PARE organizes its first formal seminar on “Relevance and Utilization of Educational Research” on February 21, 2007 at AKU-IED

After the formation of the Executive Council, PARE organized its first formal seminar in which the inaugural ceremony of Office Bearers was also conducted. The theme of the seminar was “Relevance and Utilization of Educational Research” on Wednesday, February 21, 2007. Addressing the gathering, Dr. Nelofer Halai, President, PARE gave an overview of the objectives, structure, functions and future plans of the association. She highlighted that PARE will be a platform for creating awareness regarding educational research, networking among research entities, capacity building in educational research, and dissemination of research work.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Muhammad Memon, Director AKU-IED, said that higher education institutions’ success depends on their heavy engagement in research. He felt that the higher education institutions should have formed such associations when the Institutes of Education & Research were being established. He said that PARE will provide a platform for dissemination of research knowledge and prepare researchers who could be engaged in research at multiple levels.

The Guest Speaker, Dr. Mohammad Ali Shaikh, Chairman, Sindh Textbook Board, Jamshoro said that the impact of domestic research institutes on policy formulation needs to institutionalized. He was of the opinion that the research community in the country can enhance its influence on policy by improving research quality, producing relevant and practical output within the time frame, and disseminating research results effectively to stakeholders.

The seminar was attended by a large number of academicians, researchers, practitioners and policy makers. The seminar participants stressed the need to organize such events on an on-going basis. Hence PARE will be organizing a series of such seminars throughout the year.

Seminar on May 18, 2007

PARE in collaboration with Aga Khan University–School of Nursing (AKU–SON) organized a session on “Evaluation of a system to identify at-risk mothers and infants” by Dr Philip Nagy, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto, Canada. This was held on May 18, 2007 at Rufayda Al-Aslamiya Auditorium, AKU–SON. This session was targeted to the Faculty of AKU–SON along with the PARE members.

The President, Dr Nelofer. Halai, gave a brief introduction of PARE and its future activities and plans for the year. She highlighted that PARE could prove as a platform to the entire nation in joining hands in the field of research through networking among different institutions.    

The Guest Speaker, Dr Nagy, delivered a quantitative session on identifying at risk mothers and infants. He also pointed several items that contribute to mothers and infants at risk such as, mothers’ age, social situation, financial situation, depression, low birth weight etc. 

The seminar was attended by a large number of academicians, researchers, practitioners and policy makers. The session participants stressed the need to organize such events on an on-going basis. Hence PARE will be organizing a series of such sessions and seminars throughout the year.