Government College University Lahore Academic Planning and External Links Department Monday organised the first ever seminar on "Enterprising Research through University-Industry Portal (UIP)" in collaboration with Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Institute of Research Promotion (IRP) to motivate researchers and universities develop demand-driven researches and sell them to the local industry to generate revenue.
The seminar chaired by the GCU Vice Chancellor Dr Khalid Aftab also included training sessions for researchers regarding the online use of UIP developed by LCCI and IRP as a direct communication link between researchers and industrialists. The researchers, on this occasion, were briefed about the methods of marketing of their researches through UIP.
"Pakistan has huge potential. Its research centres and universities have enough knowledge and researches, what it needs is transforming this knowledge into technology through academia-industry partnership, said Dr Farid A. Malik, former chairman of Pakistan Science Foundation while addressing the seminar. He claimed that in many cases, researches conducted in Pakistan were better than that of China, but unfortunately, they were never transferred to the industry.
Dr Farid stressed that the industry-academia linkages are not enough, rather a functional framework to transfer the technology to the industry is required. He found it astonishing that the country, which could make missiles, is importing CNG cylinder of worth millions of dollars annually. The technology of making CNG cylinders was developed ingenuously due to the efforts of PSF and transferred to the private sector for production, he added. In this regard, Dr Farid cited other examples.
Addressing the seminar, GCU Vice Chancellor Professor Khalid Aftab laid a stress in developing the research culture in Pakistani universities. He said that the bulk of researches were undertaken as part of requirements for completion of master's and doctoral degrees. He, at these moments, shared what he experienced during his stay at Pakistan Science Foundation. "Opportunities and incentives can play important role in motivating researchers and developing the culture of research," he concluded.
Discussing the 'window of opportunities' for universities provided by LCCI, vice president Faisal Iqbal Shiekh said LCCI is committed to making an effective contribution to the nation's economic development through the promotion of trade, industry and research.
He assured that the LCCI would take more steps to bring the industry and academia closer to each other. Addressing the seminar, IPR CEO Abid said IRP is bridging the gap among the universities, research institutes, public and corporate sector by developing the culture of creating and sharing knowledge. "IRP has facilitated numerous research papers, doctoral level theses and industrial research projects in the areas of social, economic, pure and applied sciences," he added.
Life Technology CEO, Mushtaq Ahmed brought the attention of researchers towards biotechnology, Global Warming and Green Technologies, warning that earth's temperature is going to rise by one degree Celsius in the next 25 years and it will reduce the productivity of the land of warm countries like Pakistan. He termed global warming a great threat for the agriculture sector, and said Pakistan needs to conduct research on the subject.
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