President urges road map of engineering education to meet global trends

ISLAMABAD, Oct 14 (APP):President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday called upon Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) to devise a road map of engineering education keeping in view the current global trends and also to match the needs of society.

“The practice of engineering should be well-blended with current market practices and in communication with the requirements of a country to make it more beneficial,” the president said while addressing at the inaugural session of Second PEC Deans International Conference of Engineering Education and Practice.

The two-day conference gathered experts from academia, industry, regulatory bodies and public policy-makers to finalize recommendations in synchrony with international practices aimed at facilitating rapid growth in fields of socio-economic development and meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set forth under UN charter.

President Alvi urged upon the PEC along with all stakeholders to integrate a national plan for engineering community leading towards an atmosphere of self-reliance and prosperity as prevailed in developed countries.

He said water conservation, energy shortage and sanitation were the major areas in Pakistan that required engineering solutions as per the local needs.

He proposed that switching to solar cells instead of fossil fuels, construction of small dams and finding effective methods of drainage could be materialized with proper engineering methods.

He said that with rapid changes in the world, several industries and professions could face challenges and thus needed adaptation as per contemporary trends.

“Only those nations would make progress which will have greater response rate towards the global changes,” the president said.

The president said inequality in society leads to stress among its different segments and emphasized taking guideline from ethics, social values and morals. He urged upon the engineers to must do pro-bono (for the public good) work side by side their primary motivation of pursuing careers.

He expressed hoped that the conference would help frame suggestions and achievable  recommendations which would be beneficial to devise a practical strategy.

Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain stressed the need for changing approach towards employment in engineering as the government could not provide jobs to the thousands graduating every year. Instead, he said, creation of private entrepreneurship could help support the country in the field of engineering.