|
|
|
Bio-tech, genetics institute for KU
THE Karachi University, within the next two months period, will have a well-equipped biotechnology and genetics institute, offering PhD and M Phil-level programmes.
Eminent nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, speaking at the foundation laying ceremony of Haji Abdul Karim Dhedhi Emergency Cardiac Centre at the Al-Mustafa Trust Hospital, last Monday said the institute at the KU would be the first of its kind in the country.
The project, undertaken by him with the support of local philanthropists and concerned authority, was further said to be a tribute, on his part, to the city, where he grew up and got educated.
Dr Qadeer Khan said that he had been serving the country for the last 25 to 30 years, and added he wanted to serve it, “This time as a social worker committed to educate the people and support the ailing humanity.” He said several clinics, health centres and institutes were being run by him successfully and absolutely free of charge.
Appreciating the Trust for providing quality health care at nominal charges, he also appreciated the resourceful people of Karachi for their contribution.
Mentioning that the defence of the country was in safe and responsible hands, the scientist appealed to the wealthy segment of the society to make efforts for strengthening the economy of the country, besides improving the social conditions in the country, in close coordination with the government.
Scholarships in social sciences
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has earmarked an amount of Rs194.513 million for PhD scholarships in social sciences, arts and humanities.
University teachers of these disciplines will be offered the scholarships for higher studies on open merit basis, said an official statement.
This was disclosed in the 4th meeting of the committee on development of social sciences and humanities sector in the country, here the other day. Out of the amount, Rs44.730 million will be spent during the current fiscal year. The meeting was presided over by Prof Atta-ur-Rahman, HEC chairman and minister incharge for science and technology.
Dr Ata Rahman said the HEC was planning to develop a comprehensive programme for the social sector, which would comprise award of 25 foreign scholarships for PhD studies and ten post-doctoral fellowships per year.
In addition, indigenous PhD and sandwich programmes for higher studies will be started. In this regard, the HEC will assist social scientists in arranging seminars, conferences and summer schools. Social scientists will be asked to conduct at lest one annual academic conference by the financial assistance of the HEC, he added.
He said through a programme, 10,000 reputed research journals of all disciplines, including social sciences and humanities, would be made available on the HEC website within two months. All the public and private sector universities and institutions of higher learning would be facilitated through this programme without any cost.
Internet services agreement
The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) here on Wednesday entered into a service level agreement (SLA) with IT concerns to provide improved internet services to its customers.
Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari presided over the ceremony.
Under the SLA, the PTCL is now required to provide high- quality network support data services through the Pakistan Internet Exchange (PIE). The key components of the SLA include network performance, network availability and compensation to customers if the service falls below a specific level.
Ahmad Shokaib Sahibzada, director general IT, signed the agreement on behalf of the PTCL while Wahajul Siraj represented COMSATS. The minister said PTCL was the first telecom company in the region which had reached such an agreement.
“It is now widely accepted that any telecom and data service provision and receipt should be governed by an agreement, which is essential to define the parameters of the service, for the benefit of both the provider and the recipient,” he said.
Mr Leghari said the PTCL was improving its customer care services and a new concept of billing would be introduced soon. He said the PTCL had been sitting on the proposal for almost a decade, but now work on the process was being expedited.
He said in two or three months, a new mobile sector policy would be announced under which new investors would be encouraged to enter into the cellular sector. In the post deregulation of telecommunication, the PTA is also expected to issue licences to new players in the next two to three months, he added.
Earlier, PTCL Chairman Akhtar Ahmad Bajwa said the SLA contained a specified level of service, support options, enforcement or penalty provisions for services not provided, a guaranteed level of system performance as related to downtime or uptime and a specified level of customer support and what software or hardware would be provided and for what fee.
He said the PTCL was committing a gradual increase in network availability for the PIE customers. The commitment for network availability was 97 per cent till Sept 30, which would be increased to 99.8 per cent by April 1.
Watch Mars at close quarters
You can have a rendezvous with Mars on Saturday, Aug 30 as it comes closest to Earth. The two-hour event will be held from 7:15pm till 9:00pm. It will start with general discussions and talks about astronomy and the Red Planet. At 8:15pm to 8:30pm Mars will be high enough in the sky to be visible. The participants of the even could then watch it with a telescope available at the venue — the PIA Planetarium near Hassan Square in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi. — Dawn ScienceDotcom Report
|
|
|
|
