Minister praises Air University for promoting higher education

The three-day International Conference on Modelling and Simulation (ICOMS-2013), organised by Air University, concluded here on Wednesday. Minister of State for Education, Trainings and Standards for Higher Education Balighur Rehman was the chief guest on the occasion. He praised university for efforts to strengthen the foundation of higher education in the country. He talked about the significance of higher education for sustainable development of the country and called for the synergy of creative teaching and creative research for achieving the strategic goals of higher education. He underscored the importance of research as an essential part of higher education. Balighur Rehman said that modelling and simulation were indispensable for manufacturing of engineering products, physical sciences and other fields. He appreciated the efforts of the Air University, especially the organisation of ICOMS-2013, and other conferences and journals expected in the future, and offered full support to the university in this respect. The minister said that the government was investing in many projects to overcome energy shortage in the country and the results of those projects would be visible in the coming years. He said that the government’s vision to construct Diamer-Bhasha, Dasu and Bunji dams would help the country effectively address energy crisis. Balighur Rehman said that Pakistan was a country blessed with huge chunk of youth population and their potential should be utilised in a constructive way. He said that education was the only hope for survival of the country and the present government was attaching a greater importance to all facets of education, including primary, secondary, higher levels as well as technical education. The minister, however, said that it was the higher education, which produced think tanks, researchers and scholars, who could play their vital role to shape the destiny of the nation. Air University Vice Chancellor Professor Ijaz A Malik emphasised the research-intensive role of the university in line with its vision and mission and highlighted the importance of international conferences and journals for dissemination. He said that the conference was part of the university’s agenda to uphold and continuously enhance research environment. “Many more conferences and journals are part of our agenda to strengthen the role of Air University in enhancing higher education. We have a strong conviction that education is the only sensible investment that an individual or a society can make for all other investments emanate from education. We understand that all tiers of education are important for the wellbeing of a society. However, it is the higher education that ensures a knowledge- based society required for the sustainable development of that society,” he said. The vice chancellor said that the strategic goals of higher education in the service of society couldn’t be achieved without making creative research an essential part of the country’s overall higher education structure. He said that the Air University was determined to work pro-actively to achieve the strategic goal of a knowledge-based society through a vibrant higher education system in the service of the society. Professor Ijaz A Malik said that as part of its agenda to facilitate the dissemination and sharing of knowledge related to contemporary research, Air University was planning to organise an International Conference on Energy Systems and Policies in November next year. He said that the university was also initiating two International Journals on Modelling and Simulation, and Energy corresponding to the topical importance of both our conferences. The minister later awarded the conference shields to the participating national and international scholars over significant contributions to the event. Also during the event, where national and international scholars, including those from the US, Europe and Asian countries, were in attendance, Air University signed separate memorandum of understanding with National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore and University of Gorica, Slovenia for collaborative research, exchange of students, and exchange of faculty for mutual professional benefits. Source: Education News