Ceremony and walk mark World Quantum Day

PESHAWAR: A grand ceremony and subsequent awareness walk were arranged on Wednesday to mark the ‘World Quantum Day’.A number of male and female students and faculty members of the University of Swat, the University of Malakand and various colleges attended the ceremony.

The activities were arranged at the University of Malakand. Vice-chancellor of the university, Dr Rashid Ahmad was the chief guest.The man behind the entire activity was the former vice-chancellor of several universities and chairman Department of Physics and Director Center for Computational Materials Science Prof Dr Iftikhar Ahmad.

World Quantum Day is observed across the globe on April 14. But owing to Eid holidays, the day was marked in the University of Malakand on April 17 to ensure maximum participation of students and other stakeholders, said Dr Iftikhar.

Dr Rashid Ahmad said in order to compete on the global stage, there was a greater need to invest more and more in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and educate the students about STEM subjects at the early stage of their educational career.

He lauded the efforts of Dr Iftikhar Ahmad and faculty members from the Department of Physics for organizing the event.Dr Rasheed urged the students to know more and more about quantum physics, quantum sciences. The government was urged through a resolution at the seminar to make Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education compulsory at the intermediate level. The resolution read that the commemoration of Quantum Day at provincial and national levels should be made obligatory to raise awareness among the masses about quantum and STEM education.

Dr Iftikhar Ahmad spoke about the importance of quantum science and STEM education in Pakistan. He emphasized that all the stakeholders need to take quantum science and STEM education seriously as it ensures the success of the nation. The academician highlighted the significance of quantum physics and quantum computers that have truly revolutionized every aspect of human life from financial services and transportation to medicine and recreation.

He stated that there was a need to popularize science so that common people know more and more about science subjects and students get attracted to STEM disciplines.

Professor Dr Jamil Ahmad, Dean and Chairman Department of Computer Science and Information Technology talked about the importance and applications of Quantum Computing in various fields.