Competition in Pakistan

thHEC, Huawei hold

P - 2

P - 4

HEC, NCSW to Establish National Library, Women’s MuseumP - 3

Committee Established to Oversee Medical EducationP - 5

Training for Sri Lankan

Government Officers

Higher Education Commission - Pakistan

September - October 2019

th HEC, Huawei hold 4 ICT Competition

in Pakistan

Nominations for Nobel Laureate

Meetings

HEC, NCSW to Establish National

Library, Women’s Museum

Training of Sri Lankan Government

Officers Concludes

Committee Established to Oversee

Medical Education

Workshop on Efficient Use of Pakistan

Citizen Portal

Seminar on Biofuels & Bioenergy

Prospects

National Sufi Folk Festival Organised at

SALU

Biomass Cluster Consultative

Workshop at NUST

st1 Academic Programme of Panjwani-

Hisaar Water Institute

Scholar Wins CICOPS Scholarship

SZABIST holds Corporate Finesse

Workshop

PIFD Students Visit Cardiff

Metropolitan University

Sir Syed University Organises Cyber

Security Seminar

UVAS, Cloud Agri Pakistan Partners to

Excel in Sensor Technologies

2

News & Views is published after every

two months. No part of this publication

may be reproduced in any form without

prior written permission of the publisher.

The views expressed by authors in the

articles are their sole responsibility and

not of HEC. The Commission would like

to thank all the institutions and

individuals who contributed information

and photographs for this Magazine.

Graphic Designer Raja Ahmad Nadeem

Reporter Syed Muhammad Ittifaq

EditorAayesha Ikram

Higher Education Commission, Pakistan

contentNews & Views (September-October 2019) 3

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HEC, Huawei holdHEC, Huawei holdth4 ICT Competition 4 ICT Competition th

in Pakistanin Pakistan

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The Higher Education

Commission (HEC) and Huawei thTechnologies, Pakistan hold 4

ICT Competition in Pakistan

with an aim to promote the ICT

industry’s technology

certification and develop a

local ICT talent ecosystem.

In this connection, a meeting

was held with Dr. Fateh

Muhammad Marri, Acting

Executive Director, HEC and

Mr. Gaoweijie, Managing

Director, Huawei Technologies,

Pakistan in the chair at the HEC

Secretariat.

The meeting was attended by

Mr. Naiz Ali Shahrukh, Director,

Huawei Public and Corporate,

and other officials from both

the sides.

On the occasion, Dr. Marri

announced to establish eight

new Huawei ICT Academies in

addition to upgradation of the

existing five ICT Academies. He

stressed the need for devising

a proactive campaign to

encourage maximum students

to benefit from the

competition. He termed

Huawei’s collaboration with

HEC in the fields of 5G and

Artificial Intelligence a vital

step forward.

Highlighting importance of the

competition, Mr. Shahrukh said

Huawei invites colleges and

universities in Pakistan to

participate in the ICT

competition. The participants

work in a real laboratory and

tackle some of industry’s most

complex challenges.

The competition material is

based on advanced IP and IT

technology, and it tests

contestant on their knowledge

of AI, 5G, Cloud Computing,

Switching, Routing, and

Network Security. Huawei team

will hold seminars and

roadshows with the support of

Huawei ICT Academies to

create awareness about the

competition among students.

This year, over 12,000 students

from reputable universities

registered themselves for the

online test. Around 5,000

students took the preliminary

test, out of which 500 students

appeared for the enablement

training. The top 150 students

took the laboratory and

interview examination. In

addition to the certifications

and prizes, the most

competitive six students

attended the Middle East

international finals held at

Huawei Headquarters in

Shenzhen, China.

This year, the competition held

134 roadshow activities in

colleges and universities,

attracting 21565 participants

from 437 universities across 10

countries. As many as 13 teams

from 10 countries comprising

39 students emerged

victorious from national

competitions and participated

in the Middle East International

finals in Huawei Headquarter,

China.

