCCI Advisory Committee, Dr Khalid Khan, Manager University Industry Linkage, UET Peshawar Dr Tariq Khalil, Office Manager of the university Dr Jawad Ali Shah and others were present on the occasion.
Ishaq while terming the signing MoU with UET Peshawar as a milestone step toward strengthening industry-academia linkages said SCCI had started signing MoUs with public and private sector universities.
He elaborated that the MoU was aimed at equipping graduates and young students’ technical skills besides completion of their academic career.
The chamber’s president apprised the meeting that SCCI recently inked a Memorandum of Corporation (MoC) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (KP-TEVTA) under German Organisation - GIZ TEVTA Support Programme.
Under the GIZ TEVTA Support Programme, he said SCCI and KPTEVTA would jointly conduct capacity building and on job training sessions to bring improvement in youths/graduates skills and ensure their job placement in the various trades organisations and industries .
Talking about the SCCI 2.0 programme, Ishaq said that the chamber was going to launch this programme shortly, which was the first ever initiative, being taken by SCCI in Pakistan under which the chamber would be digitised.
The SCCI chief said there was a lack of entrepreneurship, saying that our youth were highly skillful and capable to excel in their fields.He, however, said there was a need to provide youth a proper platform to utilize their abilities efficiently and continue playing a role in the country’s economic prosperity and progress.
Commenting on the current state of Pakistan’s economy, Ishaq said the industries and businesses were facing severe crises owing to multiple reasons and inconsistent policies.The SCCI president said that currently industries were running with capacity of 10 to 20 per cent under the prevailing circumstances.
Ishaq remarked Immense natural and mineral reserves existed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He added the SCCI had initiated initiatives for promotion of the gemstone sector. The SCCI chief called for tapping natural reserves and resources in an efficient manner to bring economic stability and improvement.
Earlier, Director ORIC UET Peshawar Dr Nasru Minallah and Manager University Industry Linkage, UET Peshawar Dr Tariq Khalil briefed the chamber’s president regarding various projects that were initiated by their department.
