RECORDER REPORT

FAISALABAD: The focus of our academic and research institutions should be on industry and commerce so that the trained human resource produced by universities could be utilized to solve the problems confronted by the industrial sector in addition to ensure their employability in the concerned industrial units, said Shabbir Hussain Chawla, president of Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI).

He was talking to a delegation of National University of Science & Technology (NUST) that met him under the leadership of general manager Maria Qadri.

Shabbir Chawla pointed out the missing link between industry and academia that has further compounded the industrial problems particularly those relating to the up grade of technology. He told that the universities and other research institutions are unable to solve these ticklish issues despite of their concerted efforts. He quoted his recent visit to UK and mentioned the achievements of the Textile Centre of Excellency in Huddersfield. “This centre has developed a unique technology in which cloths can be produced without consuming water and chemicals”, he told and hoped that our research institutions should also focus on practical problems of the industrial sector.

Continuing, he said Faisalabad is dominated by SME Sector and because of their meagre financial resources they are unable to establish dedicated R&D cell to solve their problems there and then.

FCCI chairman Standing Committee on Industry-Academia linkages Dr Habib Aslam Ghaba told that different universities have different syllabuses for engineers which are reducing the scope of their trained human resource in concerned industries.

He said a uniform model on the pattern of MBBS should also be introduced in which the last year students of engineering disciplines could be linked with the concerned industry so that they could understand their practical problems and utilize their theoretic knowledge for their cost effective solutions.