President Dr. Arif Alvi on Thursday stressed the need for preventing the use of digital platforms as tools of disinformation, misinformation and propaganda and instead using them for the society’s good.
Addressing the participants of the National Security and War Course (NSWC-23) at the National Defence University (NDU), the president mentioned the misuse of communication technology in many countries with an objective to spread fake information.
The president urged the NSWC-23 participants to keep themselves abreast with the latest developments, particularly advancements in information technology, artificial intelligence and communications.
President Alvi dilated upon issues concerning national security. He emphasized that “as a nation, we should shield our social and cultural values”. He called upon the course participants to work hard for a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan.
The president lauded NDU for imparting quality training to future leadership in line with future challenges.
Market-oriented research by varsities vital for solutions to indigenous problems: President: President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday called upon the universities and educational institutions of the country to conduct market-oriented research to provide indigenous solutions to indigenous problems being faced by the national economy.
The president, addressing the 17th Convocation of COMSATS University Islamabad, said that research and development would help in bringing innovation to the local industry and enhancing the quality and standards of country’s products and services.
The president urged the universities and other higher educational institutions to introduce new courses, modify existing ones and divert their academic and material resources toward those subjects, disciplines and occupations which were required by the market.
This would provide the graduates with lucrative jobs, besides providing the industry with pertinent, productive and quality human resources to improve the quality of their products and services, he added.
President Alvi said that due to the permeation of the Internet, knowledge, information training modules and research material were abundantly available to students, however, the importance of teacher-student interaction remained paramount for imparting knowledge.
He said that the students should respect their teachers for equipping them with knowledge and skills, and their parents for their upbringing and for providing them with quality and expensive education. The president appreciated that a large number of female students were graduating. However, the government, society, and families should ensure their active participation in the economic mainstream.
He said that the state and society had made great investments in female graduates and they should give back to society by sharing their knowledge and wisdom and serving their country. President Alvi urged all the stakeholders to ensure the provision of a harassment-free work environment, safe and secure movement in public spaces, enabling working conditions and respect to provide women security and peace of mind to their family members.
He said the country had suffered dearly in the past due to brain drain and was also suffering now as highly trained human resources migrated to other countries.
He said that the nation had produced quality human resources despite scarce resources and while they contributed to the progress and development of their host countries, the homeland was deprived of the expertise of these skilled human resources. He urged the need to take all steps to stop the brain drain by providing opportunities and enabling environment to enable them to contribute to the progress and development of their country.
During the ceremony, the Rector of CUI, Professor Muhammad Tabassum Afzal, presented the report of the university. He said that the university was offering 100 degree programs presently and was ranked amongst the top universities in the specialized subjects of engineering, technology, computer science and economics.
Later, the president also conferred medals upon the top position holders in various disciplines.
