With security package two power projects for
KP stand clear

on 16/02/2023

The World Bank (WB) would provide financial assistance for the construction work on two hydropower projects of 245 megawatts in the district Swat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
After its completion, the project would generate an annual income of over Rs13 billion for the province, a report said.
The authorities have also decided to add a security package by making quick amendments to the documents before starting these energy projects.
This decision was taken in a high-level meeting with the World Bank mission which was attended by Secretary of Energy and Power Nisar Ahmad Khan.
WB Senior Energy Specialist Muhammad Saqib, members of the World Bank mission, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO), Engineer Naeem Khan, Chief Engineer of KHRE Program Shah Hussain, and respective project directors.
Briefing the moot, Chief Executive PEDO Engineer Naeem Khan said that with the financial support of the WB, the construction work on 2 hydropower projects in the Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would start in the year 2023, which include 157MW Maidyen Hydropower Project and 88MW GabralKalam Hydropower Project.
A US$450 million agreement has already been signed between the WB and the provincial government. Both projects will be completed by 2027.
Secretary Energy KP, Nisar Ahmad Khan reportedly said that both power projects were very important for the development and prosperity of the province. The completion of the projects would start a new era of development in the province. The projects will not only bring huge investment in the province but also create new employment opportunities.
He assured the World Bank mission that the provincial government was making fool-proof arrangements for the security of the staff working on the energy projects and was in touch with the local police, administration, and other security agencies.
He issued instructions to the officials that a security package should be prepared and practical work may soon be started so that the people of the province can benefit from its fruits. — ERMD

What we extracted from AILC’s industry-academia interaction
The moot of over 100 luminaries from academia and industry
displayed an eagerness to work together and introduce reforms

on 16/02/2023

Set aside milestones that the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) achieved after Engr. Najeeb Haroon’s takeover, Jan 11 academia-industry interaction in Islamabad extracted three results.
One, academia and industry which otherwise remain in touch with each other on many counts but formal interaction under some mechanism appears to be one of the requisites for any fruitful results to be secured in Pakistan.


Two that both sides are truly eager to create a genuine engagement so that the academia remains receptive to resolving the issues of the industry and in return, the latter recognizes the former as the part and parcel of the development of the country.


Three, both appeared convinced that PEC and other engineering institutions must play their due role viz-a-viz introducing requisite changes in all spheres of the engineering profession and education in Pakistan.
This moot, hosted by the Academia-Industry Liasion Committee (AILC) of the council led by Engr. Zahid Khand provided luminaries from academia and industry a conducive environment to understand each other’s issues, lacunas, strengths, and weaknesses for formulating a set of recommendations.
Though this committee has long been marred by multiple issues which hindered it to move ahead swiftly, this moot earned it the distinction of being the one that can lead genuine collaboration between academia and Industry and help the PEC and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to bing about the changes in light of the joint recommendations of academia and industry.


A considerable number of participants from the industry, as well as the academia, demonstrated the level of hard work on the part of the committee and the teams from the council.
The participants whose number was not less than a hundred were distributed into two groups for discussions which were to be then clubbed into final recommendations.


Brig Syed Adnan, Registrar NUTECH—a participant from academia—said: we should understand that no industry anywhere can support such internships in which the engineer cannot perform. Universities are the most responsible institutions to create efficient engineers. The industry does not need academia as it is earning profits; academia needs the industry’s support. Academia is the marketeer and the industry is the client. We have to make industry academia’s customer which requires persons who are efficient and can deliver. The academia should link the engineer from the first semester with the industry. I can claim 80 to 90 percent of professors have never visited any industry in their life. They don’t know the names of machines, they cannot link the processes between theory and practice. How can they teach the students? We need to develop a system besides training the teachers.


Dr. M. Younus Javed VC MUST says we need to seriously review credit hours. Extra credit hours should be diverted to industry. We should embed industry with the overall training and skills. Pakistan Engineering Council should introduce a major shift from such aspect. We are not giving space to our students for looking at the industry. Our students badly lack presentation skills and they cannot present their work. Have a look at Malaysia and Korea, they work on the skills of their students.


