Media Development Trust and NUST sign MOU to improve Media Ethical Practices in Pakistan.

Media Development Trust and NUST Business School signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Developing Research and Media Development Initiatives. (in the picture L-R: Salman Sheikh, Board Member MDT, Amir Jahangir, President MDT, Dr. Ashfaque Hassan Khan, Principal and Dean NUST Business School and Prof. Dr. Zafar Iqbal, Chairman Mass Communication Department, NUST  

Media Development Trust and National University of Science and Technology (NUST) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop initiatives for development, empowerment and mainstreaming research on media in Pakistan. The MOU signing ceremony was held at the Mass Communication Department of NUST, where the faculty members, students and media scholars were present. Prof. Dr. Ashfaque Hassan Khan, Principal and Dean, School of Social Sciences & Humanities, NUST and Amir Jahangir President Media Development Trust signed the MOU.

On this occasion President Media Development Trust (MDT) and CEO Mishal Pakistan, Amir Jahangir said that Media Development Trust is working with different academic institutions in the country to bridge the gap between academic research and industry practices. There is a gap between media practices and the theories being taught at our universities, we need to address this to improve the state of media in Pakistan. Also research institutions need to have more focuson how to commercialize their research by increasing industry-academia collaboration.

He further said that, Media Development Trust and its strategic partners Mishal Pakistan and AGAHI, in collaboration with NUST would create capacity building initiatives for the faculty and students through interactive workshops, seminars and research initiatives on specific sectors with a focus on media. MDT and NUST will create a hybrid pool of resources for knowledge sharing.

Sharing his views on the MOU, Principal and Dean, School of Social Sciences and Humanities NUST, Prof. Dr. Ashfaque Hassan Khan said that we are honored to be a part of the industry academia collaboration with the Media Development Trust and will put all efforts to make this initiative credible and objective. The department offers a unique opportunity to combine innovation in media with the students in the mass communication field for joint research projects, engaging prominent media institutions and experts of national and international repute.

Chairman, Department of Mass Communication NUST, Prof. Dr. Zafar Iqbal said that NUST’s Department of Mass Communication has been envisioned as a center of excellence for promoting media and communication studies in the country. We aim to accomplish this in a manner that can be useful for media professionals, academic scholars, researchers, development sector, policy-makers and regulatory bodies.

According to the MOU, both the organizations will work together to create research opportunities for students and faculty members in the media sphere including the Media Credibility Index (MCI). They will also develop initiatives for the students to understand issues relevant to media sciences and journalism in terms of media management, content analysis and outreach strategies. Collaboration on capacity building of students and faculty members, will build technical skill sets to work on the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of projects related to media and journalism.

Media Development Trust and NUST will work together to create Fellowships in media research to improve the human capital available for the sector in Pakistan; this will lead to Industry Academia collaborations. The MOU will also encourage excellence in research by awarding “TRUST Gold Medals”, every year for the students of Media & Communication Studies achieving first positions in Bachelor and Masters Programs.

President Agahi, Puruesh Chaudhary, President AGAHI and Country Ambassador of the Center for International Media Ethics (CIME), while sharing her views, said that media’s contribution to the sustainability of functioning democracies is significant. Media serve as a catalyst for human development and provides the justification to create a more cognizant collective consciousness of the society. We believe this collaboration will foster an enabling atmosphere through which free and independent media can flourish with plurality, diversity and will responsibly raise the bar of professionalism for ethical media practices in Pakistan, Chaudhary added.

The partnership between the two leading research institution Mishal (a country partner institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network, World Economic Forum) and Pakistan’s top research university will identify the gaps in the knowledge ecosystem and build the capacity of the students and faculty members for creating opportunities according to the new tools of global communications. Both the organization will work together to create a knowledge exchange program between NUST and research institutions both at domestic and global level; whereby different programs will be developed to build synergies in the field of journalism and communication. Media Development Trust, in collaboration with NUST’s Mass Communication Department will also develop an annual report on the “State of Media in Pakistan”.

The initiative will also develop a learning platform with a special portal for debate and research on media management, ethical media practices and other regulatory issues faced by the Pakistani media practitioners and researchers.

Media Development Trust, through its strategic partners Mishal Pakistan and Agahi, is working on different research and advocacy projects for the development of media in Pakistan which includes, Media Credibility Index (MCI), Agahi Awards, ILM-o-AGAHI, TRUST Gold Medals for outstanding students in media sciences and journalism scholarships.

