Pakistan has one of the best Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructures of the region, said Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Mukhtar Ahmad on Wednesday.
He stated this while attending the launching ceremony of Skill Competition 2017 held here in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC), and Huawei Technologies. The ceremony was attended by the You Yi, Cultural Counselor, Embassy of China in Pakistan as a chief guest and Dr G. Raza Bhatti, Acting Executive Director HEC, Chilin Chun, CEO, Huawei, Pakistan, Space Lee, Vice President, Huawei, Middle East Public Relations Department, Mr David, Director, Training and Certification, Huawei, Middle East and a large number of Vice Chancellors, ICT professionals and students.
Describing background of HEC-Huawei strategic partnership, Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said the bilateral collaboration that started in 2006 helped Pakistan have its own ICT setup. He said HEC has been working with different partners from around the world in order to provide a good learning environment to Pakistani students.
“Huawei is a tested HEC partner, as it has taken different ICT initiatives jointly with HEC including establishment of Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN), ICT R&D Center and Cloud Data Center”, he said, adding that under the Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme, Pakistani students will now have made-in-Pakistan laptops owing to the cooperation of Huawei.
Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said that Huawei, as per Memorandum of Understanding signed with HEC, will also provide training to Pakistani youth on the advent of any new technology. Underlining the importance of Huawei ICT Skill Competition 2017, the Chairman informed that as many as 2300 Pakistani students from 30 universities participated in the Huawei ICT Skill Competition 2016. He said representatives of 30 Chinese business institutions will attend the Business Schools Consortium to be held in the August-end. They will deliberate future collaboration for promotion of business education, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, You Yi appreciated the HEC-Huawei collaboration and remarked that China and Pakistan have a long history of educational exchange which has a very vital role in the improvement of bilateral relations. As many as 145 Pakistani students have been awarded Chinese scholarships this year, he informed.
He said that Government education delegation’s visit the two countries from time to time to discuss areas of collaboration. He revealed that Chinese institutions established in various cities of Pakistan are not only promoting technologies, but are also very helpful in teaching Chinese language teaching and conducting capacity building courses for the country’s youth.
These youth will make great contributions to the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he hoped. The Cultural Counselor revealed that technological advancement has brought the world into an information era lessening physical distances among human beings. Amid this development, he maintained, Huawei has played a significant role in changing the world through promotion of ICT skills among youth. He observed that Pakistan has a great potential in ICT development and competitions like the Huawei ICT Skill Competition 2017 will help tapping the talent of Pakistani students.
In his remarks, Space Lee stressed that Huawei stands side by side with HEC in promotion of ICT in Pakistan. He said technological readiness is very imperative for people-to-people contacts, as technology is reshaping the world. He said Huawei will welcome all the students intending to compete in the Huawei ICT Skill Competition 2017. Mr David, Director, Training and Certification, Huawei, Middle East, and Osama Khalid, one of students who won Huawei ICT Skill Competition 2016, also expressed their views on the occasion.
During the ceremony, representatives of 13 universities, which are working closely with Huawei on Huawei Authorized Information Network Academy (HAINA), were awarded shields. These representatives included Engr Ahmad Farooq, Vice Chancellor, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Dr Jahangir Bashar, Rector, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Swabi, Engr Amir Hafeez, Assistant Professor, FAST-NU, Dr. Sajid Saleem, Assistant Professor, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad.
The other representatives including Dr Munam Ali Shah, Head of Department, Computer Science, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Dr Imran Mumtaz, Director, IT, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Dr Zeeshan Ahmed, Assistant Professor, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, Arshad Bosal, Director, IT, University of Gujrat, and Athar Kaleem, System Administrator, University of Haripur.
