The languages should be taken on global platforms to support diversity, pluralism and culture openness

The recommendations formulated at Sindh Madressatul Islam University’s 2nd Global Research Congress and its six international conferences call for establishing cultural departments in higher education institutions

Karachi, Sindh

The 2-day day 2nd Global Research Congress organized by Sindh Madressatul Islam University Karachi, which concluded here on Thursday February 29, 2024, presented a number of recommendations including one that the culture and languages should be the part of curricula so that, learners can express and share their ideas with more confidence.

“These languages should be taken on global platforms to support diversity, pluralism and culture openness,” it was urged.

The recommendation, presented by the Department of Language and Culture, also suggested that for preserving cultural heritage, the cultural departments across higher education institution should be established to train teachers and learner about cultural integrity through academic activities.

The recommendations formulated at Sindh Madressatul Islam University’s 2nd Global Research Congress and its six international conferences were presented to the policy makers for implementations at the concluding session, attended by chairman Sindh Higher Education Commission Dr. Tariq Rafi, Vice Chancellor SMIU Dr. Mujeeb Shari, vice chancellors of different universities, national and international scholars, faculty, heads of various sections and students.

The Department of Environment recommended that there is a dire need to establish a Nature-Inspired Innovation Hub by the higher education institutions as a collaborative space, where academia, industry experts, and global community can participate in community of practices, discuss and bring sustainable solutions to forefront inspired by nature.

It further said that there is a need to conduct projects and research on nature inspired smart communities and share findings with the global research and academic communities through open educational practices.

The Department of Education recommended that there is a crucial need to cultivate interdisciplinary dialogues among educators, researchers, and policymakers regarding the policy and curriculum issues in teacher education to shape a sustainable future.

It was further recommended that there is a need for teachers to work closely with learners and conduct field analysis before designing any course. Foster collaboration between educators, industry experts, and students to ensure relevance, adaptability, and a commitment to sustainable educational practices.

It said mental health is a fundamental aspect of overall well-being. Integrating this course into various disciplines ensures that students receive comprehensive support, by normalizing discussions around mental health, universities contribute to creating an inclusive and empathetic learning environment.

The department of Media and Communication Studies in its recommendation suggested training for media personal to report ethically about human rights, justice, and social issues, working collectively with authorities to give out correct details, and using different media to teach communities how to stay safe and informed.

It further said that the research centers should be established dedicated to conducting studies, provide policy recommendations, and engage in advocacy to address pressing societal issues.

The department of Business Administration recommended that that businesses have more responsibilities towards economic, social and environmental sustainability, therefore, entrepreneurship and social innovation culture should be promoted among higher education learners. It said that the practice of publishing sustainability reports has become widespread among companies globally, and it has become crucial for companies to take action to reduce the impact of their operations on the environment and society. There is a need to develop strategies to enhance capabilities of business students to understand various issues related to circular economy, waste management and business models.

The Department of Computer Science said that it should conduct research projects and also encourage research scholars to collaborate and embrace innovative intelligence computing systems and its implementation.

It said that Pakistan faces a number of challenges when it comes to cyber security. One of the biggest issues is the lack of resources and expertise dedicated to this field.  There is a dire need to develop expertise in students/researchers to cope up with this issue. In this regard, new courses such as Computer Forensics and Advance cyber security may be included

Block chain technology can be implemented to the different industries to increase data security, decrease fraud and errors, and the improvement of records accuracy. Software industry is growing in Pakistan, therefore, students need to enhance their knowledge to others related filed like, Robotics, AI, and Big Data analytics.

Dr. Mujeeb Sahrai, Vice Chancellor of Sindh Madressatul Islam University and the host of the Global Research Congress and six international conferences in his speech said this the Global Research Congress was an initiative of SMIU’s faculty. Dr. Sahrai said SMIU believes that country can move forward by encouraging research work and SMIU is preferring to invest its energies in this field also.

He thanked the national and international scholars who made the congress and conferences successful by their presence. He also thanked Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah for his support to SMIU and other public sector universities of Sindh in his previous tenure, when he had increased grant of universities from 6 billion rupees to 23 billion rupees and had made the universities sustainable.

Dr. Tariq Rafi, Chairman Sindh HEC in his address said that the SMIU should established collaborative linkages with the international faculty who participated in the congress. He further said that the recommendations which the congress and international conferences have formulated should be sent to the policy makers and Sindh HEC also, but individually at the universities level we can implement these. American scholar American scholar Prof. Dr. Keith also shared his views about the congress.

Dr. Zahid Ali Channar, convener of the Congress presented report of the two-day Global Research Congress and said that during the two days of the congress and international conferences 57 panelists participated in the panel discussions, 204 scholars were chair and co-chair in 120 technical sessions and 22 were keynote speakers, among them were 4 foreign scholars, who delivered speeches and presentations during the congress.

In the end, Dr. Aamir Umrani, Secretary of the congress presented vote of thanks, while Wafa Mansoor Buriro, Assistant Professor SMIU conducted the proceedings.

On this occasion, Dr. Tariq Rafi and Dr. Mujeeb Sahrai gave away shields to the organizer of the congress and conferences.

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Published under International Cooperation with "Sindh Courier"