LAHORE: Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) Secretary Najaf Iqbal has urged the higher education institutions (HEIs) to focus on research, application of technology and strengthening industry-academia linkages.

He was addressing the launch of the Engineering Capstone Expo (ECE-2022) on Thursday organised by the Pakistan Engineering Council at the Punjab University.

Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) Chairman Prof Dr Shahid Munir, PEC Vice Chairman Prof Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar, PU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Saleem Mazhar, Punjab Tianjin University of Technology VC Prof Dr Abdul Sattar Shakir, Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM) Chairman Abdur Razzaq Gauhar and others attended the ceremony.

Mr Iqbal said Pakistan was having the best brains but unfortunately lacked proper trajectory due to the limited opportunities and incongruence of our degrees with the industrial needs.

“Our graduates are either unaware of the modern industrial problems and their solutions or find few chances to prove their potential.”

He said there was a need to patronise the talent of graduates and provide them with opportunities to showcase it to the industry. He hoped that the expo would catch the attention of the local industry and bridge the widening gap between the industry and academia.

Mr Iqbal added that it was encouraging that our academia had realised the dilemma and was committed to mending the fissures between academia and industry. He claimed that education regulatory and accreditation bodies were also working in tandem for skills development and encouraging industry-academia linkages.

Prof Shahid Munir stressed the practical exposure of the students along with theoretical knowledge.

“Practical exposure should be made a part of the engineering curriculum and there is a need to focus on the applied aspects of the profession,” he said.

Prof Akhtar said the engineering council should support graduates in their early career and job hunt and announced a bursary of Rs40,000 for the first six months for the graduates after getting a degree. He further said the council had decided to make the engineering entrance test mandatory across Punjab to get admission to public or private universities.

Dr Akhtar added that arduous efforts were made for reorganisation of Pakistani engineering degrees with the Washington Accord. “Now Pakistan is among the 20 nations whose engineering degrees are accepted all over the globe,” he said.

PAAPAM Chairman Abdur Razzaq Gauhar and Engr Mir Masood Rashid also spoke.

The Engineering Capstone Expo (ECE-2022) is a series of competitions among the engineering students of public and private sector universities across Pakistan to showcase their research skills. More than 5,000 students would participate in these competitions organised at each of the four provincial capitals and the federal capital.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2022