University of Punjab and Faisalabad Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FWCCI) will ink a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) soon to strengthen industry-academia linkage in addition to enhance women entrepreneurs, said Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar, Vice Chancellor University of Punjab while talking to Qurat-ul-Ain, President FWCCI.

He said that University of Punjab is the oldest educational institution of sub-continent which has its roots in almost every segment of the society.

He appreciated the efforts of Qurat-ul-Ain for the mainstreaming of women and said that this university will also contribute its role in encouraging female entrepreneurs to play their role in the economic development of Pakistan.

He hoped that during next meeting, draft of MoU will be signed between the two institutions.

Earlier, Qurat-ul-Ain told that FWCCI was mandated to enhance women role in national economic development. She told that FWCCI remained restricted to Faisalabad but now, we have decided to expand our activities to other areas with a focus on women empowerment. She told that Faisalabad is a major industrial, commercial and business hub of the province and FWCCI could arrange internships for the students of University of the Punjab in addition to contributing its role for their placement in the industry. She also stressed the need that during education, the students must have linkage with the industry so that they could be easily absorbed in industrial sector after completing their education. She told that she has introduced Australian recognized courses in the field of hospitality and tourism. She also pointed out that industry-academia gap was horrible in Pakistan and Government is seriously making efforts to bridge this gap.