AIOU establishes Science Club to promote science education

Islamabad, Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Nazir Ahmed Sangi on Wednesday declared to establish science club to involve and encourage youth for promotion of science and technology in the country.
 
The club will work under the name of ‘Science for the Society’ on countrywide basis. Professor Dr. Naghmana Rashid, chairperson, Department of Chemistry, AIOU will supervise the club, he made the announcement while speaking at the concluding ceremony of the 3-day national science fair that was organized by the Intel Pakistan.
 
Under the scheme, the students of AIOU and other educational institutions will be invited to give their projects that could be useful for resolving issues, being faced by the under-privilege sections of the people particularly those living in the rural areas.
 
The vice-chancellor pointed out that the AIOU would provide all possible academic and financial support to the efforts of overcoming the problems relating to energy, water-shortage, food and health under this club. He also announced that AIOU would hold a summer camp in the federal capital next year for demonstration of the projects that could be considered feasible to address the socio-economic problems.
 
He announced allocation of Rs. one million for the holding feasibility study of ten projects in the field of Science and Technology this year. Next year this amount would be increased to five millions. The projects would be divided into five categories for research work that will be decided by the Science Club. He invited the students to join this club in order to work together for promotion of science education in the country.
 
The concluding session was also addressed by Dr. Shahnaz Anjum Riaz, director general of Federal Directorate of Education and Syeda Khadija Bashir, project manager, Intel Education Initiative.
 
Intel joined hands of the university in April 2011 and signed an MoU under which it train registered tutors in the field of science education as Master Trainers. So far, total of 3500 tutors have already been trained in 30 regions.
 
AIOU and the Intel Education Initiative have jointly accelerated the provincial and country- wide efforts that aim to equip students with the technical knowledge and skills required to succeed in today’s knowledge-based global economy. Under the Intel Education Initiative, the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) was launched in Pakistan in 2004 with the aim to promote an interest in Science and research amongst students of classes 9 to 12.