UOL convenes Malaysian and Indonesian experts to proliferate IR 4.0 in higher education

Lahore, December 28, 2022 (PPI-OT):This conference served as the starting point of a threesome forum that will work on revamping higher education, characterised by innovation, knowledge, and technology, that are all needed to thrive in an interconnected, competitive world. The fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0), with its incessant advancements in the Internet of things (IoT), robotics, virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI), is changing the lifestyle and work modes of people.

In this ever-changing industrial arena, educational institutes need to equip students with the right set of skills and knowledge so that they can maintain their pace with this swift industrial revolution. To bring to light this dire need, the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Lahore (UOL), in collaboration with the Directorate of International Linkages (DIL), brought together experts and officials from Indonesia and Malaysia.

The delegations from both countries, comprising professors, rectors, and other designated officials, congregated at the 1st Pakistan-India-Malaysia Rectors’ Conference-2022, discussing the impact of the fourth industrial revolution on higher education.

Introducing this forum, Prof Dr Syed Amir Gilani (Pro-Rector, Allied Health Sciences, UOL) said that UOL took this initiative to invest in higher education that will help brotherly countries to build high-income economies with innovation, knowledge, and technology. After welcoming the foreign delegation and participants, Prof Dr Muhammad Ashraf (Rector, UOL) said that, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Malaysia are looking forward to promoting a joint venture through this forum.

He also stressed that higher education is considered one of the most essential factors in influencing societal changes due to its ability to formulate good decision-making in every sphere of modern society, including businesses, education, politics, and science.

Clarifying the reasons behind reaching out to so many regional and global institutions, Mr Awais Raoof (Chairman BoG, UOL) said that academic and research collaboration will accelerate the progress and enhance the quality of the work, adding that this collaboration will also be beneficial to the faculty in learning new teaching tools and to the students in increasing the breadth of their knowledge and learning different approaches to solving a problem.

On the occasion, Dr Doddy Irawan (Rector, University of Muhammadiyah Pontianak) talked about the “potential and challenges of natural resources, industrial waste, and industry 4.0 in providing sustainable energy.”

He presented several solutions that can be used to take advantage of new renewable energy in Indonesia. He added that education is a learning journey to gain knowledge, and the output makes students flexible, adaptive, and creative to seize an opportunity of creating something new.

Speaking at the conference, Dr Nasir Mohamad (Faculty of Medicine, University Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia) deliberated on the challenges and way forward of the industrial revolution 4.0 with emphasis on the strength of spirituality for sustainable sciences in diverse cultures. He highlighted why digital education 4.0 is essential in offering the opportunity for manufacturers to optimise their operations quickly and efficiently by knowing what needs attention.

Dr Mohamad maintained that the soul and spirituality are what make humans different from animals, and this is also a viable enabler and driver of IR 4.0. “Spirituality must coexist with technological advancement and evolution to ensure a long-term revolution toward a competitive and diverse culture for prosperous well-being,” he added.

Dr Pramudana Ihsan (Director of International Office, Universitas Muhammadiah Surabya) gave a talk on “collaboration management for campus branding. “Prof Dr H. Ambo Asse from the Muhammadiyah organisation presented his talk on the management and challenges of international programmes in south Sulawesi higher education, and Purnama Syaepurohman (Director of International Office, Uhamka University, Indonesia) discussed networking from Uhamka perspective.

Furthermore, the possible activities of guest lectures, joint research, joint thesis supervision, credit transfer (credited students’ mobility for one or two semesters), summer programmes for students, joint conferences and seminars, and student internships or laboratory work between these universities in three countries were also discussed during this rectors’ conference.

For more information, contact:
The University of Lahore
1 – KM Defence Road, Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-111-865-865, +92-42-35322501 +92-42-35321761
Email: info@uol.edu.pk
Website: www.uol.edu.pk

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