A memorandum of understanding was signed on Tuesday between the Information Technology Board of AJK and Tech Valley Social Enterprise under which 1,500 Google scholarships would be awarded to students within the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). AJK Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan overlooked signing of the MoU by AJK Secretary Information Technology Shahid Ayub and Tech Valley Chief Executive Officer Umar Farooq here at a ceremony. Advisor IT Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal, Director General IT Dr Khalid Rafiq, Senior Additional Secretary Masood ur Rehman and representatives of Tech Valley also attended the ceremony. Google has prepared courses according to the latest IT trends, including IT Support, IT Automation, Data Analytics, Project Management, UN Design, and in order to prepare skilled manpower, launched a career certificate programme in Pakistan under which learners are offered an opportunity to develop their knowledge and acquire digital skills for in-demand jobs. The online certification programme offers learners the opportunity to gain in-demand technical skills across six areas including, data analytics, IT support, IT automation, project management, UX Design, digital marketing, and e-commerce. After signing of the agreement, 1,500 Google Career Certificate scholarships would be provided to students in Azad Kashmir through local partners. Speaking on the occasion, Sardar Tanveer referred to the importance of information technology and said today’s world belonged to information technology. Stressing the need for promoting the IT sector in Azad Kashmir, he said by virtue of the MoU, not only 1,500 scholarships have been obtained for the AJK students, but also a platform would be provided to the students whereby they could be able to gain in-demand technical skills. He said the government would encourage such social enterprises to meet the demands of the modern world. Meanwhile, another memorandum of understanding was signed between the Department of Tourism and Archeology and Pakistan Paragliding Association to promote adventure tourism in Azad Kashmir. In this regard, a ceremony was held at Kashmir House, Islamabad, wherein the MoU was formally signed in the presence of Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan. Secretary of Tourism and Archeology Ms. Mudhat Shahzad and President of Pakistan Paragliding Association Sajjad Shah signed the memorandum of understanding.