ICCI, SZABIST ink accord to promote academia-industry linkages

Islamabad: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SZABIST University, Islamabad Campus to promote academia-industry linkages and to find out research-based solutions of various problems of local industry. Sheikh Amir Waheed, President ICCI and Khusro Pervaiz Khan, head of SZABIST, Islamabad Campus signed the MoU in a ceremony held at Chamber House.

By signing MoU, both sides agreed to work together for creating closer relationship between university and the local industry for the benefit of students and industrial sector. They would strive for finding out research-based solutions of various problems and challenges being faced by the local industry and coordinate meetings of SZABIST students with industrial units. ICCI would invite SZABIST students to its Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre in order to foster entrepreneurship in the youngsters. ICCI would also facilitate the visit of SZABIST students to various local business firms so that they could get firsthand knowledge of modern business processes. The students would be provided internships in industrial units to enable them to get opportunities of practical application of theoretical knowledge.

Speaking at the occasion, Sheikh Amir Waheed, president, ICCI said that strong linkage and close working relationships between industry and academia was the most important tool to tackle the key economic challenges of the country. He said that the emerging challenges of a global economy and the underlying opportunities for local industry warranted the need to establish a meaningful link between academia and industry and hoped that this MoU would help in realising these goals.

Khusro Pervaiz Khan said that universities could not operate as isolated islands of knowledge as knowledge had no value unless it was shared and focused on current industrial needs. Therefore, there was a great need to connect universities to the clusters of industries for making rapid progress towards a knowledge-based economy.

He was optimistic that the MoU between ICCI and SZABIST would make academia and local industry strong partners in efforts aimed at strengthening industrial sector and accelerating the pace of economic growth. It would also help invent new business models that were rapidly gaining the grounds all over the world.