After tough competition, the

Lebanese team secured the

first prize. The Pakistan

Representative Team 1 and the

Bahrain Team won the second

prize; The Pakistan

Representative Team 2, the

Jordanian Representative Team

and the Saudi Arabian

Representative Team claimed

the third prize.

The Higher Education

Commission (HEC) and the

National Commission on

Status of Women (NCSW) have

agreed to collaborate to set up

a Public Library and Women’s

Museum/Archives in

Islamabad.

As per Document of

Understanding (DoU), the two

sides seek to establish a

library, museum, and archive

to support education, research

and training on women’s role

and contribution to the

country’s progress.

The purpose of DoU is to

create a framework of

cooperation and describe the

roles and responsibilities of the

two parties for establishment

and development of libraries

and museums and archives in

various cities of Pakistan.

The agreement was signed by

Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman HEC

HEC, NCSW to Establish National

Library, Women’s Museum

and Ms. Khawar Mumtaz,

Chairperson NCSW during a

ceremony held at HEC

Secretariat.

A Project Steering Committee

(PSC), co-chaired by Chairman

HEC and Chairperson NCSW,

will be constituted in order to

recommend necessary policy

decisions.

The committee will also

support universities seeking to

undertake complementary

activities.

HEC and NCSW will

collaborate in the

establishment of a library in

Islamabad.

The NCSW will be responsible

for maintenance of records

and documentation, mapping

of available resources, analysis

of archival material, and

dissemination of information

to all stakeholders.

The Higher Education

Commission and Pakistan

Institute of Engineering and

Applied Sciences (PIEAS)

finalised 14 candidates for thparticipation in the 70 thInterdisciplinary and 7

Economics Lindau Nobel

Laureate Meetings 2020 to be

held in Lindau, Germany.

Around 300 applications were

submitted, out of which 50

applicants were interviewed

and 10 applicants have been thnominated for the 70 Inter-

disciplinary Nobel Laureate

Meeting, while four people thwill attend the 7 Economics

Nobel Laureate Meeting.

thNominees for 70 Inter-

disciplinary Meeting include

Sadaf Sulman, Rizwan Ahmad,

Tabinda Salman, Saiqa Hafeez,

Muhammad Ansar Farooq,

Saba Ashraf, Sultana Rehman,

Neha Farid, Memoona

Ramzan, Kiran Shahzadi. While thnominees for 7 Economics

Meeting are Aribah Aslam,

Farhad Zulfiqar, Saira Saeed,

and Noman Ahmad.

The eligibility criteria for

participation requires from the

candidates to have graduation

in the related fields and have a

first-class academic career.

However, preference is given

to those applicants who have

top positions in board or

university examinations and

have research publications to

their credit.

Nominations for Nobel Laureate Meetings

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The Sri Lankan delegation called on President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi. Dr. Fateh Marri, Acting Executive

Director, HEC led the delegation. Talking to the delegates, Dr. Alvi emphasised on the role of civil

servants and bureaucrats for welfare of the public. Mr. Azmat Ali Ranjha, Rector, National School of

Public policy briefed the President about the training of Sri Lankan officers.

The delegation also visited HEC and met with senior HEC officials. Both sides discussed issues of

mutual academic and professional interest revolving around Pakistan-Sri Lanka Higher Education

Cooperation Programme. Dr. Marri emphasised that Pakistan and Sri Lanka enjoy longstanding

relationship, which would be further strengthened by professional and academic collaboration. He

hoped that government offices of both the countries will contribute to finding solutions to regional

problems including poverty, food insecurity, and terrorism.

Pak-Sri Lanka Higher Education Programme

Training of Sri Lankan Government Officers

ConcludesA group of 20 Sri Lankan Government officers recently completed executive training under Pak-Sri

Lanka Higher Education Cooperation Programme. The Executive Development Institute, National

School of Public Policy, Lahore had designed this extensive training programme.

