Chairman SHEC inaugurates digital Research Lab at KU DPA

Islamabad - 21 August 2023 (Adnan Hameed): The Chairman Sindh Higher Education Commission Professor Dr S. M. Tariq Rafi inaugurated Asma Basher Digital Research Lab at the department of public administration of the University of Karachi. The digital research lab has been established with the collaboration of a Chase Up departmental store to provide dedicated facilities to the students enrolled in MPhil, MS, and PhD programs in the KU DPA. The Chairman SHEC Professor Dr Tariq Rafi while addressing the lab's inaugural ceremony informed the audience that the provincial HEC is providing full support so that the international ranking of our universities could be improved globally. He shared that the provincial government had increased the allocated budget of the SHEC to Rs24 billion per annum to facilitate varsities of Sindh. He believed that governments should not interfere in the matters of the universities and should give more autonomous status and power to the higher education institutes of the province. He said that number of problems have occurred due to intervention from the government which could be resolved if governments stop interfering in varsities matters. Dr Tariq Rafi advised that universities should adopt the self-accountability approach and work hard to improve their international ranking. He further said that to improve the ranking of universities, we have to pay special attention to the teaching and research quality, and hoped that it would help in improving the global ranking of our universities. He mentioned that SHEC has drafted a formula, after considering numerous elements and requirements and keeping various factors in mind, to distribute funds and grants to universities in Sindh. The Chairman SHEC Professor Dr Tariq Rafi observed that a positive change can be brought in society only through positive thinking and its promotion. He mentioned that today getting a job is become difficult, and added that skilled and talented people achieve their goals as they are more dedicated as compared to others. He advised that youngsters should not be disappointed, but should have the courage to do something and achieve something. He called the cooperation of universities and industries as the need of the hour and valuable for society. Meanwhile, the KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi said that in order to compete with the world, we have to provide all the basic facilities to our youth, so that they could do well like others. He mentioned that young scholars would get everything in this dedicated digital lab and it has been designed according to the need of the researcher. He informed that we are giving the official email domain of the University to the students enrolled in MPil/PhD programs to easily access research journals and publications around the world. On this occasion, he asked the Chairman SHEC Professor Dr Tariq Rafi for a special package for the University of Karachi to address its various issues. He added that the University can’t be run on a commercial basis and to overcome its problems it needs solid support from the SHEC and others. The KU VC Professor Dr Khalid Iraqi while acknowledging the support by the Chief Executive Officer of Chase Up Bashir Salman in establishing the digital lab said that academia and industries could resolve their problems if they work jointly. The CEO of Chase Up Salman Bashir said that industries require skilled and educated manpower, and if they help the high education institutions, they could quickly get products as per their need. He informed the audience that the departmental store had signed the memorandum of understanding with the KU and now handover the fully furnished and updated research lab to the department. According to the DPA faculty member Dr Mustafa Hyder, the KU and Chase Up departmental store had signed MoU for collaboration on the uplift of facilities at the DPA. The Chase Up departmental store has provided the computers, switches, and sound system, besides all the networking, and also developed the infrastructure of the lab and adjacent refreshment area. Earlier, the in-charge of the KU DPA Dr Saima Akhtar, and another faculty member Dr Ghazal Khawaja Hummayun shed light on the history and present performance of the department, and shared other aspects of the DPA.