Higher Education Commission New Zealand scholarships

HEC to send more scholars to NZ
Islamabad, July 24: Ambassador of New Zealand Brian Sanders called on Special Assistant to the Prime Minister and Incharge, Higher Education Commission (HEC) Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali here Thursday.

During the meeting they exchanged views for continuation and expansion of HEC collaboration with the New Zealand higher education sector as well as its industry.

Expressing satisfaction over the existing HEC scholarship programmes with New Zealand, Begum Shahnaz told the visiting ambassador that the commission wants to accelerate the pace and scope of this cooperation. "We want to send more HEC scholars to New Zealand, especially in those fields where New Zealand has more expertise like dairy farming, livestock, agriculture, environmental science, social sciences and other such subjects," she added.

It was agreed that the new approach would be "cluster technology-research development" tying up universities and industries from both the countries. There will be a follow-up meeting in late September where in concrete proposals in line with the priority areas identified by HEC would be discussed.

Moin M. Fudda, Honorary Consul General of New Zealand for Pakistan, Dr. Sohail H. Naqvi, Executive Director, HEC and Dr. S. Mahmood Raza, Adviser (HRD) HEC were also present on the occasion.

Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali emphasised that in addition to scholarships, other linkages should also be strengthened such as collaboration between selected university departments of the two countries, besides involving industry from both sides, faculty exchange, joint research ventures and technology transfer. "During the last few years, HEC concentrated on developing faculty base. Now our focus is on academia linkages with industry, agriculture and other areas that are important for socio-economic growth of the country. We want to blend the university research with market requirements and for this purpose the young students and researchers are being encouraged to work on areas of national and commercial importance," she added.

The ambassador appreciated the initiatives of HEC for development of higher education sector in Pakistan. He was of the view that New Zealand had been sharing some of her experiences with HEC and that they were interested to further enhance this collaboration.

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Prof Atta awarded with TWAS prize
Islamabad: Former chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rahman has been awarded TWAS (Third World Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, Trieste, Italy) prize for 2009 for building scientific institutions in Pakistan.

"This highly competitive prize is given to only one eminent scientist from the developing world who has made the most important contributions towards the development of scientific institutions," an official of the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), Karachi University, said in a statement issued on Thursday.

He said that Prof Atta would depart for Trieste, Italy, on Friday to attend the prize distribution ceremony.

The official pointed out that the prize was given to Prof Atta, who is currently working as coordinator general COMSTECH, in recognition of revolutionary developments in the higher education and science sector in Pakistan which were admired the world over. These include the establishment of 51 new universities and degree awarding institutes which led to a tripling of the enrolment of university students from 135,000 to 400,000 in a five years' period, besides strengthening research institutions which led to a 600 per cent increase in research output. The News

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PAL plans to set up National Translation Bureau
Islmabad: Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) has planned to set up a National Translation Bureau to translate Pakistani literature in other foreign languages as well as foreign literature into Pakistani languages.

Chairman of PAL, Fakhar Zaman talking to the agency on Wednesday said that the bureau would not only translate writings from Pakistani literature into different regional languages but also in foreign languages.

The translation bureau to be established here at the academy premises will also translate the international literature in Pakistani languages.

The chairman said, "Pakistani literature translated into UNESCO languages will facilitate foreign readers to understand diverse cultural heritage and historical background of the country."

Fakhar Zaman said that Pakiistani writers were recognise globally on the occasion of International Conference 1995. The writings of Pakistani writers from all Pakistani languages were translated in UNESCO languages and sent to different countries.

"These books are still the identity of Pakistani literature in libraries there.

Keeping this in view, PAL has decided to set up a National Translation Bureau in PAL to translate literary work in both foreign and national languages to create cultural understanding," said Chairman of the Academy. With other language experts, the translators will also be hired to do the translation job amicably.

He said that the academy will expand its work as a publisher and the quality books of writers will be published at low price.

The book of new and young writers from far-flung areas of country will be published. Under this project a modern press will be established in the present building of PAL.

