Research prospects in Gilgit-Baltistan discussed

LAHORE – Council of Pakistan Affairs (CPA) organized a seminar at a local hotel on the topic ‘Higher Education and Research Opportunities in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) Province’ on Saturday. Karakoram International University (KIU) Gilgit Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Najma Najam was the main speaker while CPA President and KIU Department of Media and Communication Head Prof Dr Shafique Jalundhry also spoke on the occasion.
Prof Dr Najma Najam highlighted the research and higher education opportunities in GB. She talked about various unexplored areas in the GB region and said that she with his team was striving to make KIU a hub of knowledge. She said that GB was rich in terms of minerals, wild life and herbs, but there was a need to use them through proper research.
She also discussed the amount of interest showed by America and Europe for exploration in GB. She said that Italy and other European countries were bringing investing in the region. She said that KIU was also starting a programme to teach different languages of tourists including Chinese to the tour guides not only to facilitate the tourists but also to generate an income for the locals.
She said KIU’s faculty was striving to teach the students of GB on modern grounds. She said locals extract the precious stones by blasting and consequently 80 percent was lost. She said KUI was focusing on international collaboration with various universities and was about to sign a MoU with the Berlin University.
KIU is already sending students to Italy under a MoU, she added. She also talked about the potential in the hydro power generation in the region and stressed its importance in the current circumstances. Prof Shafique said that before the arrival of Dr Najma as VC there were only 8 PhDs in the faculty and now the number had risen to 30.