Daily Times

COMSTECH-the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation will hold a two-day international symposium “Digital Technologies for the Future World” starting from January 19. The symposium, to be held at COMSTECH Secretariat, will provide a platform for participants to learn from global future digital technology trends, scientific breakthroughs in the cutting-edge fields of the digital world, etc.

According to an official of COMSTECH, the symposium will be attended by scientists, researchers, academicians, graduate students, think tanks, and industry experts from the OIC countries. The Islamic world is vast and diverse, comprising of many developing and developed countries, which are still in need of skills and knowledge in scientific research and digital technologies.

The transition towards digital technologies will determine the future path for developing countries to cope up with the global pace in the field of information technology. In this scenario, researchers, scientists, and experts from OIC countries, working in all fields of digital technologies have to indulge themselves in applied research to compete with the global leaders in digital technologies.

The official informed that the workshop will cover the thematic areas including Future Technology Trends, Educational Technologies, Intelligent Systems, Machine Vision, Advanced Communication and Networks Techniques, Security and Privacy, Social Implications of ICT, ICT Role in Global health crisis, Role of E-governance, Pandemic Impact on global Education and Virtual Augmented Reality.

This international symposium will cover the diversified topics related to the recent global trends in the world of Information Technology, including smart applications, embedded technologies, bio-inspired computing, security and privacy, knowledge economy, digital learning and entrepreneurship, smart cities, industry 4.0, cognitive cybernetics, quantum computing, big data and data analytics, augmented reality, and Artificial Intelligence infused automation, and crisis management intelligent systems.

The resources persons from academia and industry will deliver lectures on future digital technology adoption and challenges for the future.  According to the tentative list of speakers, Professor of Computing, University of South Wales, UK, Jonathan Andrew Ware will share his expertise on the topic  “Intelligent Systems Paradigms for Future” while Professor at Department of Computer Science and Technology, Peking University, China,  Zhi Jin will speak on “Self-Adaptive Software in the Human, Cyber-Physical Systems”.

Director, BRITE Professional Services, Adjunct Professor, Western Sydney University, Australia, Professor San Murugesan will share his thoughts on “AI in Education: Applications and Impact” while CEO Interactive Group, Pakistan, Dr Shahid Mahmood will speak on “Disruptive Future Technologies for Developing Countries”. Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Queen’s University Belfast, UK, Hui Wang and UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, University of London, Prof. Tim Unwin will also share their experience.

ICT innovation and up-scaling are keys to ensuring business continuity, maintaining customer access to benefits and services, handling the growing demand and implementing new projects. In the health sector, for instance, AI-enabled frontier technologies are helping to save lives, diagnose diseases, and extend life expectancy. In education, virtual learning environments and distance learning have opened up programmes to students who would otherwise be excluded.

Public services are also becoming more accessible through blockchain systems. Several discussions show the expansion of digital services in order to alleviate the impact of pandemics on the economy, using ICTs in pandemics exemplifies both the limitations and opportunities for ICT use.