ISLAMABAD, Nov 15: Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari has said the ministry has drawn up a Rs1.5 billion plan to outsource IT work for the local firms from national and international markets.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of two-day second National Workshop on Trends in Information Technology, organized by the department of Computer Science, Faculty of Management Sciences, International Islamic University (IIUI) here on Saturday.

The federal minister said the IT sector was poised for a revolution and many multinational companies were ready to invest in the industry in a big way.

He said his ministry was willing for partnership in any effort to raise the standard of IT work and software development. The ministry had made Rs1 billion available for research and development fund as part of its efforts for partnership in IT development.

Mr Leghari also called for organizing more activities of information exchange and encouraging collaborative research.

“The universities should now make full use of this facility by developing, the minister said.

The minister also exhorted the faculty member and researchers in national universities to conduct collaborative research and create an environment conducive for nurturing the pursuit of knowledge. Referring to the launching of a project by his ministry for providing 2000 internships to bright students and fresh graduates in IT”, the minister said:”We should strengthen the relationship between the universities and the industry.

The IIU rector, Justice Khalil-ur-Rahman Khan (retired) said the university was trying, in the light of the teachings of Islam, to use science for the benefit of humanity and not for its destruction.

“We are not willing to make robots in the name of scientists. Our aim is to develop a generation of scientists with feelings and a sense of responsibility for the remedy of wounds of the humanity”, he remarked.

Earlier, Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences Dr Khalid Rashid welcomed the participants.

He said such workshops provided a forum to researchers from across the country to present their latest research, share their experiences and discuss future trends in IT and cooperation for industrialization and education.

The dynamics of present day markets demand rapid advancement of the innovative technologies.

He said the changing social, economic and technological situation has been pushing to create and develop systems of broader application.