New Technology is an integral part of progressing Pakistan: Ahsan Iqbal

Lahore: The Information Technology University (ITU) Lahore has launched Pakistan Edition of “MIT Technology Review” during a fabulous ceremony held at Arfa Software Technology Park on Saturday. Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Prof. Ahsan Iqbal was the chief guest while Vice Chancellor of ITU and Chairman Punjab IT Board (PITB) Dr. Umar Saif hosted the ceremony.

The US Counsel General Lahore Zachary Kerkenrider, Chairman Higher Education Commission of Pakistan Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad were among other distinguished guests who honored the occasion.

Prof. Ahsan Iqbal while addressing the ceremony said that Pakistan has become a progressing country that is well-positioned to rank among top 25 economies of the world by 2025 due to our visionary policies that stand on strategic economic roadmap, sustainable growth and a conducive investment environment.

He said that the modern technology had been made an integral part of those policies as sustainable development can’t go a long way without inclusion of contemporary research and technology. Congratulating the IT University on starting publication of a world renowned magazine, he said that it would rightly play the same role here as it had done in USA and other developing countries.

The minister said that the journal would enable us how to focus on new trends of modern technology and how it could be commercialized within our own designs. He hoped that the initiative taken by the ITU and PITB will equally provide a broad base for guidance and policy making to the whole country. He assured the Planning Commission of Pakistan would please to collaborate with the ITU in technology based development projects. Earlier

Dr. Umar Saif while welcoming the participants said that “The Technology Review” is a flagship of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) launched in 1899 from USA and available in six languages in 147 countries as the authority on the future of technology that attracts an informed, influential audience of business executives, technology innovators, and thought leaders. He said that we are pleased to announce that the ITU is the first IT University of Pakistan of its kind and also the first to launch a world standard IT magazine from Pakistan. He told that the ITU offers about 40 undergraduate programs within 5 faculties as well as 97 graduate and 62 doctorate programs within 5 graduate schools., the university seeks to nurture an environment of high-tech research and entrepreneurship with its state-of-the art facilities, world class faculty, its in-house start-up incubator and well-established government and industry linkages. “ITU was thus formed to enable Pakistani youth to develop such solutions, and also to cater to the acute shortage of trained manpower faced by Pakistan’s IT industry. The university aims to foster a new generation of IT engineers and entrepreneurs who will help transform the economic and technical landscape of Pakistan. ITU believes very strongly in academic collaborations with other national and international institutions. To this end, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between ITU and the Middle-East Technical University (METU) to form an academic collaboration so we are pleased to launch a licensed version of the world renowned publication that will cater all these objectives,” He added.

The US Counsel General said that the MIT Tech Review would form new horizons of collaboration between US and Pakistan in the field of research, academia, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. He said that the US govt. will continue its cooperation for the well performing educational institutions in Pakistan as it believes that the academia should be backed up for sustainable development.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad declared the event as path breaking in the histories of Pakistani universities and hoped the Tech Review would become a model for others in the field of international academic and scientific research and scholarship. He extended his full cooperation to make it a success and a tool for change in Pakistan. The distinguished guests were awarded with the souvenirs by the VC of ITU.