The National Center for Industrial Biotechnology’s Technical Director, Prof. Dr. Abida Raza, gave a brief introduction to the seminar and its activities.
The National Center for Industrial Biotechnology (NCIB) and the Office of Research, Innovation & Commercialization (ORIC), PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, jointly organised an awareness seminar on “Exploring the Challenges of Academia-Industry Linkages in the Pharmaceutical Sector” on Thursday, June 8, 2023 at the university.
The seminar’s resource person was Mr. Usman Shaukat, Director of Bio-Labs Corporate Group (Pvt) Ltd, a well-known industrialist. The main guest was Prof. Dr. N. M. Butt (SI), a renowned nuclear scientist.
The National Center for Industrial Biotechnology’s Technical Director, Prof. Dr. Abida Raza, gave a brief introduction to the seminar and its activities.
She gave a brief overview of the center’s mission and highlighted the NCIB’s multidisciplinary team. Mr. Usman, who has more than 18 years of industry experience, stressed the importance of collaboration between academia and business to transform Pakistan into an export-oriented nation.
He claimed that with the right partnerships, Pakistan could generate more than $5 billion in annual foreign revenue from the pharmaceutical industry alone. He described the opportunities for students in the pharmaceutical sector and emphasised the difficulties facing the industry. He emphasised that Pakistan can quickly turn into a centre of innovation and research in the pharmaceutical industry.
From the perspective of an academician, the chief guest, Prof. Dr. N. M. Butt, also discussed the Academia-Industry Linkages and claimed that in Pakistan, industrial partners are hesitant to invest in academia. He expressed his gratitude to Mr. Usman for his assistance in addressing the resistance and establishing a better working relationship.
Director ORIC Prof. Dr. Khalid Saif Ullah concluded by thanking the distinguished guests on behalf of Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Naeem for taking time out of their busy schedules to deliver thought-provoking remarks. He gave out mementos to the visitors. The visitor also went to NCIB’s cutting-edge facility where he saw how work was being done on developing research-based products.