NATURE has endowed Pakistan with a conducive environment and fertile land for farming, as well as a beautiful landscape to attract tourists from all over the world. However, these natural resources have not been optimally utilized due to well-known reasons. Pakistan is one of the densely populated countries, boasting a population of over 230 million. More than 60 percent of this population is below thirty years of age. This demographic should be tapped into, as these young individuals represent a potential resource for the country’s economic growth.
Pakistan, despite its faltering education system, has managed to produce some fine and highly capable professionals. However, its standing in the realm of science and technology is not strong. In general, educational institutions are unable to consistently produce graduates with international standing, with only a few exceptions. Technology has perpetually remained a driving force for the progress and prosperity of human societies. The industrial revolutions effectively divided the world into haves and have-nots—those who embraced technological advancements and those who were deprived of the benefits of these revolutions
Technology experienced an unprecedented boom following the Covid-19 pandemic. This calamity accentuated the importance of a robust system for connectivity among humans during such testing times. Technological systems, particularly those based on information technology, offered alternate means for sustaining and ensuring the continuity of human activities, especially those related to trade and commerce. Remote work methods emerged as a viable option to sustain work with fewer overheads. Post-Covid-19, companies witnessed a trend of adapting to remote working or a hybrid model combining remote and physical work as a way to economize efforts and smoothly continue their business functions.
Rise of Artificial intelligence coupled with remote working is immensely impacting the existing job market. Some traditional jobs, such as sales, are being replaced by AI-enabled chatbots. The ChatGPT is already there to provide ready-made solutions. How much it is influencing our thought process and originality of thinking, is yet to be ascertained. Appreciating challenges arising due to rapid changes in information technology and to harness the capabilities of young people of the country, an initiative known as Presidential Initiative for Artificial Intelligence and Computing (PIAIC) was started in December, 2018.
Aim of this initiative is to harness the capabilities of people of Pakistan to get share from the open market of information technology commonly known as freelancing. Technologies are changing at a higher speed, hence a continuous endeavour is imperative. The program is designed in such a way that students are equipped with knowledge necessary to begin freelancing. The students graduated from this program are significantly contributing to national economic growth.
The PIAIC is a well structured initiative. All programs of this initiative are one-year long in duration. Each program is divided into four quarters (12 weeks each). Classes are held once a week. Currently, classes are being held only on Weekends. There are six sections of classes available, including Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Native and Mobile Web Computing, Blockchain, Internet of Things, 5G and Software Defined Networking and Quantum Computing. Each class is of four hours in duration per week, for a total of 48 hours per quarter or 192 hours for the entire year.
Higher Education Commission has also started an initiative for students and faculty of universities. The initiative is known as Digital Learning and Skills enrichment Initiative (DLSEI). The program is designed in such a way that it upskills university students while they are involved in their academics. DLSEI offers different certificate courses in the realm of AI, Machine Learning, Data Science, Social science, medical science etc. The cohort-1 of this initiative has benefited a large number of students and it is estimated that over twenty five thousand students belonging to different universities of the country benefited from this initiative. More students are registered in cohort-2 of DLSEI.
The global freelance industry is valued at $3.5 Billion, and the Pakistan industry accounts for 9% of the global market. In the fiscal year 2022, Pakistan’s fragile economy received a much-needed boost as it generated a staggering almost $ 400 million in export-related income through freelancing. This financial injection underscores the immense potential of this sector to revitalize the nation’s economic prospects for the benefit of its people. The initiatives like PIAIC and DLSEI are emblems of national resolve to stand tall in international comity. It is a true manifestation of the character of the Pakistani nation of resilience and rising to the occasion. Graduates are determined to boost the national economy through their knowledge gained by these initiatives.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.
views expressed are writer’s own.
