Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Minister for Science and Information Technology Atif Khan on Tuesday launched 13 programs worth 1.5 billion rupees under the innovative Science Agenda initiative.
The initiative aims to promote entrepreneurs, scientists, and innovators of all ages across the province.
The launch ceremony was held in Peshawar and was attended by more than 200 leaders from various universities, startups, research institutes, the development sector, industrialists, and senior government officials.
The programs are launched with the aim to renew the commitments to uplift science literacy, excellence in scientific research, and catalyzing innovation, to help strengthen the economy and uplift society.
While addressing the ceremony, Khan said 13 initiatives worth Rs1.5 billion will be launched under the Science Agenda, adding that the provincial government was taking multiple measures to promote IT in the province.
“We want our scientists to focus on three areas of the future where KP wants to get established: advanced materials, biomedicine, and space sciences. But I also want them not to forget the uplifting of the eight key natural resources that our province has been endowed with, including areas such as gemstones, bees, and honey, micro-hydel power, and fruits”, said the in-charge of science, IT, youth affairs and food.
The minister further said that the creation of a strong link between scientists and entrepreneurs is critically significant in order to make the best use of the natural resources, and utilize the power of science and technology for the betterment of the province.
Earlier, Director General for Science and Technology Sajid Hussain Shah, while welcoming the attendees of the event, said, “We are very fortunate to have had a remarkable increase in development funds this year unmatched by any year in the history of DOST, and we are making sure that these programs are executed rigorously under the leadership of the Minister”.
Earlier, on October 10, the Advisor to the KP Minister on Science technology and IT, Dr. Faisal Khan spoke on the significance of scientific enterprise for KP including human resources & technology infrastructure during a video message on social media while he invited people to join them for the KP Science Agenda event on October 11.
