Finland govt to train one million Pakistani students

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiative Asad Umar chaired the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the governments of Finland and Pakistan, launching an initiative to train one million students on disruptive technologies.

This is the first and the largest Mass Information Technology (IT) Education Programme in collaboration with the Finland government. It will be managed by the Kajaani University of Applied Sciences, Finland, Allied ICT Finland and Virtual University (VU) of Pakistan and a local partner, Integration Xperts (IX), will provide technical expertise.

Former minister for information technology and telecommunication Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui was also present on the occasion, accompanied by senior officials of the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, Kajaani University CEO Matti Saren, Rector VU Naeem Tariq and other officials.

Siddiqui thanked the Finland government for their support. “This initiative reflects the Pakistan government’s commitment to enrich the economy with an additional qualified workforce of one million youngsters educated on European professional standards to learn special skill sets. It will enable them to capitalise on the latest trends evolving in IT. With their globally recognised certifications, the students will strengthen Pakistan’s IT industry by nurturing a wide range of technology startups.”

“Pakistan will gain a competitive advantage in the global freelance workspace, to become an attractive destination for international companies searching for qualified technology experts.”