During the training, Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Adviser to Prime Minister on Austerity Reforms gave a lecture

on Civil Services Reforms-Formulation and Implementation of Public Policy. The delegation was also

briefed by Mr. Faisal Ali Raja, DG NACTA, on Impact of Terrorism on Regional Politics. A visit of Punjab

Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) was also conducted in order to give Sri-Lankan delegation an

overview of the emergency response practices being carried out by PDMA.

During interaction with Sri Lankan delegation, briefing on five components of Pak-Sri Lanka Higher

Education Programme was given that include 1000 Allama Iqbal Scholarships for Sri Lankan Students,

exchange of university faculty, trainings for Sri Lankan civil servants in areas of public administration,

governance and leadership, establishment of a research centre on Asian Culture and Civilisation in Sri

Lanka as well as holding of Pakistan Higher Education Expo in Colombo. The programme includes 800

fully-funded and 200 partially-funded scholarships for Sri Lankan students to pursue undergraduate,

graduate, postgraduate and doctoral studies in top-ranked Pakistani universities in the next five years.

The delegation also visited Forman Christian College, Lahore, Lahore School of Economics, Federal

Board of Revenue, Taxila Museum and other sightseeing places and higher educational institutions.

Moreover, the delegation participated in the International Conference and Exhibition on Environment

(ICE 2019) where they expressed their views related to the exhibition theme.

Mr. Noordeen Mohamed Shaheid, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Pakistan, who was chief

guest as the close of the visit, said that Sri Lankan institutions are very keen to develop bilateral

programmes with the Government of Pakistan.

medical education. This was decided during a

recent meeting of the heads of key health

education institutions in the country including

Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman HEC.

The meeting took note of the recent de-

recognition of some Pakistani medical degrees

by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and constituted

a five-member delegation to resolve the matter

with Saudi authorities. The delegation will

comprise of representatives of the medical

universities in addition to HEC.

It was discussed that recently there were

instances in which Pakistanis who have MD/ MS

degrees have been removed from their services

and were asked to leave the country. It was

noted that although a few Pakistani medical

universities have already shared their syllabi,

monitoring and evaluation system and other

documents with relevant authorities, however,

there is a need to take up this issue collectively.

The meeting also reviewed the experience of

Pakistani students studying in medical colleges in

other countries and the current additional

requirements for them when they return to

Pakistan. The participants expressed gratitude to

HEC for taking lead on an important matter that

is affecting Pakistan’s medical degree holders

working in Saudi Arabia.

Committee Established

to Oversee Medical Education

A Committee has recently been established to

address emerging challenges and opportunities

in the entire spectrum of medical education in

the country, including undergraduate education,

graduate education, clinical certification, health

research and research oriented education,

adoption of international standards, and

addressing equivalence and certification issues in

other countries.

The Committee is headed by Chairman HEC, and

includes representatives of the Ministry of

Health, PMDC, CPSP, and universities providing

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Director General (Quality Assurance Division)Phone: 051-90801100 Email: fhussain@hec.gov.pk

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Workshop on Efficient Use of Pakistan Citizen Portal

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) organised a daylong workshop for 25 focal persons of

various universities from Islamabad, Rawalpindi and AJK who are working on Pakistan Citizen Portal.

The aim of organising the workshop was to make Pakistan Citizen Portal more efficient and improve its

effectiveness in facilitation of the general public, overseas Pakistanis and foreigners to ensure prompt

redressal of grievances related to the higher education sector.

Various aspects of the Portal were explained to the participants to ensure prompt remedy to

grievances of public in general and students in particular. The participants discussed issues and

challenges in detail and HEC assured its all-out support to resolve issues in collaboration with the

Prime Minister Delivery Unit.

Ms. Noor Amna Malik, Adviser (Monitoring and Evaluation) HEC was chief guest in the closing

ceremony. She urged the participants to take it seriously as it will help reduce grievances and

difficulties faced by students. Mr. Farmaullah Anjum, Director General, Research and Analysis Activities,

HEC said that resolving complaints will not only provide solutions to aggrieved persons but will also

help to improve quality of higher education services by obtaining feedback.

