Daily Times

Experts at a two-day international conference at Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology said that there was a dire need to strengthen linkages between the industry and academia to boost the industrial sector contribution which could prove very helpful in strengthening the country’s economy.

The ‘International Conference on Sustainability in Process Industry (SPI 2022)’ was organized by GIK Institute Chemical Department in collaboration with the University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar. Jahangir Piracha, Chief Executive Officer of Engro Chemicals, was the chief guest at the conference that concluded on Thursday.

The Engro Chemicals CEO spoke in detail about the requirements of the industry, the problems confronted by the industrial sector, the responsibility of the government, how to run an industry and the product value in the market. “There is a dire need to create better opportunities and environment for the industry and academic communication while focusing on recycling,” he said. Tauseef Salma, Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, USA said that climate change implications were felt across the entire globe and the developing world badly needed to adopt policies to cope with global warming issues. “Recently, one-third of Pakistan submerged in floodwater,” she said.

Bianca Mortari of the State University of Sao Pualo, Brazil, Dr Imran Khan of Turkiye, and Dr Guichao Wang of China also expressed their views at the conference and lauded the efforts that both national and international experts belonging to academia and industry gathered and presented their views to resolve the most pressing global issues.

Prof. Dr Najma Memon of the National Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry, University of Sindh said that the main causes of global energy crises included unbridled consumption, population explosion, lack of renewable energy, bureaucratic hurdles, lack of seriousness of the officials in triggering academic-industry joint efforts to address the burning issue. “Energy is the basic need of the people,” she said.