The University of Management and Technology (UMT), Lahore held a conference on Impactful Research: Convergence of Basic and Applied Research to Create Real-World Impact. Chairman HEC Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed attended the conference as the chief guest. President UMT Ibrahim Hasan Murad, Rector UMT Dr. Asif Raza, Director General UMT Abid Sherwani, Dr Mujahid Kamran, Dean Research UMT Dr. Sammia Shahid, Registrar Saleem Atta, Controller of Examinations Haseeb Haider, Deans, Directors and a large number of faculty participated in the conference. Chairman HEC Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed in his address said that basic and applied research must be combined for real-world impact. Expressing his views, Dr. Mukhtar said that UMT has become the first private university in Pakistan because of its quality research, for which I congratulate the UMT administration. Research plays an important role in the development of any country, so we have to improve the country’s conditions by doing research in diverse areas, said Chairman HEC. He also said that universities need to adapt to the changing landscape of today’s world. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed highlighted that writing research papers is good but we need to focus on research that can provide solutions to social and economical problems of society. He shared that HEC is going to set up two data centers in Karachi and Lahore which will enable the Higher Education Commission to further improve its performance. Lack of resources is a major problem and there is a need to work on collaborative projects and focus more on resource sharing by experts from all universities, he added. Chairman HEC further said that in the near future, more than 100 million rupees will be given to universities to carry out impactful research. He advised that universities should create their own small companies to serve the country with products made through research. UMT President Ibrahim Murad thanked Dr. Mukhtar for his presence and said that UMT is a research-led university and has achieved the status of Pakistan’s first private university by promoting research-based education in the true sense. UMT is fully committed to providing research-based solutions to societal problems, he added. Murad expressed thatUMT is also working on low-cost modern uniforms for the armed forces and the Government of Pakistan’s successful low-cost housing project. UMT has grown 400% in the last three to four years and this is due to the untiring effort of the faculty.