President Dr Arif Alvi has called upon universities and educational institutions of the country to conduct market-oriented research to provide indigenous solutions to indigenous problems being faced by the different sectors of the economy. He added that research and development would help in bringing innovation to the local industry and enhancing the quality and standards of our products and services, which would help in capturing the local and international markets. The President made these remarks while addressing the 17th Convocation of the COMSATS University Islamabad. The ceremony was attended by the faculty, graduating students, their parents and others. The President urged the universities and educational institutes to introduce new courses, modify existing ones and divert their academic and material resources toward those subjects, disciplines and occupations which were required by the market. This, he added, would provide the graduates with lucrative jobs, besides providing the industry with pertinent, productive and quality Human Resources to improve the quality of their products and services. The President said that due to the permeation of the internet, knowledge, information training modules and research material were abundantly available to students, however, the importance of teacher-student interaction remained paramount for imparting knowledge. He further said that students should respect their teachers for equipping them with knowledge & skills, and their parents for their upbringing and for providing them with quality and expensive education. The President appreciated that a large number of female students were graduating, and added that the Government, society, and families should ensure their active participation in the economic mainstream. He added that the state and society had made great investments in female graduates and they should give back to society by sharing their knowledge and wisdom and serving their country. He urged all the stakeholders to ensure the provision of a harassment-free work environment, safe and secure movement in public spaces, enabling working conditions and respect to provide women security and peace of mind to their family members. The President said the country had suffered dearly in the past due to brain drain and was also suffering now as our highly trained human resources migrated to other countries. He said that the nation had produced these quality human resources despite scarce resources and while they contributed to the progress and development of their host countries, the homeland was deprived of the expertise of these skilled human resources. He urged the need to take all steps to stop the brain drain by providing opportunities and enabling environment so as to enable them to contribute to the progress and development of their country. The President also advised the students to continuously pray to Allah Almighty for opening their hearts to knowledge and making them more receptive to wisdom, adding that students should improve their communication skills which would generally help them in life, besides helping in their careers. During the ceremony, the Rector of CUI, Prof Muhammad Tabassum Afzal, presented the report of the University. He said that the university was offering 100-degree programs presently and it was ranked amongst the top universities in the specialized subjects of engineering, technology, computer science and economics. Later, the President also conferred medals upon the top position holders of various disciplines.
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