National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) was established in March 1991 for the promotion of higher scientific education in the country, especially in the fields of science and technology, by providing a stable and disciplined academic environment together with need-based research, pertinent to industrial requirements. The University will start its Masters’ program in the mass communication in fall 2014. Over the years, the university has expanded in scope, services and stature and has emerged as a leading comprehensive University in the public sector.

Media Development Trust established in 2011 is an initiative to improve industry-academia linkage through media and communication; the initiative engages leading professional and researchers in media development across the globe. Media Development Trust also creates synergies and understanding through media and communication between societies for better understanding of issues arising from cultural, social and political challenges.

NUST to launch Innovation Arbitrage Council at the Innovation Leadership Summit 4 August 2010

Pakistan has shown slight improvements on the Global Information Technology Index. This has shown depths in the Pakistani ecosystems to have Innovation as a driver for economic growth. Pakistan has been ranked at 87th position from last year’s 98th on the Global Information Technology Report ranking for 2009-10 of the World Economic Forum.

Realizing the importance of Innovation and how Pakistan can be integrated into the global innovation ecosystem, National University for Science and Technology is organizing an Innovation Leaders’ Summit. The theme of the summit has been proposed Innovation and the trend-setting, which is the first of its kind. The summit will have special participation from the Directors and Senior Economists with the Global Competitiveness Network at the World Economic Forum.

“It is evident that technology is playing a leading role in accelerating economic growth and promoting development and Pakistan should capitalize on its human capital to make innovation as one of the key factors for creating a knowledge-based economy,” said Dr. Arshad Ali, Director General, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Sciences, NUST.

Dr. Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Director and Senior Economist with the Global Competitiveness Network at the World Economic Forum, where she conducts research and writes on issues pertaining to national competitiveness will be joined at the summit with Dr. Irene Mia, Director and Senior Economist with the Global Competitiveness Network and the co-editor of World Economic Forum’s flagship report on Innovation the Global Information Technology Report series.

The speakers from the World Economic Forum will explore Pakistan's performance in general competitiveness, ICT and technology using the methodological framework on the Global Competitiveness Index and Networked Readiness Index respectively. That would allow the participants to have a better understanding to assess where the country’s potential stands in competitiveness and innovation. This will be followed up by a general discussion which will identify the strengths and weaknesses of Pakistan’s Economy based on the pillars of innovation and competitiveness.

According to Yalman Ansari, faculty member of the NUST Business School, this initiative will go a long way in preparing NUST business graduates for the challenging business world, with innovation being mainstream focus of every organization in today’s business Diaspora.

The summit is expected to be attended by the industry leaders and senior executives from both global and local companies operating in Pakistan.

The participants will also discuss about their business operations and the importance of innovation as the key to attaining sustainable competitive edge. The day-long summit will also include mentoring sessions with students by corporate executives who will share their experiences.

The summit will include a special group of media professionals and journalists representing the National Press Club, responsible for creating content related to ICT and Innovation Economy.

Amir Jahangir

The summit will announce the launching of an advisory council “Innovation Arbitrage Council” (IAC) that will have varied business executives on its panel including Mohsin Iqbal, a distinguished technology business executive who has represented companies like Intel and HP in Asia Pacific, and Amir Jahangir, CEO, Mishal, and Advisor to Stanford Center for Innovation and Communication, Stanford University, who has been honoured as the Young Global Leader 2010 by the World Economic Forum, both who played an instrumental role in crystallizing the idea to form the council on innovation.

Published for the ninth consecutive year with an extensive coverage of 133 economies worldwide, the Global Information Technology Report remains the world’s most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the development process and the competitiveness of nations.

In 2009-10, Sweden, Singapore and Denmark have secured the top three places for having the most comprehensive ICT base. The US slipped two places securing fifth position, while China stands at 37 and India at 43, showing an improvement of 9 and 11 places respectively. Pakistan scored well in the sub-indexes of Individual Readiness - mobile cellular tariffs taking 8th position — and residential telephone connection charges at 11th, while under the sub-index of Business Readiness, the country does good in business telephone connection charges and monthly telephone subscription.

A marked improvement has been seen in Pakistan’s capacity for innovation, which has gone up to 56 from 73 in 2008-09. There have been slight improvements in the quality of educational systems, where Pakistan ranks at 99 from 104 in 2008-09, internet access in schools improved by six places scoring 75 and company spending on R&D showed significant improvement taking its score to 80.