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The 10th National Research Conference on Management and Computer Sciences was organized by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), Islamabad from January 28-29, 2010. Mr. Syed Sumsam Ali Bukhari, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting was chief guest on the occasion.
Mr. Kashif Shabbir, President, Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI); Dr. Ijaz Shafi Gilani, CEO, Gallup Pakistan were the Guests of Honours. Mr. Syed Asad Hussain, Campus Head, SZABIST was also present on the occasion. Near 170 papers were presented during the conference which was attended by SZABIST students and those of other prominent universities of the country.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that research is a holistic activity that really gives life blood not only to knowledge in all its manifestations, but a strength to almost every field of human learning and development, and more so to the sustenance of life on the face of the earth.
The Minister said that research is a process of inquiry that starts with the emergence of a problem whether perceived or observed and taking all the scientific and systematic measures to address that problem with an extended investigation to find out plausible solutions for benefits of a larger audience.
Mr. Sumsam congratulated SZABIST on regular and successful commencement of National Research Conferences, which sets examples for other institutions to promote R&D activities at local, national and international levels.
"Adding research and development as a mandatory component in the MS programmes
is another appreciable enterprise by SZABIST, which will
help producing the quality research", he added.
Mr. Sumsam said that it is imperative to focus on applied research with industry led approaches and philosophies.
"We should be able to add newer dimensions in the existing
knowledge base instead of blindly following the western
models. We need to create our own research paradigms
encompassing the global trends and localizing them as per
indigenous needs."
He said that we can only overcome our problems through collective effort and "I am sure that the young generation will take the nation to new heights." He emphasized that it is duty of every Government to provide sufficient resources to the educational institutions for development of R&D programmes.
Dr. Ijaz Shafi Gilani said that technology triangle was relationship between academia, Industry and the government.
"Research begins with an observation, when you observe and think about anything, convert it into a research problem which is design of research", he elaborated.
"Human being come with a great deal of knowledge which is embedded in human body but it needs to be unfolded and, for this purpose, we have to make an effort," he explained.
While appreciating SZABIST, he said that all universities must be engaged in this kind of endeavours, and teachers and researchers should work hard to take it further.
Mr. Kashif Shabbir said that there should be a strong connection between academia and Industry. He said that RCCI had signed a MoU with SZABIST and other universities to provide internship and employment opportunities to the students and use researchers' experience for the industrial growth.
Mr. Syed Asad Hussain said that only 4 per cent of the Pakistani population has access to higher education as compared to India and Malaysia, which is 11 per cent and 32 per cent respectively. He said that without research universities are like a tuition centre.
"SZABIST has played its due role in contributing to the body of knowledge, it is really difficult to run a university purely on tuition fees but credit goes to SZABIST management for running the Institute in an efficient way with the available resources," he added.
Mr. Asad emphasized that there was a dire need to link academia with the industry to convert academic work into practical work. He said that SZABIST Islamabad Campus has more than 10,000 books, access to seven thousand online books, 4,000 online HEC journals and 100 plus video lectures. He informed the audience that SZABIST faculty members and students had presented their research papers in UK, USA, Malaysia, Singapore and many other parts of the world.
It is pertinent to mention here that SZABIST is a pioneer academic institution in Pakistan having an online research journal called
"Journal of Independent Studies and Research (JISR)" with reputed reviewers on the panel.
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The Princeton Review
