(February 24-2023) Chairman of the United International Group (UIG) Mian Shahid on Friday said developing strong industry-academia linkages could play an important role in economic development.
The majority of the business community is following a primitive model of doing business that lacks the required knowledge and research, he said.
Mian Shahid said this while signing an MOU with Principal Hailey College of Banking and Finance Dr. Mubbsher Munawar Khan in pursuit of the Higher Education Commission’s initiative for industry-academia linkages.
He said that the idea of national economic development is incomplete without industry-academia linkage.
Mian Shahid said that about 3.2 million SMEs are currently operating in Pakistan. The exports of light engineering and high-tech industries are highly dependent on the contributions and performance of SMEs.
SMEs account for almost 90 percent of private sector enterprises. Their contribution is about 40 percent of the GDP. They are also the biggest source of employment generation in the country, he added.
He noted that there always has been a lack of enthusiasm and collaboration between the business community and academia. The training imparted to workers is often below global standards and fails to meet the future needs of the industry.
The curricula taught in our academic institutions are quite rigid, it is and not modified to suit the needs of different career paths and there is little focus on applied research.
This is the reason behind the lack of innovation and creativity which is keeping us behind as our many products do not meet international standards which undermines the image and credibility of Pakistani enterprises in the international markets.
He said that developing economies like Pakistan need to consider economic reforms and work on sustainable development policies. The reforms should help the economy generate more production with efficient use of resources and in value addition to exports.