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The Environmental Engineering Department,

NED University, Karachi in collaboration with

Pakistan State Oil (PSO) recently organised a

one-day seminar entitled “Prospects of Biofuels

and Bioenergy in Pakistan”.

Dr. Asif Ahmed Sheikh, Chairman, Environmental

Engineering Department said that Pakistan is an

agricultural country and seeds from various kinds

of trees are not used in foods. Biofuels can be

produced by extracting oil from such seeds that

could be mixed with petroleum products which

may result in reduction of petroleum prices by

reducing dependency on import of fossil fuels.

Dr. Mehmood Ali, Associate Professor,

Environmental Engineering Department

highlighted that in order to reduce the

environmental pollution, research may be carried

out to convert used edible oil into biodiesel.

Mr. Muhammad Babar Siddiqui, General

Manager, New Business Development, PSO said

that energy requirements are raised with the

increase of population. In this regard, PSO has

planted trees at Port Qasim which may lead to

produce non-edible oil.

Dr. Shabbar Ali, Dean, Faculty of Civil and

Petroleum Engineering, NED University

highlighted the need of taking environment

friendly measures and to increase biofuels and

bioenergy potential in Pakistan to make the

country sustainable in renewable energy sector.

Seminar on Biofuels & Bioenergy Prospects

The four-day National Sufi Folk

Festival was jointly organized

by Shah Abdul Latif University

(SALU) Khairpur and Thespianz

Theatre Foundation, Karachi.

Renowned artists who

performed during the festival

included Wahid Allan Faqeer,

Saieen Zahoor, Nighat

Choudhry to name a few. The

colours of Sindh were

presented in line with the Sufi

folk substance and narrating

the rituals and folk practices in

National Sufi Folk Festival Organised at SALU the Sindh Province performed

by Thespianz Artists.

During the festival, a dialogue

on Sufism and Tassawuf and a

session on journey of Kashmir

Folk were also held. Cholistani

Thari Dance and Qissa

Khuwani Bazar Sufi Pashton

Tradition were also presented

by the artists. Maj. Gen. Tahir

Hameed Shah, General Officer

Commanding (GOC), Pano Aqil

Cantt was chief guest on the

occasion. He said that role of

educational institutions is vital

for unity, peace and progress

of Pakistan. Dr. Parveen Shah,

Vice Chancellor, SALU said that

in recent times, the importance

and need of Sufism is felt even

more because of various myths

that are found in the nature,

history and teachings of

Sufism. Dr. Zia-ul-Qayyum,

Vice Chancellor, Allama Iqbal

Open University said that role

of Sufis is crucial, adding that

Islam places greater emphasis

on rights of humans beings.

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United States Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E) NUST in collaboration with

United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) recently held a Biomass Cluster

Consultative Workshop. The workshop was part of a project entitled Promoting Sustainable Energy

Production and Use from Biomass in Pakistan/ Cluster Development. The project’s core objective is to

promote market-based adoption of modern biomass energy conversion technologies for power

generation in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and rural areas in Pakistan.

The workshop attracted a healthy participation from government and non-government sectors, private

companies, academic and research institutes, international agencies and financial institutions. These

included National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC), National Rural Support Programme (NRSP),

SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), and

Ministry of Food Security and Research to name a few. The workshop provided teams of USPCAS-E

and UNIDO an excellent opportunity to connect with several relevant stakeholders and find a common

ground that can be utilised optimally by Pakistan Biomass Cluster as well as its stakeholders.

Biomass Cluster Consultative Workshop at NUST

President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif

Alvi formally inaugurated first

academic programme of

Panjwani-Hisaar Water

Institute (PHWI) at a seminar

entitled Pakistan Water Crisis –

Time to Deliver on Promises.

PHWI is a collaborated effort

of NED University, Panjwani

Charitable Foundation and

Hisaar Foundation.

