FCCI to fund research projects at LUMS

FROM MENAHILL RASHID
FAISALABAD: Skilled force is the need of time to scale up Pakistan’s largest businesses, in which the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) will provide funding for accelerating the postgraduate research projects at LUMS in addition to sponsoring the publications of research articles and further institutionalizing the internship program for LUMS students.

This was decided in a meeting held between Engineer Ahmad Hassan, Chairman FCCI Research & Development Department and Mr. Imran Nadeem Ansari, Deputy Manager Grants & Major Gifts, LUMS.

Engineer Ahmad Hasan said that this collaboration would also facilitate LUMS experts to arrange industrial training programs and deliver lectures during seminars for knowledge and skill enhancement of industrial professionals based in Faisalabad. He said that the FCCI and Lahore University of Management Science (LUMS) have also decided to ink a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration and cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Engr. Ahmad Hassan emphasized the need for harnessing knowledge and talent of LUMS alumni by establishing an online portal. “It will extend membership to all alumni by establishing an online portal”, he said and added that it could help the industrial sector to use their ideas and skills for national economic development. Engr. Ahmad Hassan also invited Syed Babar Ali, the founder of the LUMS to visit FCCI and identify additional avenues of collaboration between the two bodies. He further added that qualified human resource is a prerequisite to meet the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution and to promote e-business in Pakistan. He said that Faisalabad is recognized as the industrial hub of Pakistan with state of the art units of textile and apparel. He said that the industry of Faisalabad is contributing over $22- Billion to the national GDP and accounts for a major share in Pakistan’s total textile exports. He further said informing that FCCI, being a representative body of businessmen, industrialists and traders, is striving hard to promote national exports by taking innovative initiatives for building a knowledge-based economy in collaboration with major professional institutes of the country.