A delegation of the Commission on Science and Technology for the Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), headed by the Executive Director COMSATS, Dr. Imtinan Elahi Qureshi, attended the opening ceremony of the 5th Islamic Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research (ICMHESR) being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 19th to 21st October 2010. The Conference is being hosted by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Higher Education, and Ministry of Education of the Government of Malaysia. Forty eight countries are participating in this high-profile international event. The two-member delegation of COMSATS was invited to attend the Conference as representatives from international organizations/institutions. The Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) have been organizing ICMHESR since 2000 in collaboration with the institutions in the host countries, Saudi Arab, Libya, Kuwait, Azerbaijan and now Malaysia.
The ICMHESR was inaugurated on October 19, 2010 by Hon. Tan Sri Dato’ Muhyiddin Yassin, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia (also the Minister of Education). The Conference was declared open after opening remarks from Hon. Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Bin Nordin, Minister of Higher Education; MAlysia; Hon. Ambassador Abdul Moiz Bokhari,, Assistant Secretary General of the OIC; Hon. Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Director General of ISESCO; and Hon. Dr. Peter Adwok Nyaba, Vice-President of the 5th ICMHESR.
This Conference has been given the theme ‘Enculturation of Quality in Academia, Research and Innovation towards Prosperity of Ummah’ and aims to provide an opportunity for ISESCO Member States and relevant organizations to reflect on matters relating to higher education and scientific research concerning the Islamic World. The main parameters commonly used during this Conference to quantify and qualify the educational and scientific potential of the Islamic World includes teaching and learning capacities of the universities, R&D products, innovation in science and technology, etc.
A regular highlight of this meeting is the presentation of “ISESCO Science Prize”. Dr. M. Qasim Jan, Vice Chancellor of the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan, has won the Prize for this year for his outstanding performance.
Availing on his presence in Kuala Lumpur, Dr. Qureshi plans to hold sideline meetings with the senior officials of the Government of Malaysia, including the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, and some participating country-delegates. These include some member states of COMSATS. One such meeting was held with the Syrian Minister of Higher Education, H.E. Ghiat Barakat. Matters of bilateral interest were discussed between the two officials in the light of their earlier meeting of February 2010.
Later during the day, a Memorandum of Understanding was reached between COMSATS and a Malaysian institution, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), on scientific collaboration in the field of Renewable Energy. Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin, Vice-Chancellor UKM, and the Executive Director COMSATS signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations. Dr. Shahabudin would also be moderating a roundtable discussion of the Conference entitled “Empowering Women for Scientific and Technological Development in Islamic Countries” to be on Wednesday, October 20, 2010.
The Important deliberations made during the Conference are expected to be of great impact to the policy-making relating to higher education and scientific research in the Islamic countries. The important exchanges during the course of and on the sidelines of the Conference would help foster collaboration in various fields of education, and science and technology between the scientific organizations and the governments of the Islamic world.