Summary for this purpose has been sent to the government for approval. Under this project not only the books of those writers will be published who cannot publish their books.

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Software for school management information system launched
Islamabad: A software for learning institutions, Rediker, has been launched in Pakistan by AGHAZ to bring about transparency, efficiency and cost cutting measures in the operations of the educational institutions.

The software is specifically designed for learning institutions, and is currently being used in over 100 countries and 4,000 learning institutions across the globe. AGHAZ, which is the implementing partners for Rediker in Pakistan and UAE, will provide training and support for the users of Rediker. It is a joint venture between AGHAZ and Rockville Technologies where AGHAZ would be marketing, implementing and rendering support & training services and the later would be the reseller for the software. The AGHAZ Chief Executive Officer Mr. Agha Alamdar Hussain speaking on the occasion said "founded a quarter century ago by educators in the United States, Rediker has made its mark through the years for its flexibility, secure feature, rich and easy to use applications. Boasting of three module admission, administrator plus and financial accounting with over 20 applications ranging from student information system, parent web portal, where they can access information from the comfort of their homes to PDA and palm applications for educators input during class sessions".

"Our experience in rethinking of business solutions as tools is the very essence of our successes. Our background in Strategy, Operations, Information Systems, Organizational Transformation and Leadership Development demonstrates our precision and finesse, our understanding of true management best practices", he added. He said apart from Rediker AGHAZ is also in partnership with Microsoft Dynamics-Solomon for Eastern Mediterranean, UAE and Pakistan and Sage software and add-on partner with Peachtree accounting. The company also helps with technology planning disaster recovery, e- security and e-business applications and other network and communication solutions. The Nation

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Education helps promote international harmony: Swati
Rawalpindi: Institutions of higher learning have the main responsibility of equipping young minds with advanced knowledge and skills, required for positions of responsibility in government, business and other specialised fields.

Minister for Science & Technology Mohammad Azam Khan Swati stated this while speaking as chief guest at the third convocation of Foundation University, Islamabad here Thursday.

"Education plays a crucial role in establishing the dialogue process and is essential in maintaining shared traditions and values, and promoting national and international harmony. It is vital for the creation of human capital as well as keeping pace with the developed world, as those who have earned a respectable place in the comity of nations are the ones making untiring efforts to take the biggest leaps in science & technology in the shortest possible time," he said.

The minister urged creating centres of excellence in all segments of society, saying, "The present government will continue supporting HEC to sustain the reform process of higher education in order to achieve the target of knowledge economy and a peaceful and forward looking society."

Private sector universities are playing a vital role in sustaining the development of education sector in general and higher education in particular, he said adding that the government is encouraging the private sector to come forward and play its role in setting up quality educational institutions to meet the ever-growing needs of the masses.

Azam Khan Swati appreciated Foundation University's contributions in this regard and assured Ministry of Science & Technology's cooperation in providing guidance and support to strengthen the university's quality control parameters and mechanism in establishing new standards of quality education and research.

During the ceremony, 130 graduates belonging to Foundation University Institute of Engineering & Management Sciences (FUIEMS) and Foundation University College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (FUCLAS) - two of the three constituent institutes of Foundation University - received their degrees and awards in the discourses of Engineering, Management, Information Technology, Education, English Literature, Educational Psychology, Economics and Fine Arts.

Earlier, President Foundation University Lieutenant General (r) Hamid Rab Nawaz said the knowledge based economy has become instrumental for our survival, and vigorous corporate and technology based education, research and development are now imperative to achieve our national aspirations in the 21st century. "We have to make up for the lag of centuries in science & technology and it is only possible through greater emphasis on research and development," he said.

The president said the University is offering financial incentives to potential researchers and is also striving to build strategic partnerships with specialised institutions of higher learning, government agencies and research led universities within Pakistan and around the world. "A mechanism is now in place to aggressively seek international partners for faculty development and knowledge sharing," he said. The News

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