Yet another said we have left the student free in Pakistan. How our student performs well when he opts for education abroad. He works there in the evening but still gets good grades. If we send them to the industry, they learn many things there besides education in the university. Also, we should learn the language we communicate in with the industry. The industry does not know academia’s language, it does understand economic language; not the theoretical process that we teach in the universities.


Dr Valiuddin, Vice Chancellor of Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi said: Now we cannot be confined to the models of the universities. One can take courses from anywhere and there are many sources of knowledge available now. Thus, the role of the university will drastically be changed where we have to facilitate the student besides teaching the student and giving them skills. Every individual wants to go on a different path thus we need a plan for it differently. We need separate plans for the individuals and therefore the faculty and facilities need to reform and reshaped.


DR. Tufail, Pro VC, NED University Karachi said we should reduce credit hours so that the over-occupation of the students is addressed as they are over-occupied. Also, we have to make the courses localized though some of the ingredients will be mandatory.
I am agreed with Dr. Valiuddin that we need to change as many interdisciplinary things are coming now so that the demand of the industry is addressed.


Dr. Tauha, VC MUET, Jamshoro said: Our faculty is not linked with the industry. Unfortunately, our faculty is busy producing papers and is not interested in linking it with the industry. Since they want to become professors, they focus on publications that will require them to achieve their objective. We need to become technology and industry-driven.


Also, universities should appoint people from industry people for industry liaison as the teachers can never deliver on this front. Then only, the process will go on and the industry will start trusting academia. Sumiltanesouly, we will be able to produce students for the industry.


Asim Shehryar, CEO of Ignite said we need to prepare students not only for jobs but also for other skills too. HEC made 35 business incubation centers in Pakistan. Can anyone tell us of any one product which turned successful in Pakistan or abroad? Ironically, these centers are being run by professors. How can they do it? Only industry people can run business incubation centers. We do it too but through the industry.


A participant was of the view that PEC can conduct a comprehensive survey to know what kind of skillset we need in Pakistan. The curriculum design should be based on the outcomes of the survey. The universities need to change themselves in view of modern demands and the industry.
Dr Samreen Hussein said that universities can send their faculty to industry and we did it in DUET, Karachi, and decided to send our faculty to the industry for a full semester. But the question is for how long can industry take it. We should look from both ends. Not only academia but the industry has also to come forward.


Dr. Zohaib Iqbal, President Pakistan Software Testing Board said all engineers irrespective of their discipline, need to learn IT skills as all the tools on based on it. The universities should focus on it. This will increase the employability of engineers.


The industry does not know what a professor can do in resolving their issues. Academia has to tell the industry what they can do for them.


Fawad Fiaz, MD Salaria & Sheikh Intl. Islamabad was of the view that in Pakistan, engineers are involved in operation and maintenance as we do have large-scale industries in Pakistan. Where we stand in the engineering industry. Companies like Siemens and ABB packed up and went. We don’t have standards here. We are importing millions of dollars worth of engineering parts and machinery.


The deliberations of both groups generated a set of recommendations which was presented in the moot in the concluding session.


Recommendations:
PEC & EAB should allow flexibility in taught credit hours (70% discipline related and 30% for industrial exposure and market skills)
Curriculum implementation should of 3/3.5 years followed by 6 months – One-year placement
Modify Accreditation Framework and Curriculum structure taking inspiration from international models as per national requirements
Universities should prioritize soft skill development and opportunities for graduates to showcase their talents through various student activities, competitions, and Capstone projects
Interdisciplinary streams and research should be encouraged
Industry Advisory Boards should be implemented in letter and spirit with their guidelines for Accreditation
PEC should conduct a survey in engineering industries for demand-supply analysis and future needs
PEC must play its role in establishing a framework for IP rights, standardization, and conformity assessment mechanism to meet export requirements.
Facilitation of industries by PEC in accordance with relevant provisions of the Act and Bylaws
Academic projects must have an impact on industrial and societal domains in terms of effective and affordable solutions/ Products
Academia industry linkages shall be enhanced by inviting the industry to share the problems and the academia proposing the effective solutions
The on-job training shall be conducted by PEC in collaboration with academia and industry
Proper evaluation and assessment mechanisms shall be developed to ensure the effectiveness of the OJT Program
OJT training modules also need to be updated on regular basis to meet the industry requirement
Four year Degree Program shall be coupled with after graduation one year OJT Program for smooth integration of requisite human resource
R & D component of industry needs to be strengthened with the help of academia by launching joint academia-industry ventures
Open-ended labs and other concepts of the Outcome-based education model under the Washington accord shall be linked with industrial aspects as per market demand
A mechanism shall be developed by PEC for facilitating short-term placement of Faculty in relevant industries
The national level requirement of engineers in various fields in both public and private sectors needs to be outlined enabling PEC to regulate engineering education effectively
Apart from participation in regular statutory bodies interaction with industry people shall be ensured in HEIs on a regular basis

