Punjab IT labs project for secondary schools

Punjab to be made hub of education and IT
Lahore, Sep 18: Punjab to be made hub of education and IT in the region, "the way to progress and growth is education; an educated population is needed to run modern industries and offices not only in Pakistan but in the rest of the world as well", this was stated by Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif at the launch of Punjab IT Labs project for secondary schools in the province.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Punjab Government and NComputing was signed at Chief Minister Secretariat here under which NComputing will provide three of the company's X550 virtual desktop kits to be installed in each computer laboratory that is to be established in 4,286 secondary and higher secondary schools of the province.

Each NComputing kit converts a standard desktop PC into five separate virtual desktops, thereby reducing the cost of establishing computer labs by 50 percent. In addition, the running electricity cost of these labs will be curtailed by 90 percent as the virtual desktops only require monitor, keyboard and mouse and no separate CPU is needed.

The Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif who took keen interest in timely commencement of the project said that the resources allocated for this purpose would be utilized prudently to achieve best results in the shortest period. He said, "Pakistan is lucky in the sense that at a time when the developed nations are loaded with higher percentage of aged population, Pakistan has over 60 per cent of its population under the age of 25.

This human resource, if properly harnessed, will be sought by developed nations as well. Pakistan, he added, would also gain as an educated skilled workforce will be able to efficiently increase productivity." "NComputing is proud to have been chosen by Government of Punjab to enhance computer literacy in the state and to equip the future workforce of the country with the knowledge tools to compete on a global platform," said Mr. Stephen Dukker, Chairman and CEO of NComputing.

"With the NComputing technology and the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, a new era in computer literacy and command has started in Punjab which will enable the provincial planners to impart meaningful computer training at low cost.", said Khawja Samiullah Askari, CEO NConnexion, Ncomputing's distributor and authorized service center for Pakistan & Afghanistan. "NComputing has become a part of the lives of millions of people across tens of thousands of institutions and organizations in more than 140 countries.

We continuously endeavor to enable schools, businesses and governments to expand and improve their computing capabilities at extremely affordable and sustainable costs," said Mr. Manish Sharma, VP APAC for NComputing. He said the NComputing concept is new and has revolutionized learning processes in both developed and developing countries. Today's computers are so powerful that the vast majority of applications use only a small fraction of the computer's capacity.

NComputing enables a single computer to be virtualized so that many users can tap the unused capacity and share it as if each person had their own computer. Unlike other desktop virtualization solutions, he patented and highly-efficient NComputing desktops deliver rich ultimedia and full-screen video.

The IT Labs project's Additional Program Director Joudat Ayaz on the occasion said that "it is a sustainable and environment-friendly project with very low recurring costs. In the overall context of the project, we are saving over Rs. 1.8 billions, which is almost 36% of the total project cost. The Government of Punjab would save another over Rs. 10 million per month in electricity charges as the NComputing devices use only 1 watt of electricity as compared to 110 watts or more for a typical PC, we have reduced the number of PCs being purchased and the cost of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) has also been drastically reduced".

NComputing, Inc. is the fastest growing desktop virtualization company in the world with millions of users in 140 countries. The company's award-winning, patented technology lowers desktop computing costs, improves manageability, and reduces both energy consumption and e-waste. It is the perfect solution for leveraging the power and potential of PCs and cloud computing.

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Shalimar College will cater to growing education needs
Lahore: A new medical and dental college in the private sector has been completed in the provincial metropolis which will cater to growing health education requirements on no profit no loss basis after it is duly approved by the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council.

The Shalimar Medical and Dental College has been set up by the Businessmen Hospital Trust which is already running the Shalimar Hospital in Moghulpura locality of the city for several years. The Trust has already applied to the PMDC for securing the required permission after which the college would become functional in due course of time.

With its modern and contemporary outlook Shalimar Medical and Dental College is going to serve as an emblem for Medical education in Pakistan in the 21st century. While keeping pace with the modern times the building does not lose its integrity.

While briefing the newsmen Architect Imtiaz Ali said that the college building has been completed in a record time of 15 months and it has covered area of 130,000 square feet. The space has been designed so as to instill a sense of being in its users and to be inspirational in its execution.

With an seemingly rigid framework of the context interactive spaces have been provided for the wellbeing of the students. He said the project has already cost Rs 300 million and another Rs 100 million will be incurred for completion of all the infrastructure facilities. Replying to questions, Imtiaz Ali said that hostel facilities for the students will be provided in the second phase which will be taken up shortly.

He said the new medical college has admission capacity of 500 students adding that every year, 100 students will be enrolled in the first year. Shalimar Medical and Dental College is the outcome of concerted and committed efforts made by Board of Trustees of the Businessmen Hospital Trust.

Justice Khalilur Rahman Ramdey of the Supreme Court of Pakistan is the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Shalimar Medical and Dental College. F.P report

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