Vice Chancellor of the University of Karachi Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi on Monday emphasized that science & technology research vital to find the truths about the universe. There is no doubt that science and technology have made us aware of the realities of the universes which were not even in the imagination of man.
The research done in the field of medicine has brought a revolution in human life, said a statement issued here. He was addressing the inaugural session of the two-day international conference to celebrate Space Week 2023. The theme of this year’s conference is Space and Entrepreneurship. He said that medical science has become a basic necessity for human life, and the average age has also increased considerably. Even in space research, humans have learned some secrets of the universe, which man was unaware of for thousands of years. We can benefit a lot from this sector.
The KU Institute of Space and Science and Technology in collaboration with the Department of Mathematics and Sciences of the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology organized the seventh World Space Week-2023 at the KU Chinese Teachers Memorial Auditorium on Monday. There are 3000 satellites in the space of the western world which are benefiting them a lot, but developing countries, including Pakistan, are not in this race, due to lack of investment in science and technology sector.
During his presidential address, the KU VC Professor Dr Khalid Iraqi said that we are living in a time, where space science and technology are contributing heavily in the development of our economy and our society. In his speech, he also mentioned about importance of weather, climate change, and food security. He further said that the advancements in space science and technology will not only help in exploring new things in our universe but it is being used in many fields such as for planning urban development, monitoring natural disasters, and others. Many common everyday services for terrestrial use such as weather forecasting, remote sensing, satellite navigation systems, satellite television, and some long-distance communications systems critically rely on space infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of the SSUET Professor DrValiUddin, who was the guest of honor on the first day of the international conference, informed the audience that creating the atmosphere of research and innovation, as well as nourishing young minds are today utmost needs of this modern era. He emphasized that collaboration with different universities of the private and public sectors is the basic need of society to develop our young generation. During the first day of the plenary session of the seventh international conference, one of the research scholars, Professor DrZhongwei Huang, Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, China presented research work on Dust Observation by a Ground-based Lidar Network along Global Dust Belt. KU Director ISST Professor Dr Muhammad Jawed Iqbal shared that the main reason for organizing the international event is to create awareness about space science education in Pakistan. He said that the main objective of our Institute is to produce human capital to cater to the indigenous needs of space science and technology via teaching and research.
He further said that they are focusing on aerospace engineering, satellite communications, and remote Sensing. He informed the audience that recently KU-ISST undergraduate students have clinched first position in the IMechEPropellAir 2023 national competition of remote control flight. He further informed that they are working on a cube satellite and robotics. Professor Dr Muhammad Jawed Iqbal said that the mission proposal of their CubeSat has been accepted by the Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organization which works in collaboration with the United Nations. Founder Director and Former professor of KU-ISST DrJavedQamar said that space exploration helps us to understand ourselves and the world in which we live.
