Dr AQ Khan urges students to learn operating lab tools with perfection

“It is so unfortunate that in our country students do not give sufficient time to laboratory and we do not seek perfection in doing research,” renowned nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadir Khan said on Sunday.

Dr Khan was addressing the inaugural ceremony of a four-day workshop of third summer school titled ‘Green Spin in Biotechnology’ and organised by the Dr AQ Khan Institute of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering (KIBGE) at the University of Karachi.

“If we want to compete with the West and the developed nations, we have to develop expertise in operating laboratory tools, but the focus is on just to get the degree rather than conducting useful and meaningful research.

“With this attitude, a person may get a PhD degree but cannot compete with the rest of the world. Degrees are being obtained but no expertise is being developed in operating lab tools, while in the West it is pivotal to develop expertise in operating lab materials.

“This is utterly disappointing that research culture is not being promoted in the country like other parts of the globe,” he said, and told the students that wherever they go they need to develop expertise in operating lab tools and have a clear understanding of its utility and usage.

“You all are lucky to have the opportunity to study at the KIBGE, which is indeed a premier institution,” he said, and stressed that the nation has to adopt the same culture of promoting research as the foreign countries if we want to be able to achieve our goals.

“The standards of education right from the schools to the higher education institutions have been on the decline for the past many years, except for a few.”

Revolutionary field

KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi said that molecular biology in agriculture has become a revolutionary field of research and its necessity is being realised ever more.

“The agricultural biotechnology in this era of technological advancement has both commercial and economic importance that needs to be integrated into the national research and development sector.”

He said that agriculture in Pakistan contributes to a major percentage of its GDP and employs a large number of the labour force. He pointed out that outdated techniques and methods have halted the process of growth and development in its principal sector.

He also said that even though Pakistan is an agro-productive land, it remains deprived of basic technologies, adding that our agro-productivity, despite having fertile land, is declining day by day.

“In order to increase the yield of crops and to bring their prices low, with an uncompromised quality and sustainability, there is a need to understand the importance of the currently utilised tools and techniques worldwide.

“The agricultural biotechnology in the developed countries has improved the quality and quantity of food crop, reduced the use of pesticides and improved the health and welfare of the farmers and the citizens.”

He said that Pakistan is a country with immense talents, as the hard work of the students from the country reflects in the recognisable achievements they make not only across the country but all over the world.

He added that it is the duty of the universities and research institutes of the country to train the educated minds in order to bring better ideas, insights and innovations to flourish, as investing in young people translates into economic productivity, poverty mitigation and greater gender quality.

Quality research

Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan said that every university is not conducting research in the country, but KU is among those universities that are conducting quality research.

The KIBGE is a premier research institute and a role model for all research institutes, he said, adding that research and development is done with the linkages of the academia and industry. “Until you link with the industries, all the research and its results will be limited to the books.”

Earlier, KIBGE Director General Prof Dr Abid Azhar said that the institute regularly organises such training workshops in which researchers participate from all over the country, which is highly commendable.

“We need to promote new technologies as well as use these technologies for the betterment of mankind. The purpose of this particular workshop is to create understanding and provide training to young scholars and researchers coming from different parts of Pakistan.”

Nuclear energy

The Rabita Forum International in collaboration with KU is arranging a seminar on peaceful uses of nuclear energy at 9am on Monday at the Arts Auditorium. Brig Zahirul Haider Kazmi, Director General Arms and Controls and Disarmament, would deliver the key note address.

Dr Shahid Riaz Khan, Director Scientific Information and Public Relation, Anwar Habib, former chairman Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Prof Dr Nadeem Ahmed, Chairman Department of International Relations at KU, and Prof Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, Director Politics and International Relations at Islamabad’s Quaid-e-Azam University, would participate as the speakers. Dr Iraqi will be the chief guest.

Open merit list

KU Directorate of Admissions incharge Dr Saima Akhtar announced that the open merit list of the successful candidates, who had applied for the evening master’s, certificate and diploma programmes, has been uploaded to the university’s website (uok.edu.pk).

She asked the aspiring candidates to check their form numbers, and said that the successful candidates should fill and submit their enrolment forms and admission fees to the United Bank Limited through the online generated fee voucher from the admissions portal (uokadmission.edu.pk).

She said that the scanned copy of the admission fee, all original documents and deposited slip of bank voucher should be attached along with the online admission enrolment form between Monday and August 10.

Date extended

Dr Saima also announced that KU has extended the schedule for submission of admission forms of the Karachi University Business School’s Specialised Degree Programme Admissions 2019 until August 9. She said the prospectus and admission forms are available at the admissions portal.