PESHAWAR (Staff Report): The Southeast University (SEU) Naniyang, China’s delegation called on Prof. Dr. Iftikhar Hussain, Vice Chancellor UET Peshawar here today. The delegation met with Secretary Relief and Rehabilitation KP, Mr. Abdul Basit, Deputy Scientific Advisor, Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) Islamabad, Mr. Raja Shehreyar, VC University of Science and Technology, Bannu, Prof. Dr. Khair-uz-Zaman, VC University of Peshawar, Prof. Dr. Jehan Bakht.
The visit was aimed to discuss the possibility of establishing the “China-Pak Belt and Road Joint Laboratory for Smart Disaster Prevention of major Infrastructure” which will be established in five designated universities of Pakistan including UET Peshawar, UET Lahore, NED Karachi, NUST and BUETEM Quetta. The senior officials from PDMA KP, Center for Disaster Preparedness and Management, UoP, China Study Center UoP and Civil Engineering Department UET Peshawar gave their presentations.
Prof. Zhou Dong from SEU said, the Civil Engineering Department SEU is ranked “A+” as a first class discipline, declared by Ministry of Education, China. He said that the cooperation between SEU and Pakistani universities are part of the “Belt and Road” initiative based on talent cultivation, technology promotion and joint research development, adding, it would establish long-term friendship to carry out multi-disciplinary exchanges and cooperation in the field of disaster risk management.
Mr. Raja Shehreyar, MOST said, the start-of-the-art Lab at UET Peshawar will serve as hub for public sector universities of KP in collaboration with Southeast University Naniyang, China. The joint lab will work under the umbrella of MOST and NDMA as part of Public Private Partnership model suggested by the CPEC working group on S&T. Mr. Abdul Basit, Secretary Relief and Rehabilitation KP said that the government of KP has established the Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department (RRSD), is actively working on formulating policies, strategies to look after disasters in the province.
The Vice chancellors of KP universities unanimously appreciated the efforts of MOST, NDMA and PDMA for forging much-needed collaboration in scientific research with Southeast University China in the field of disaster management. They said it would help in meeting the rapidly increasing climate change challenges in KP due to floods and other natural disasters.
Later, the delegation visited the National Earthquake Engineering Center UET Peshawar, an institution that provides solutions and guidance to agencies involved in reconstruction and rehabilitation works.
Prof. Dr. Irshad Ahmed and Prof. Dr. Khan Shahzada briefed the delegation about the center. They told that the center is equipped with state-of-the-art labs, having 6x6m shake table, fourth in South Asia, contributed in revision of seismic building code Pakistan 2023 while its faculty is actively engaged in research on cutting-edge technology in respect of non-destructive testing of building and bridge structures.
Prof. Dr. Sahar Noor, Dean Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Prof. Dr. Amjad Ullah, Dean Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Prof. Dr. Siraj-ul-Islam, Dean Faculty of Architecture, Prof. Dr. Misbah Ullah, Treasurer UET Peshawar, Dr. Khizar Azam Khan, Registrar UET Peshawar, Prof. Dr. Nasru Minallah, Director ORIC and other senior officials were also present on the occasion