The evolving global tech landscape necessitates focusing on AI education in Pakistan ...
SCI-TECH
Nowadays, the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having numerous effects on various education and business sectors. For this reason, several Pakistani academic institutions are engaging in efforts to promote AI education, with the aim of instilling AI skills among students and professionals.
Numerous prominent universities are now offering degrees in AI-related fields as well as introducing AI courses while taking initiative to launch AI startups to prepare future students for ideal employment. Some private universities like FAST-NUCES, COMSATS, NUST, and SZABIST have taken notable measures by offering dedicated bachelors, masters, and specialization programs in artificial intelligence, and these institutes have recently set up AI labs to assist students hone their skills with advanced AI tools.
Pakistan produces more than 25,000 IT professionals and engineering graduates every year, and 600,000 experienced workers are currently working in IT sectors which are directly or indirectly associated with AI-related fields.
In Pakistan, atomcamp, which offers AI-based courses, is an emerging platform teaching AI skills to students from various academic fields. One of its co-founders, Naveed Iftikhar, while giving an interview to Us, highlighted his institute’s infrastructure, saying that his “team is operating vigorously to spreading AI and data analytics education [through] various courses and bootcamps.”
Naveed said that “the fundamental core for establishing atomcamp is to equip graduates and post-graduates with the AI skills required to compete in the global and local job market.” He pointed out that many public and private universities in Pakistan are lacking in educating students with practical skills due to limited resources and absence of expertise and funds in AI-based learning.
Naveed said, "Pakistan's universities immediately need to modernize their curriculum with AI industry related proficiency developed according to the current demands. These modules will also benefit students and help them get better exposure to Generative AI.” Naveed emphasized that the foremost desire of his institute is to make “AI and data analytics careers accessible and empowering for all scholars, and also to provide countless opportunities to students for the growing use of AI in various sectors.”
Rehan Allahwala, a prominent entrepreneur known for his various educational initiatives, recently established the Rehan School with the mission to provide free education to children from diverse backgrounds, a praiseworthy step for the promotion of education in Pakistan.
Talking to Us, Rehan said that “his professional teaching team conducts special classes on the fundamentals of AI for children, which makes students intimately familiar with AI tools and latest technology.” He urges that AI courses be introduced in primary and secondary levels. “Basic courses related to AI should be taught in every school, college, and university so that knowledge seekers can be aware of AI,” Rehan added.
He said that “ChatGPT is rapidly revolutionizing the Pakistani education landscape, helping students tackle specific academic barriers.” He believes that AI websites have recently become more creative than original human work. “Humans have limitations in generating ideas. On the other hand, AI has higher competence to present extensive recommendations and can also increase creativity. This is why spreading AI education in our region is extremely essential for us,” Rehan added.
Ayaz Morris, a senior journalist and media trainer who conducts vital training sessions for the promotion of education in Pakistan, said “There is a dire need to update the education system according to the current situation to advance the education of AI in Pakistan.”
He stressed the need for the government to “take concrete measures for the promotion of AI to establish machine learning labs to enhance the skills of students at all educational levels so that they can learn at least basic AI tools, and the youth can also further develop in the field of AI and make the country a balanced economy.”
AI engineer Usama Shami, a computer science graduate from NUST, stressed the need to promote AI education in Pakistan. In a conversation with Us, he said that "introduction of basic programming courses in schools and colleges is imperative to create interest and awareness in computing-based fields among students so that more students can take an interest in AI-related fields.”
“There is a need to introduce short AI courses in all academic disciplines to create awareness and creativity among students,” Usama added.
Scholarly experts have drawn attention to a transformation of Pakistani educational modules for the promotion of AI in Pakistan, saying that “elementary courses of AI should also be introduced in the timetable of CS related subjects so that students will take interest in AI-based programs while enrolling in universities.”
The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan recently played a crucial role for promoting AI and networking among Pakistani academics by conducting the prestigious Asia Pacific Advanced Network (APAN58) event in Islamabad. Meanwhile, launching the National Cloud has been one of the notable recent steps that will work as the core for future development and facilitate universities in establishing their virtual data centres.