The aim of launching PHWI is

to stimulate and inculcate

innovative water education,

research and training that is

multidisciplinary in nature and

integrates currently isolated

nodes of engineering and

social science in Pakistan’s

water sector.

Previously, PHWI has

successfully completed its first

academic progarmme on

Water Law, a comprehensive

course spread over five days.

It was attended by 40

participants who were lawyers,

water practitioners,

researchers, journalists and

policy makers.

The course was designed for

professionals to understand

the existing legal environment

around water (international,

national, provincial and local)

and implications for water

governance, management and

conservation in Pakistan.

st1 Academic

Programme of Panjwani-Hisaar Water Institute

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The University of Veterinary and Animal

Sciences (UVAS), Lahore in collaboration with

Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) recently

organised three-day Poultry Science Conference

alongside the International Poultry Expo (IPEX-

2019) at Expo Centre Lahore.

During the conference, researchers presented

their scientific breakthrough mainly related to

poultry health, farm management and nutrition,

processing, value addition and food safety.

More than 70 abstracts related to themes were

submitted and after technical evaluation, 21

presenters were selected for oral presentation.

Six key-note speakers including five

international presenters from UK, USA and

Lebanon attended the conference, while other

presenters were from various local universities.

Dr. Jibran Hussain, Assistant Professor,

Department of Poultry Production has got

distinction as best researcher and faculty of the

year-2019 along with cash prize of US$ 3000

from PPA. He presented his research entitled

“Assessing the impact of light stimulation

during incubation on hatching traits and post-

hatch performance of broilers.” The results of

study can revolutionise the global poultry

industry as the research showed a significant

improvement in hatching performance and

subsequent growth performance of broilers.

Based on his research finding, many national

and international companies like Pas Reform

Hatchery Technologies Netherland, Sabir's

Poultry and Big Bird group of companies,

Pakistan offered him to collaborate with them

and conduct further research at their hatcheries

and research and development units. Another

award category of best researcher, student of

the year 2019 with cash prize worth US$3000

was won by Ms. Afsheen Shafqat, a student of

UVAS, Jhang campus. She has developed an

android app for digital connections in poultry

industry.

Poultry Science Conference

In pursuance of an initiative that National

University of Sciences and Technology (NUST)

embarked upon in 2018, to license out its

technologies to the industry, NUST has

transferred five more Intellectual Property

Rights (IPRs) to the industry under Technology

Development Fund (TDF). NUST had licensed

out seven IPRs last year.

TDF is an initiative of HEC Pakistan to facilitate

institutions of higher learning to serve as

engines of socio-economic development of

Pakistan. Under TDF, NUST has secured 27

projects worth Rs. 270 Million out of which

Chatbot is the first TDF project of NUST.

The licensing agreement for Reshaping Online

Consumer Experience with Data Driven

Personalised Chatbots was inked between NUST

and AARZ Media Pvt. Ltd. Dr. Nassar Ikram, Pro-

Rector RIC NUST and Mr. Waqas Mushtaq, CEO

AARZ Media Pvt. Ltd, signed the agreement. The

IPs belong to Dr. Faisal Shafait of NUST School

of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

(SEECS) and his research associates.

The NUST Chatbot not only remembers the

context of a conversation, but also recommends

the right products to the user within the chat

session.

This opens a new dimension in chatbot R&D by

allowing the visitors of an e-commerce portal to

close a transaction from within the chat session,

without having to go back and forth on the web

pages of a huge number of products.

The developed system has the potential of

bringing a major shift in the way chatbots are

viewed by e-commerce industry – from a fun-

to-have add-on to a fundamental pillar of

online sales, thereby harnessing the true

potential of conversational interfaces in the

online consumer market.

NUST Licenses Intellectual Property Rights to Industry

UAF Inks MoU with

CATAS of China Dr. Liu Guodao, Vice

President, Chinese Academy

of Tropical Agriculture

Sciences (CATAS) and Dr.

Muhamad Ashraf, Vice

Chancellor, University of

Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF)

recently inked a

Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) to

collaborate in areas of

academics and research,

particularly in the

agriculture sector.