Fah Luang University Thailand hosts moot Central project turns most disseminated research project

on 16/02/2023

Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand organized CENTRAL Meeting from November 28 to December 1st,2022 at Mantrini, Chiang Rai, Thailand. Welcome dinner was arranged in honor of all the participants on 28th November 2022. Dr Punnarumol and Dr Chayapol Kamyod from Mae Fah Luang University welcomed all the participants along with their seniors and team members.
On 29th November 2022, Opening Remarks were given by Prof. Ramjee Prasad. After that, Welcome Remarks were given by the Vice Dean of Mae Fah Luang University Assistant Prof. Dr. Worasak Rueangsirarak. Muhammad Zakir Shaikh delivered his presentation on CENTRAL: Touching the Apex of the Sky (an epitome of dissemination for all projects). It was appreciated and acknowledged with great happiness by all the partners that CENTRAL Project has become the most disseminated academic & research project at Global Level.
Besides a detailed discussion on respective work packages, Partner universities from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology Pakistan, Kolhapur Institute of Technology India, Technical University of Sofia Bulgaria, The Host University Mae Fah Luang, Chiang Mai University Thailand, University of Malaga and Viswaniketan presented their reports and success stories.
On 1st December 2022, MOU ceremony between MFU and CGC, KITCOEK, and SSUET. President MFU and Vice President MFU also welcomed all the participants. Moreover, all the participants had a memorable campus visit and visit various other renowned places in Chiang Rai. At the end of the event, Engr Muhammad Zakir Shaikh was given an award for his outstanding contributions to the CENTRAL Project. Prof Dr Bhawani Shankar also addressed all the partners during which he stressed the need for long-term collaboration and to create opportunities for everyone.
The overall aim of the project is to support Asian countries to modernize, internationalize and increase access to higher education, increase cooperation with the EU, voluntarily converge with EU development in higher education, and promote people-to-people contacts, intercultural awareness, and understanding. President MFU Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chayaporn Wattanasiri also thanked all the participants and assured them of continued cooperation and collaboration with all the partners.n

Banks, FIs need to allocate required resources for floods related R&D: governor SBP

on 16/02/2023

Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Jameel Ahmad has said climate change is the biggest long-term threat to the country due to its unforeseen impacts adding while the government, businesses, and societies are recognizing such threats we need to take timely actions and allocate required resources for research and development of relevant products and services and capacity building of stakeholders to address them preemptively.


Mr. Ahmed who chaired the annual meeting of the Agricultural Credit Advisory Committee (ACAC) in Hyderabad appreciated banks for achieving unprecedented agriculture credit disbursement of Rs1,419 billion in FY22. He noted that for FY23, the target of Rs1,819 billion has been set in line with the government’s priority and added that during the first five months of FY23, Rs664 billion have already been disbursed.


