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Higher education institutions urged to promote interdisciplinary research

By Myra Imran
November 08, 2019

Islamabad: Speakers urged higher education institutions to promote interdisciplinary research through establishment of technology clusters.

They were speaking at a regional rectors’ roundtable dialogue on “Transforming Higher Education Institutes to Produced 21st Century Graduates” organized by Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) in collaboration with Superior University and Inter University Consortium for Promotion of Social Sciences on Thursday.

The objective of the dialogue was to discuss the existing practices and propose strategies and recommendations regarding improving the quality of graduates. The panellist deliberated on seven thematic areas including Institutional Governance, Skill Based Curriculum Development, Teaching Pedagogies, Instilling Leadership in Faculty, Monitoring, Reflection & Evaluation, Innovation Ecosystem and Internationalization of Higher Education & SDGs.

While addressing the participants Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ali, Vice Chancellor Quaid-i-Azam University said that universities must play the role of technology and economic hub for the economic growth. He said to produce employable graduates Higher Education Institutions have to consider the job market national needs. Dr. Muhammad Ali also supports the idea to promote the interdisciplinary research through establishment of technology clusters.

Prof. Dr. Masoom Yasinzai, Rector International Islamic University (IIUI) said that trust deficit between the academia and industry must be bridged to achieve the objective of socio economic uplift of the country. Dr. Syed Tahir Hijazi, Vice Chancellor, Muslim Youth University emphasized the need for collaborative efforts by public and private sector higher education institutes to achieve the objective of producing quality graduates.

The experts emphasized continuous interaction with the industry to develop the curriculum that would meet the need of the market and industry. Establishment of venture capital for start-ups and platforms for interdisciplinary research by HEC were also recommended.

Prof. Dr. Mohammad Mukhtar, Vice Chancellor National Skills University, Prof. Dr. Tanveer Khaliq Vice Chancellor Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Prof. Dr. Mujaddad ur Rehman, Vice Chancellor Abbottabad University, Dr. Zulfiqar Gilani, Consultant, Academics, HEC, Nadeem Akbar, Director, American Institute of Pakistan Studies, Prof. Dr. Abdul Hameed, Director ORIC, IIUI, Dr. Ayesha Zahid, Executive Director ORIC, Superior University, Dr. Muhammad Tayyab, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), Talat Khurshid, Ex Adviser, HEC, Dr. Ishtiaq Ali, Director Academics, QAU, Murtaza Noor, National Coordinator Consortium for Promotion of Social Sciences also addressed the audience. The recommendations and findings of the roundtable would be presented in upcoming “2nd Rectors Conference” scheduled to be held on November 28, 2019 at Lahore.