Dr. Guodao said that

through this collaboration,

we will able to learn from

our mutual experiences.

Dr. Ashraf said that China

has adopted a model of

small-scale implements for

small farmers, adding that

the UAF had taken

challenges of developing

small implements as more

than 90 percent of our

farming community

consisted of small farmers.

Scholar Wins CICOPS Scholarship

Dr. Sajid Iqbal, Assistant Professor at the Department of

Mechatronics and Control Engineering, UET Lahore, has recently

won the Centre for International Cooperation and Development

Scholarship (CICOPS) for the year 2019. He was invited as a Visiting

Professor at the University of Pavia in the Department of Electrical,

Computer and Biomedical Engineering hosted by Dr. Tullio

Facchinetti at the Robotics Laboratory.

During his stay, he conducted continuing professional

development workshops on scientific writing in international

institutions like University of Pavia, University of Modena and

Reggio Emilia, and in the Abdus Salam International Centre for

Theoretical Physics (ICTP) Italy.

Dr. Sajid studied in China under HEC PhD Programme for Faculty

Development of USTEPs”. He earned his PhD in Mechatronics

Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), China. He

was also awarded Young Investigators Award in 2018 Sage

Assembly at Seattle, Washington. The award is given to early

career researchers who make an impact in their respective fields.

The Executive Development Centre (EDC), Shaheed Zulfikar Ali

Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), Karachi

recently conducted annual Corporate Finesse Workshop. The 11-

day workshop covered topics of Self Branding, Emotional

Intelligence, Professional Grooming, Science of Creativity, Dining

Etiquettes, Managing Emotion and Conflict, How to lead a

Successful Career, Personal Budgeting in Turbulent Times and

Resume Building and Interview skills. The aim of organising the

workshop was to help bridge gap between students' skills and

corporate requirements.

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In continuation of the collaborative efforts

between Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design

(PIFD), Lahore and Cardiff Metropolitan

University, Wales, a group of seven students and

a faculty member from the Ceramic and Glass

Design Department visited Cardiff, Wales.

The delegation attended practical training

sessions at the Cardiff Metropolitan University

Sir Syed University Organises Cyber Security Seminar

The Office of Research,

Innovation and

Commercialisation, Sir Syed

University of Engineering and

Technology recently organised

a Seminar on Cyber Security

to highlight seriousness of the

cybercrime that is rampant in

present day society.

Mr. Muhammad Asif Riaz,

CEO, Digital Arrays, gave

presentation on Cyber Theft

Intelligence. He said that rise in

cyber-attacks in Gulf States

over the past few years

represents a growth risk of

business operation.

“It is, therefore, necessary to

gain intelligence to be

protective against cyber-

attacks, and remain alert with

constant harvest and process

knowledge about threat actors

and incidents.” he said.

Dr. Vali Uddin, Vice Chancellor,

SSUET, said that cybercrime is

on the rise and we are

becoming more dependent on

technology, from smart

devices, to databases in

academic institutions and

hospitals. He said that even

some of the world's biggest

companies have fallen prey to

cybercriminals, who have

leaked sensitive data that put

millions at risk.

which were meant to enhance practical skills in

art and design practices through experiencing

latest developments in Rapid Prototyping (3D

Printing, Laser Cutting, CNC Router Software)

and Advanced Ceramics (techniques and

glazing). The group also visited galleries and

museums in Cardiff and London which greatly

aided in enhancing socialising skills and

increasing cultural exposure.

PIFD Students Visit Cardiff Metropolitan University

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A two-day workshop entitled “Mineral-

Molasses (Multi-Nutrient) Blocks

(MMBs)” was jointly organised by Sindh

Agriculture University (SAU), the EU-

funded Programme for Improved

Nutrition in Sindh-1 (PINS-1),

Government of Sindh and Sindh Rural

Partners Organisation (SRPO) in

Tandojam.

