ISLAMABAD: Fast-NUCES Uni­versity Islamabad Rector Dr Aftab Maroof has said the curriculum of technical education should be developed and upgraded with input from the industry stakeholders so that the gap between the quality of human resource and market’s demand was minimised.

He also emphasised on the importance of skilled human resources and innovation in curriculum in line with the changing trends and new technologies.

Dr Maroof said his university upgrades its curriculum in September and October every year after meetings with industry players including representatives of Pakistan Software House Association (P@SHA).

The curriculum is designed after monitoring developments in the markets, Dr Maroof added while talking to the media after his meeting with P@SHA representatives.

Fast University rector says courses on gaming, fintech needed

Dr Maroof highlighted that feedback from the industry and input of market demand has led to the development of courses related to fintech and gaming.

Fintech or financial technology includes the gamut of banking services, including ATMs and banking software.

“Majority of fintech companies are in Karachi and out of 30 financial technology companies in the country, software development and maintenance for 20 is being done by FAST graduates,” he said.

He said the university’s management holds regular meetings with these companies to seek advice on improving the level of teaching and the curriculum.

“Gaming is a big industry now and there are international competitions for digital gaming,” he said while emphasising the need to encourage students in this field.

However, he added that the course must meet the demands of the gaming industry and the users.

Talking about the application of Internet of Things (IOT), Dr Maroof added that its implementation for domestic and commercial usages has picked up pace in advanced countries and many Pakistani companies were providing IOT services to Europe and the US.

Since most of the IT and digitisation jobs are for businesses based in the Gulf and West, FAST has introduced beginner courses for German, French, Arabic and Chinese languages.

Dr Maroof suggested that education has to be result-oriented and the students should be able to get the return on investment they made for studying.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2022