A force for knowledge
July 7, 2021
The Knowledge Economy Task Force chaired by the prime minister had its first meeting in January 2019 when the roadmap presented by me in my capacity as vice chairman was approved.
This envisaged investments in education, science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship with particular focus on the new and emerging technologies. Within a short period of 2.5 years, a huge amount of work has been done which has begun to transform the landscape of science and technology in Pakistan.
One shining example of the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the achievement of the present government is the ‘Pak Austrian Fachhochschule’ about 45 miles from Islamabad. This university of Applied Science and Engineering was a part of my vision back in 2003-2008 when I was chairman of the HEC but the projects were abandoned in 2008, a few months before classes were to start. However, persistence pays, and the scheme was restarted with the support of
Foreign engineering universities
May 26, 2021
Within 50 miles of Islamabad, off the main motorway to Peshawar, an exciting new university has emerged. Called the Pak-Austrian Fachhochschule, it represents the materialization of a dream on which I have worked for the last 15 years.
It all started in 2005 when I came up with a proposal to set up a network of high quality engineering universities in Pakistan in collaboration with partners in Germany, France, Sweden, Austria, Italy, China, Korea and other countries. As chairman HEC, I presented this proposal to the then president Musharraf and got his full support. I then visited many countries and persuaded 30 leading universities to collaborate in the establishment of seven foreign engineering universities in Pakistan.
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Innovative development
February 24, 2021
In order for Pakistan to emerge from the quagmire of poverty, hunger, and foreign debt, we need to migrate to a strong knowledge economy. About 67 percent of our population of 220 million is below the age of 30 which gives us a huge demographic advantage. To move forward, we must declare a National Education Emergency and invest massively in education, science, technology and innovation
In such an effort, the government has a pivotal role to play by ensuring universal literacy, establishing good technical and vocational schools, and setting up world class universities with Centers of Excellence in selected fields. We must also establish a strong national network of technology parks to allow new technologies to be promoted through business and technology incubators. Such an effort will require access to venture capital funds to promote innovation and entrepreneurship through new start-up companies. We will also need to establish industrial