The Technical Educational and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) in collaboration with Telenor and Nokia-Siemens Pakistan has established a telecom laboratory at the Government College of Technology Lahore to launch Higher National Diploma (HND) in Telecom.
Tevta Secretary M Arshad Bhatti, Nokia Siemens Networks Country Director for Pakistan and Afghanistan Vegar ul Islam and Telenor Pakistan Executive Vice President Irfan Wahab Khan jointly inaugurated the laboratory here on Friday.
Tevta and the telecom industry partners - Telenor, Nokia-Siemens Pakistan have already launched two-year Higher National Diploma (HND) Programme in Telecommunication Technology at the Government Polytechnic Institute Attock and the Government Institute of Technology DG Khan.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Arshad Bhatti termed it another step towards public-private partnership to promote technical education in the Punjab. It will provide the diploma students opportunities to learn the modern techniques and its application in the practical field, he said.
While briefing about the programme, he said that under the agreement, Tevta along with its partners is endeavouring to improve and encourage joint coordination and running of HND related training courses. For the execution of the MoU in letter and spirit, an advisory board comprising nominees of the partners has already been working and holding quarterly meetings for taking important decisions, he added.
Veqar ul Islam said the Telecom Futures programme, initiated by Telenor Pakistan in partnership with Nokia Siemens Networks and Tevta provides a two-year higher national diploma based on an advanced curriculum, scholarships, hands-on-training and internship opportunities to students. He said that it was the first industry-academia collaboration in telecommunications in Pakistan aimed at developing human resources from deprived backgrounds.
Irfan Wahab said the Telenor realised the importance of technical and vocational training institutes to harness and develop talents. The Telecom Futures programme will build on Tevta's Higher National Diploma in Telecom by aligning curriculum to industry expectations, providing advanced training and rewards to teachers, sharing specialised equipment with students, and offering internships or jobs to suitable diploma holders. Tevta Board Member Mohsin Syed also spoke on the occasion.