ISLAMABAD: Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, chairman Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP) launched on Thursday the robust Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform, Microsoft Learn for Educators, a Microsoft Copilot for AI skilling, at the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan to enhance curriculum and train educator community.
In this connection, a ceremony was held to celebrate the HEC-Microsoft Campus Connect Day 2024 at the HEC Secretariat. The ceremony, which also marked the launch of Microsoft for Startups – Founders Hub, to leverage the entrepreneurial ecosystem among students, was attended by Vice Chancellors, faculty members, students, and IT experts.
Addressing the participants, the chairman PMYP said that the secret of development lies in giving the youth confidence, platform, and resources. He asserted that the Pakistani youth are winning laurels worldwide despite an ample of challenges facing them in the country. “The world is acknowledging the potential of Pakistani youth, as they prove themselves whenever provided opportunities,” he admitted. He said the success of Pakistani students in the projects under the HEC-Microsoft partnership is a testimony to the fact that the future of Pakistan is bright.
Rana Mashhood said that supporting innovation across the country, in the era of technological advancement, is the key to national development and the government is committed to providing platforms to the country’s youth to prove their mettle.
Mentioning various projects being executed under the umbrella of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, he said such initiatives are pivotal to nurture the talent of young people. He appreciated HEC for executing a number of projects under the programme, besides promoting higher education and a research culture in the country. He also acknowledged the importance of collaborative efforts by Microsoft to equip the Pakistani youth with the latest technologies.
HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed stated that no country can make progress without making advancements in the technological sphere, adding that the positive side of technological advancements must be adopted to benefit from it. He said HEC’s efforts have been focused on the development of youth, who are the future of the nation, as it believes that the Pakistani youth are second to none when it comes to making innovations.
Highlighting the achievements made under the HEC-Microsoft partnership, he said the two partners have a long history of working together and making milestones. The chairman HEC said the Government has always been supportive to HEC, as it has made very productive investments in the higher education sector. He said the HEC has connected all the universities through the Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN), adding that researchers have easy access to world class journals through the HEC Digital Library to carry out their research.
Member Information Technology Division, HEC, Dr Jamil appreciated the HEC-Microsoft partnership and informed the audience about the future plans of personalised ChatGTP and Smart Teacher projects.
In her online remarks, Director Education, Microsoft Central and Eastern Europe Jaye Richard Hill said that the core value of higher education will remain intact despite rapid changes owing to technological developments. She shed light on the skills required to embrace the AI era, including analytical judgement, flexibility, emotional intelligence, creative evaluation, and curiosity, etc.
She said that Artificial Intelligence is the basis for the fifth industrial revolution with its cyber physical cognitive system doing wonders. She also shared her views on the future outlook of universities and the threats of cyber attacks on the higher education sector, as she noted that the growing complexity of security threat is the top trend in influencing the higher education. She also underlined the significance of Microsoft certifications, getting learners certified for the jobs of their choice in the future.
Earlier in his welcome note, Country Principal Microsoft Jibran Jamshed shared a presentation on ‘Bridging the AI Divide!’ and informed the audience that every university recognised by HEEC is part of the HEC-Microsoft partnership. He expressed his pleasure that Pakistan has been on the top with its youth submitting the largest Imagine Cup projects in the world for the last three years with 70 percent of total programme submissions.
He said Microsoft has 650 Microsoft student ambassadors in Pakistan, while Pakistani youth have been very prominent in terms of their performance in the Imagine Cup project. He also underlined the fast adoption of AI across the country and the need for acceleration in the use of AI tools among the people at large.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
Comments
Comments are closed.