Strategic Talks on Innovation & Commercialisation 2021
The first series of STICKS – Strategic Talks on Innovation & Commercialisation for Knowledge Sharing – Fall 2021, was held at NUST on September 17, 2021. The theme and objectives of the event were to discuss and highlight grey areas vis-à-vis interrelation between academia and industry, innovation, commercialisation & entrepreneurship, and thereby devise strategies to address them. NUST invited top industry experts and executives from an array of fields to help facilitate this process by sharing their knowledge and experience and, in so doing, inspire researchers and students to better align their contributions with market trends and expectations.
The event entailed three panel sessions focusing on enhancing commercialisation of research projects and technologies, bridging the gap between industry and academia, and inculcating the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship among students. Amongst the panelists from NUST were Dr Rizwan Riaz, Pro-Rector Research, Innovation & Commercialisation; Dr Osman Hassan, Pro-Rector Academics; and Mr Rao Sabir Ali Khan, Chief of Finance & Business Development, while from industry the panelists included Mr Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan; Mr Faisal Shuja Khan, CEO Ovex Technologies Pakistan Pvt Ltd; Mr Adnan Zafar, Deputy CTO Huawei; Mr Ammar Hussain Jaffri, Chairman Industry Revolution Academy Pakistan; Mr Khalid Khan, Chairman, Central Asian Cellular Forum; Dr Ayeesha Mujeeb, Scientific Advisor & Shareholder Manchester BIOGEL; Mr Mohsin M Syed, Chairman Hybrid Technics Pvt Ltd; Mr Imtiaz Rastgar, Managing Director, Rastgar Group; and Mr Mohammad Imran, CEO Green Homes Developers.
In his address, Dr Rizwan Riaz extended his compliments to the guests from academia and industry and assured industry of NUST’s complete support and continued interaction in order to achieve the objectives of this initiative. He also made special mention of the research showcase in Karachi, being organised by NUST in the last week of September 2021, with the aim to forge meaningful industry partnerships.