Dr. Mohammad Ismail, a faculty

member at SAU and Ms. Zahida Detho,

Executive Director, SRPO presented

recommendations to the Government

to address malnutrition of people and

undernourishment of livestock.

Mr. John Ashley, Nutrition Specialist

associated with the PINS-1 said that if

MMBs technology was adopted and

promoted, people would obtain good

quality meat, milk and food. He

maintained that if undernourishment of

livestock was addressed, malnutrition of

people could be reduced to a greater

extent in Sindh.

Mr. Abdul Rahim Soomro, Forest and

Wildlife Secretary was chief guest on

the occasion. Mr. Ashfaq Ahmed

Memon, Adviser to Chief Minister Sindh

on Irrigation urged the participants and

community members to practice MMBs

technology for better nourishment of

the livestock.

Dr. Mujeebuddin Memon, Vice

Chancellor SAU said that MMBs

technology must be researched to

conduct economic and nutrition

analyses under various ecosystems.

Dr. Farhan Jamil, Director, Office of Research

Innovation and Commercialisation, University of

Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore and Dr.

Muhammad Asad Ullah Khan, General Manager, Cloud

Agri Pakistan recently signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on research in

dairy animal monitoring through sensor technologies.

According to the MoU, both sides will work in the field

of dairy production with primary focus on monitoring

of buffalo behavior for estrus detection, buffalo

behavior for onset of calving time and buffalo behavior

for early detection of health events, etc.

UVAS would provide its technical support to develop

standard behavioral indicators. The University will also

provide access to the facility and animals with the

other party. The behavioral monitoring devices will be

used at UVAS for research purposes and will serve as a

means of demonstration for Livestock producers. The

research and development of monitoring system

electromechanical support (20-30 Transponders) will

be provided by the Cloud Agri Pakistan.

UVAS, Cloud Agri Pakistan Partners to Excel in Sensor

Technologies

SAU Tandojam

Workshop on Malnutrition of Livestock

To strengthen the laboratory facilities at Virtual

University (VU) Pakistan, the International Atomic

Energy Association (IAEA) collaborator gifted advanced

equipment worth Rs. 2.5 Million. The equipment

includes Micropipette Sets, RFID Reader Antenna, Ear

Tag Applicator, RFID Ear Tags, Mini PCR Plate

centrifuge, Vortex, Spinner Centrifuges (Sprout

Minicentrifuge) and consumables. A ceremony was

recently held at VU Head Office for handing over IAEA

equipment to Bioscience Department of the University.

IAEA, VU Join Hands to Upgrade Lab

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The Quality Enhancement Cell, Institute of Space

Technology (IST), Islamabad organised a

workshop entitled “Teaching Strategies for

Present Day Challenges in Higher Education

Institutions (HEIs).”

Dr. Zahid Majeed from Allama Iqbal Open

University was invited as a resource person.

Participants of the workshop included faculty

members from IST and various other universities

of Islamabad. The workshop began with a stdiscussion on Teaching as profession, 21

IST Workshop on Teaching Challenges in HEIs

century's classroom and challenges faced by

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and faculty

members.

Later, Dr. Majeed shed light on skills required by

faculty members to excel in their professional

lives. During the workshop, participants

explored key teaching-learning strategies and

how to integrate skills with various teaching

strategies in classrooms. Further, the teaching

skills necessary for an effective teacher were

also discussed.

Isra University, Hyderabad in

collaboration with the

Government of Sindh Hepatitis

Prevention and Control

Programme and Chief Minister

of Sindh initiative for Hepatitis

Free Sindh organized a Free

Hepatitis-B Vaccination Camp.

it was inaugurated by Dr. Nazir

Ashraf Laghari, Pro-Vice

Chancellor, Isra University.

Over 100 staff members and

students were vaccinated

against Hepatitis B. The

purpose of organizing the

camp was to make Isra

University Hyderabad Campus

Hepatitis Free. Last year 400

students, faculty and

administrative staff members

were vaccinated in a series of

vaccination and screening

camps.

