Daily Times

All over the world, the new mode of working for academia is to get associated with the industry to provide solutions for the issues related to the industry and cater for a more conducive environment for society. This trend is prevailing worldwide, not only in science and technology but also in the social sciences. This is the wave that seeks to develop a healthy and competitive environment for academia to contribute their skills, experience, and expertise to the industry for mutual development and progress. It seems a little bit selfish for the industry, but, in the long run, it is the most suitable way of dealing with the poor performance of the industry and in some places, academia not meeting the requisite standards. It is a fact that if the industry is progressing, business and money are flowing, people are earning, and the profit ratio for all is good and increasing, it brings prosperity for all. But so far it is not clear in the countries like Pakistan, this relationship has not developed the way it can give dividends.

In Pakistan, this has been popularised and enforced by the Higher Education Commission Pakistan by fixing essential industrial liaison between the academia who aspire for getting selected as full professors on a Tenure Track System basis. This has made it essential that the academia would engage in activities of the industry around and complete such projects with them as can help them provide a necessary certificate for the said selection. This has connected industry and academia by generating opportunities for research and experimentation,

Another way of doing this by the HEC is the establishment of ORIC in the universities which is responsible for engaging the industry sector with the universities and involving them in producing graduates that may be more suitable to the industry requirements. This engagement has provided a platform for the industry also to turn up to universities to look for ways to how they could fruitfully engage with higher education.

It is well established by the modern ways of life that the academic industry is essential not only to provide funding for higher education institutions but also to provide the industry with skilled and trained individuals.

But this is being done mostly in the subjects of science. The subjects of arts are either ignored or there is no clear-cut definition of this relationship. For example, there is no clear role of the academia of arts, humanities and social sciences. Even if a professor in the subjects of humanities attempts to establish a project for the industry, it is not given weightage equal to that of science. Moreover, the guidelines provided by the HEC for ORIC and QEC at the universities also focus on comparatively less representation of arts and humanities.

It is well established by the modern ways of life that the academic industry is essential not only to provide funding for higher education institutions but also to provide the industry with skilled and trained individuals. This engagement affords pre-job and job opportunities to work with industry for paving a better solution to the issues emerging in our day to life. Moreover, the researchers are also funded for conducting much-needed research for the innovation in and development of technology to try to stand with the competitive world in the field of science and technology.

The 18th-century Industrial Revolution proved the efficacy of scientific and industrial progress for sociopolitical progress. Since that time Europe took long strides of progress and established its superiority in almost every field of life and provided a quality of life for its citizens. On the other hand, the counties like Pakistan have not paid much attention to their industrial progress and have largely depended on well-developed nations of the world. This has created a huge void between the sustainable progress level and the need of society. The current global environment of academia-industry liaison can prove conducive to filling this gap to some extent and if focused on with responsibility, it can provide sustainable growth in not only the technology area but also in the sociopolitical sectors.

This can be done by engaging the industry and its tycoons in deciding and implementing the syllabi, the course contents and the study schemes of the higher education institutions. They may also be helpful in the implementation of classroom teaching methodologies so that the theoretical portions must also be in line with the requirements of the industry. This must be accompanied by a practicum during the stipulated study periods which would allow the students to learn in the very environment for which he or she is being produced by the universities. To ensure the next level of academic industry liaison, the requirement of working with industry should not be restricted to the senior posts of professor but rather it should be extended to the lower cadres as well. Moreover, the industry academia liaison must be in place for the academia of arts and humanities to generate a further competitive environment for the healthful growth of society in a holistic manner.

The writer is a professor of English at Government Emerson University, Multan. He can be reached at zeadogar @hotmail.com and Tweets at @Profzee