HYDERABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has said that there can be no development without bridging gap between universities and industries. Government and society should be taken on board, he stressed.

The president was speaking at a ceremony at the Technology Incubation Centre (TIC), Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, through video link on Tuesday to seek ideas from students for solution to different problems and challenges.”Role of youth is very important for progress of Pakistan and wellbeing of people, therefore, they will be given more opportunities for education to help them complete their higher education,” he said.

Dr Alvi linked sustainable development with universities-industries collaboration and said that such an event could be important for solving problems at local level in the country. The Students enrolled at different institutions, including the Sindh University, were being awarded scholarships so that they could seek higher education hassle-free, he said.

Founder of the National Idea Bank (NIB) Hassan Syed urged youths to improve their careers by joining the ITC. He said it was all a matter of business ideas for success in world and much money could be earned by presenting successful business ideas on various issues.

Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET) vice chancellor Javed Anwar welcomed the youth to the event and appreciated their ideas. He said students could play a key role for development and progress of Pakistan.

Hyderabad Institute of Arts, Science and Technology (HIAST) director retired Colonel Mohammad Khalid said he was proud to be a part of the programme because he got an opportunity to know ideas given by the youth. “I am impressed by the ideas. I can now say there is no dearth of talent at SU,” he said. He added that such activities were significant to bring the biggest change in society.

Dean Faculty of Engineering and Technology Prof Dr Khalil-ur-Rehman Khombati said the event organised by the TIC was vital for students where innovative ideas could be expressed, shared and solutions to challenging problems could be explained.

Dr Arifa Bhutto shared details about practices and achievements of the National Idea Bank, Hyderabad. “We have more than 14,000 registered students,” she said, and added that the TIC would prepare more students for challenges being faced by the country in terms of unemployment.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2021