Also, the Department of

Community Medicine, Isra

University celebrated World

Hepatitis Day by screening

over 2000 students, faculty and

support staff of Hyderabad

Campus for Hepatitis B and C.

rdThe 3 year MBBS students

and house officers were also

given practical demonstration

of screening test.

Free Hepatitis B Vaccination Camp at Isra University

IoBM Workshop on Publishing in High Ranked Journals

Dr. Yaseen Iqbal Wins Fellowship of Institute of Physics UKDr. Yaseen Iqbal, Head, Department of Physics,

University of Peshawar (UoP) has been awarded

with the title of Fellowship of the Institute of

Physics (IOP), UK in recognition of his

extraordinary lifetime achievements in the

subject of Physics.

According to the IOP welcome letter, the

fellowship is an award granted by IOP to

physicists which demonstrates a high level of

achievement in Physics and an outstanding

contribution to the profession. The award

confirms one’s position as a leading physics

professional and receive recognition among

one’s peers for excelling in the relevant sector.

The achievements of Dr. Iqbal include his more

than 100 research articles in peer-reviewed

international impact factor journals of Physics

and related fields, research on local mineral

resources and their upgradation and

engineering, establishment of Materials Research

Laboratory (MRL) with state-of-the-art facilities

at UoP, publication of 15 ICDD cards for new

compounds published by International Centre

for Crystallography, Pennsylvania, USA now used

as reference data files globally, establishment of

first mineral upgradation pilot plant of its kind in

a higher education institution to train youth in

their own local resources, supervision of 25

MPhil/PhD scholars, introduction of materials

research in KP and science popularisation

activities in print and electronic media to

educate the society about significance of

material science and education consistent with

local resources.

Research plays a significant

role in social development.

However, scholars face a

constant challenge to publish

their papers in periodicals.

Such concerns were addressed

during a workshop entitled

Publishing in High Ranked

Journals, organised by the

Office of Research Innovation

and Commercialisation (ORIC)

at the Institute of Business

Management (IoBM), Karachi.

The workshop was attended by

IoBM faculty and other

academicians. Dr. Muhammad

Shakil Ahmad, In-charge, ORIC,

COMSATS University, Attock

Campus was invited as the

resource person.

The workshop guided the

participants on how to write an

abstract, introduction and

literature review. It presented a

detailed outline of the research

writing process. Dr. Ahmad

covered several topics

including how to identify the

research gap, reasons for

rejection, and how to draft a

systematic literature review.

The workshop participants

were of the view that the

workshop would facilitate

them to formulate their

research papers and to get

them published in reputable

journals.

Dr. Syed Irfan Hyder, Rector

IoBM highlighted the

importance of Impact Factor

journals and why the faculty

must publish their research in

the Academy of Management

Journal (AMJ). He also shared

the importance of contribution

rigour and the role of

theoretical contribution.

Sep

tem

ber

- O

cto

ber

2019

15

Sep

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- O

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2019

16

NEWS & VIEWS

NOTE

Students and parents are cautioned not to get admission in the universities/DAIs wherein admissions are banned due to various irregularities as mentioned on HEC website.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) recognises degrees of chartered universities/institutions from public and private sector in Pakistan along with their approved campuses as mentioned at following website links.

List of Recognised Universities/Institutions

hec.gov.pk/site/HEIs

List of Recognised Campuses of Public and Private Sector Institutions

hec.gov.pk/site/recognizedcampuses

List of Illegal/Fake Institutions

hec.gov.pk/site/Illegal-DAIs

@HECPakistan2002 @hecpkofficialwww.hec.gov.pk

Any other university/institution which is not listed among HEC recognised universities or campuses available at HEC website will not be considered a recognised institution.

Students and their parents are advised to verify legal status of the university/institution or its campus from the above-mentioned links. Students are advised NOT to take admissions in those institutions which are not listed among HEC recognised universities/institutions/ campuses. Degrees obtained from non-recognised institutions/campuses will not be recognised.

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