President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari along with his delegation visited the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and discussed with its Rector Lt. Gen. Javed Mahmood Bukhari the collaboration to enhance the Industrial competitiveness and academia industry’s linkages. He also discussed collaboration for improving the competitiveness of the local industry through strong academia-industry linkages, said a press release issued here on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, Lt. Gen. Javed Mahmood Bukhari, Rector NUST briefed the ICCI delegation about the role of NUST in promoting future leaders and job creators for a positive impact on society and the economy. He said that NUST has created an ecosystem to promote research, innovation and productivity. He said that academia has cutting-edge research while industry faces practical challenges and problems, therefore, close cooperation between NUST and ICCI would help resolve issues of industry and produce innovative products for exports. He said that NUST and ICCI should join hands in students’ mentorship programs to give those practical skills and experience that would improve their employability. Speaking on the occasion, the President ICCI stressed for close academia-industry linkages to address industrial problems and improve the competitiveness of industry that would help enhance industrial activities and exports. He said that universities were producing a lot of research, which was not benefiting the industry. Therefore, close collaboration between academia-industry will help tailor such research to meet the needs of industry, he said adding that Indian IT graduates had reached the top positions in some big companies like Google, Microsoft, and IBM and stressed that Pakistani universities should produce IT professionals to lead the top-ranking companies of the world. He said that with better focus, Pakistan can increase its IT exports from currently around US$ 3 billion to US$ at least 50 billion in a few years. Faad Waheed, Senior Vice President ICCI said the academia-industry linkages can lead to the commercialization of academic research, promote innovations, and improve the economic growth of the country. Engr. Azhar ul Islam Zafar, Vice President ICCI said that ICCI and NUST should join hands to develop curricula and training programs that align with the needs of the industry. Zafar Bakhtawari, former President ICCI and Secretary General UBG Pakistan said that students prefer government jobs or migrate to foreign countries. However, universities should focus on fostering entrepreneurship in students that offers them prosperous careers. He said that in the West, students idealize business role models like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk and stressed that the universities in Pakistan should invite business leaders to address students that would motivate them to idealize the business role models and explore career growth in the business field to create new jobs and contribute to the economic development of the country.