He added that Prime Minister has announced the Kissan Package, comprising of restructuring and rescheduling of agriculture loans, mark-up waiver for outstanding small loans in flood-affected areas, interest-free loans for subsistence & landless farmers, and subsidized loans and risk sharing scheme for farm mechanization, besides other support measures. Governor SBP elaborated that the package will facilitate the recovery of farmers from the impact of recent floods and urged banks to implement the package in letter and spirit. He also assured SBP’s full support to the banks wherever needed.
The governor also underlined that banks have a huge opportunity to exploit the untapped potential of Islamic agriculture financing with respect to SBP’s recent commitment to the transformation of conventional banking to Islamic banking in the next five years. He noted that the share of Islamic financing in agriculture financing is still quite low and urged the industry to work on developing demand-driven Islamic financing products, specifically tailored to the requirements of the farming community.
Governor’s inaugural address was followed by a presentation on the performance of banks in agricultural financing. The ACAC deliberated on the new directions in agricultural financing particularly regarding climate-smart agriculture practices and the role that financial institutions can play. Moreover, the champion banks, nominated by the ACAC to spearhead the efforts in underserved areas, presented the progress in their respective assigned underserved provinces or regions.


The ACAC meeting was attended by senior officials of federal & provincial governments, presidents/CEOs of banks, members of provincial chambers of agriculture, progressive farmers, representatives of regional farming communities, and SBP senior officials.

In a simple ceremony held at Islamabad, Bestway Foundation and NAMAL University signed an agreement to establish Bestway Scholarship

on 16/02/2023

Engr. Dr. Muhammad Nawaz Iqbal

A heat pump is a device that uses the refrigeration cycle to transfer thermal energy from the outside to heat a building (or a portion of a building). Many heat pumps can also be used to cool a building by rejecting heat outdoors after removing it from the enclosed area. Air conditioners are devices that only offer to cool. An example of refrigerant that is at room temperature gets compressed while the heating mode is on. The refrigerant heats up as a result. To an indoor unit, this thermal energy can be transferred. The refrigerant is squeezed and then let outside once more. It returns to the environment cooler than it was before it lost some of its thermal energy. Before the cycle restarts, it can now absorb the ambient energy from the ground or the air. Pumps, fans, and compressors all use electricity to operate.
Heat pumps with an air source, a ground source, a water source, or an exhaust air source are common varieties. Additionally, district heating systems employ them. A ground-source heat pump, also known as a geothermal heat pump in North America, extracts heat from the ground or groundwater below a depth of about 30 feet, where both are kept at a comparatively constant temperature throughout the year (9.1 m). A well-maintained ground-source heat pump would normally have a seasonal COP of about 3.0 as heat is taken from the ground and a COP of approximately 4.0 at the start of the heating season. Due to the necessity of drilling boreholes for the vertical placement of heat exchanger pipe or trenches for the horizontal placement of the piping carrying the heat exchange fluid, ground-source heat pumps are more expensive to install (water with a little antifreeze).
Since the Paleolithic era, geothermal heating has been utilized for space heating and bathing, respectively, utilizing water from hot springs. Geothermal power, the phrase used to describe the production of electricity from geothermal energy, has become more significant in recent years. Although only a very small portion of the earth’s geothermal energy is now being effectively utilized, frequently in regions close to tectonic plate borders, it is estimated that the earth’s geothermal energy resources are theoretically more than sufficient to meet humanity’s energy needs.
A ground heat exchanger in contact with the ground or groundwater is used by ground source heat pumps to extract or release heat. Accurate system design is essential to a successful system since poor design can lead to the system freezing after several years or to very inefficient system performance.
Heating performance is often reduced to dimensionless units as the coefficient of performance while cooling performance is typically stated in units of BTU/hr/watt. The BTU/hr/watt conversion factor is 3.41. The overall energy output is significantly more than the electrical input since a heat pump moves three to five times as much heat energy as it does electric energy. Since radiant electric heat is 100% efficient, this leads to net thermal efficiencies of more than 300%. Electric heaters and conventional combustion furnaces are never capable of achieving 100% efficiency. When compared to electric resistance heating and conventional air-conditioning equipment, ground-source heat pumps can cut energy usage – and the associated air pollution emissions – by up to 72%.
By utilizing inter-seasonal heat transfer and seasonal thermal energy storage, ground source heat pumps’ efficiency can be significantly increased. Thermal banks allow for the efficient retrieval of heat that was caught and stored over the summer. The importance of this advantage is greatest in commercial or district heating systems because heat storage efficiency rises with scale.