‘Links between academia, industries broken in Pakistan’

Pakistan Science Foundation Chairman Dr Muhammad Ashraf has said the linkage between the academia and industries was vital for educational and economic uplift but, regretfully, Pakistan is lagging behind in ensuring that all-important connection among these sectors.

“This linkage ensures industrial growth and technological advancement,” he said while addressing the concluding session of ‘2nd Invention to Innovation Summit Sindh 2017’, organised by the Office of Research Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC), University of Karachi. The summit was organised in collaboration with the Pakistan Science Foundation and Institute of Research Promotion (IRP) and held at the varsity’s arts auditorium.

While briefing about research projects, he Dr Ashraf said two of their products were registered with the KPK government. “Turkey is supporting 35 percent basic research and 65 percent for applied research.”

KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan said the developed nations had experienced tremendous economic growth due to giving priority to innovative research, knowledge-based economy, and sound linkages between the academia and the industry.

“Industries in Pakistan must come forward and collaborate with the academia in order to meet the contemporary challenges of the professional world,” he said.

“The Higher Education Commission established ORICs in varsities to ensure the linkage between the academia and the industry and to ensure innovative research that would help in economic and technological advancement. Education is useless if it doesn’t tend to resolve the societal problems. Varsities also have a pivotal responsibility to give professional hands-on experience to their graduates as industries do not accept varsity graduates having no professional experience,” he added.

“The universities must have a curriculum meeting all the contemporary industry requirements as the faculty members of the varsity are deprived of the basic know-how of the latest industrial needs and trends.