ISLAMABAD:Dalhousie University Canada on Thursday presented an award to the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR).
The VC of PMAS-AAUR Prof. Dr Qamar uz Zaman received the prestigious award for his loyal and 15 years of distinguished service to Dalhousie University, Canada.
Expressing his happiness at the occasion, Dr Qamar said, “It is a great honor for him that a Canadian well-reputed university has acclaimed and appreciated his work which shows that he has achieved his goal to educate and enlighten people to some extent,” said a news release.
Before joining PMAS-AAUR Prof. Dr Qamar-uz-Zaman was working as Professor and Precision Agriculture Research Chair, at the Engineering Department Faculty of Agriculture Dalhousie University Canada and carried a remarkable academic career throughout his education.
He has also received the prestigious Glenn Downing Award in 2014 and an award from the University of Florida in 2015 in recognition of outstanding work in industry, teaching, research, and extension in the area of machinery systems.
His remarkable achievements while working as Vice Chancellor of PMAS-AAUR included the establishment of the Center for Agriculture Strategy and Development (CAS-D), Human Resource Development Academy (HRDA), Pilot Project for Data-Driven Smart Decision Platform for Increased Agricultural Productivity (DDSDP) to establish digital & Smart Agricultural Farms, Centre for Precision Agriculture to develop GREEN-AI System, National Center for Industrial Biotechnology (NCIB), Domestication/Commercialization of Industrial Hemp for Accelerated Sustainable Economic Development in Pakistan, National Center for Livestock Breeding, Genetics & Genomics as an Academic Unit, Experimental Animal Research Station, CPEC Agriculture Cooperation Centre, Academia-Industry-Government Linkages and Inclusion of industry representatives in the departmental board of studies. Furthermore, PMAS-AAUR also established Smart IoT Farm at URF, Koont to promote digital and precision agriculture at the National level so that the farmers will be aware of the needs of their crops in real-time.
University also organized various training and outreach program at various universities to aware of modern agriculture technology.
Furthermore, he effectively collaborated with 60 regional, national, and international organizations, and institutes and signed MoUs to achieve the institution’s strategic goals and objectives, and 40 plus new and halted programs reopened.