Call to produce skilled manpower in space sciences

FAISALABAD: It is need of the hour to produce skilled manpower in space sciences to benefit the mankind and to compete with the rest of the world.

It was said by University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice-Chancellor Dr Zafar Iqbal Randhawa while chairing the Space Week celebrations having theme ‘exploring new worlds in space’ here on Monday. The event was arranged by the UAF in collaboration with the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).

It featured the different programmes, including water rocket competition, an awareness walk, and a central function at the Iqbal Auditorium, in which children from 20 schools across the district participated. The UN-declared World Space Week 2018 was themed at ‘Space Unites the World’.

The UAF VC said that the country dependence on space applications and information was boosting up to catch the speed of the technology and science advancement. The satellites were being used to identifying and forecasting the natural disaster, he added.

He said that due to satellites, now we could identify rainfall, its impact on human as well as on agriculture besides taking precautionary measures. He said that the nations had proved their mettle on economic and defense grounds due the technological and scientific advancement. He said that the Muslim world was lagging behind in the modern technological uplift. Now, he continued, we had to put special measurers for the promotion of scientific knowledge. He urged the participants to get the knowledge of space in order to explore the universe. On December 6, 1999, the United Nations General Assembly declared the World Space Week as an annual event from October 4 to 10, he informed. The dates based on recognition of two important events in space history: the launch of the first human-made earth satellite on October 4, 1957; and the signing of the Outer Space Treaty on October 10, 1967, he maintained. The World Space Week was an international celebration of science and technology and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition. SUPARCO Agri Information Director Dr Ijaz Ahmad Bhutta said that in fact no other technology and scientific breakthrough more benefit to everyday lives than the space technology. He said that entire communication of the world was depended on the satellite system and we were now able to watch TV, internet etc. He said that technology brings lot of benefit to our modern world. Since the era of space age, he added, the space technology had brought more benefits to the mankind than any technological advancement in the world. He said that the activities like Space Week were providing a platform to the students to give voice to their innovative ideas and to refurbish their God-given qualities. He said that the SUPARCO was taking all possible steps to explore the universe and get the benefits from it for the humanity. He said that they were running many researches relating to space. He said that World Space Week would provide unique leverage in space outreach and education. It would encourage greater use of space for sustainable economic development, he added. ORIC Director Dr Zahir Ahmad Zahir said that the country needs to prepare skilled manpower in the space sciences to meet modern world. The world had become the global village because of technological advancement, he continued. Laboratory School System Principal Officer Dr Haq Nawaz Bhatti said that the celebrations would encourage the students about science, technology and engineering and to foster cooperation in space sciences.