Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Institute of Space Technology (IST) have decided to work together for the promotion of Research and Development (R&D) in the industry and to further strengthen university-industry linkage. The decision was taken at a meeting between a three-member IST delegation led by Vice Chancellor IST Engineer Imran Rehman and President LCCI Irfan Qaiser Sheikh.
Both the sides also agreed that university-industry linkage was a prerequisite to strengthen economy and there was a dire need for collaboration among all the institutions that have R & D departments. During the hour-long meeting it was decided that a common methodology would be evolved for creating a win-win situation for both the sides.
The vice chancellor informed the president LCCI that the IST has the capacity to design entrepreneurship programme for the sake of promotion of entrepreneurship in the country. President LCCI Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that LCCI was making all-out efforts to enable trade and industry to cope with internal and external pressures. He said that tailor-made solutions were direly needed to expedite economic activity in the country that had been a hostage to ongoing energy crisis for a long time now.
He said that transfer of knowledge was an area where the industry should focus and for the purpose the educational and research institutions have a key role to play. He said that all the leading economies in the world give special importance to research work but it was very unfortunate that in Pakistan this could not get the required importance. He said that on a number of occasions, the LCCI had stressed upon the government to double its allocation for education but never ever due attention was given to this area.