Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister For Higher Education, Meena Khan Afridi For Abridging Gap Between Academia, Industry

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Higher Education, Meena Khan Afridi, has said that provincial government was taking concrete steps to abridge gap between academia and industry

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Sep, 2025) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Higher education, Meena Khan Afridi, has said that provincial government was taking concrete steps to abridge gap between academia and industry.

He was addressing the two-day Second Multidisciplinary Conference 2025 organized by Iqra National University Peshawar as a chief guest here on Thursday.

The conference was attended by Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Science and IT Dr. Shafqat Ayaz, Vice Chancellor of Iqra National University Dr. Malik Taimur Ali, Advisor to the Chancellor Yasir Khurshid, Director ORIC Dr. Shiraz, as well as faculty members, researchers, students and representatives from various industries.

The minister said that linking university research with practical life and prioritize the commercialization of research products was need of the hour. “If research remains confined to books and journals, it cannot yield socio-economic benefits. For this reason, connecting industry with academia has become inevitable,” he remarked.

He urged the students not to restrict their goals to acquiring degrees alone, but to step into the professional world with skills, innovative ideas and fresh thinking.

He reaffirmed that the provincial government would take policy measures to integrate academic research with industry and provide the necessary resources and support.

Speaking at the event, Special Assistant to CM for Science and Information Technology, Dr. Shafqat Ayaz, said that the provincial government had so far digitized 26 departments, while work on digitizing the remaining six departments was progressing rapidly. He noted that through modern technology and digital solutions, transparency is being ensured while public service delivery is becoming faster and easier.

On the occasion, Vice Chancellor of Iqra National University, Dr. Malik Taimur Ali highlighted that the University was promoting collaboration with policy-making institutions and industries to solve local and national problems through research. He emphasized the importance of encouraging students toward entrepreneurship and the use of modern technology.