NUST hosts assistive technology and inclusion summit
Organised jointly by NUST and Pak Everbright Development Organization (PEDO), ATIS-2025 served as a vital platform to address the critical need for assistive products, especially digital devices, for differently-abled persons and senior citizens in Pakistan. The summit aimed to bridge the gap between users and service providers, raise awareness about assistive technology, and create opportunities for cost-effective availability and maintenance of these crucial devices locally.
One of the summit's key highlights was a panel discussion on "Innovation for Accessibility: The Role of Academia, Industry, and Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in advancing Inclusion." Industry leaders and field experts shared thought-provoking insights, with focus on current resources available for differently-abled persons and how different strategies and steps could help in making an inclusive future.
"ATIS-2025 marks a significant step towards a truly inclusive society in Pakistan," stated Mr Shahab Ud Din, CEO of PEDO. 'Our collective efforts here today will ignite further research and development, and empower stakeholders to contribute to digital device innovation,' he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
13 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Green energy and industrial development moot New horizons for investment in Balochistan will be opened: FPCCI chief
KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has termed the Balochistan Green Energy and Industrial Development Conference a promising step for the country's future. The event was held at Federation House, Karachi, in collaboration with the Balochistan Board of Investment and Trade (BBoIT) on Tuesday. FPCCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh said the conference would open new horizons for investment in the province. 'Balochistan has the potential to become the country's hub for green energy,' he noted, adding that FPCCI is committed to encouraging the business community across Pakistan to explore opportunities in energy, mines and minerals, food, and agriculture sectors. United Arab Emirates Consul General Bakhit Ateek Al-Rumaithi attended as the guest of honor. He expressed UAE's keen interest in investing across all key sectors of Balochistan. FPCCI Vice President and Regional Chairman Sindh Abdul Mohaimen Khan emphasized that the federation would motivate entrepreneurs nationwide to channel investments into the province. 'The energy, minerals, and agriculture sectors in Balochistan hold enormous promise,' he said. Mian Zahid Hussain, Chairman of FPCCI's Policy Advisory Board, observed that investments in Balochistan would bring high returns for both local and foreign investors. BBoIT Vice Chairman Bilal Khan Kakar also highlighted the province's opportunities, urging the business community to fully utilize FPCCI's apex platform for tapping into investment prospects. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
13 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Port congestion: Suggestions aimed at slashing container dwell time finalised
ISLAMABAD: To improve cargo clearance efficiency and easing congestion at the country's two key seaports, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs has finalised a set of recommendations to reduce container dwell time at Karachi Port and Port Qasim. The recommendations prepared by the Karachi Port Trust and Port Qasim Authority in collaboration with other experts were presented to the Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, here on Tuesday. The minister instructed that the recommendations be forwarded to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) earliest, with directions to prepare an implementation plan within two weeks. Acting Chairman Karachi Port Trust, Rear Admiral Ateeq ur Rehman, and Rear Admiral Muhammad Khalid, Director Operations of Port Qasim Authority joined the meeting via video link from Karachi. The committee itself was established by the minister and is chaired by Umer Zafar Sheikh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Maritime Affairs, with representation from KPT, PQA, Pakistan Customs, terminal operators, FBR, and other relevant stakeholders. The minister emphasised that the plan seeks to align Pakistan's port operations with global benchmarks, enabling faster clearances, smoother trade flows, and reduced operational costs for businesses. He also restructured the committee, assigning it a new mandate as an implementation body responsible for coordinating with the FBR and monitoring progress within the specified timeframe. The recommendations focus on addressing bottlenecks across the clearance chain, from delays in goods declaration filing, adjudication, and laboratory testing, to issues related to transportation, examination, auctioning, and gate-out processes. Key measures include promoting early or pre-arrival filing of goods declarations, shortening the filing window, and introducing fines for late submissions. Virtual hearings have been proposed to speed up adjudication, while the use of rapid screening technologies and expanded laboratory facilities has been advised to reduce testing delays. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
13 hours ago
- Business Recorder
International travellers advised not to use ‘AI'
ISLAMABAD: An international cybersecurity company Monday strongly recommended the international travellers to avoid using 'AI' for purchasing or booking tickets/hotel reservations on websites till verification of their authenticity to avoid cyber threats. A survey of global cybersecurity company revealed that only 28 percent of the international travellers trust artificial intelligence (AI) to plan trips during summer 2025. According to Kaspersky's survey, only 28 percent of respondents trust AI to plan trips, however 96 percent of those that do are satisfied with this experience with 84 percent planning to use it in the future also. As AI continues to evolve, its presence grows accordingly, making AI-powered tools almost ubiquitous. At the height of the tourist season, Kaspersky decided to find out how often people are using AI in travel planning, and what aspects of their trip tourists are ready to entrust to artificial intelligence. The survey confirmed that AI has become a widespread tool among active Internet users, 72 percent of respondents claimed to use AI at least once. It turned out that the most popular use of AI is for research, with 76 percent of respondents confirming it was the most common use of AI. Second and the third place went to AI for work (45 percent) and studying (40 percent). Entertainment (39 percent) and experimenting with the technology (39 percent) tied for fourth place. AI in travel planning, with 28 percent of votes, is not yet among the most popular uses of AI. Regardless of the relatively small percentage of users who applied AI in travel planning, almost all of them (96 percent) were satisfied with this experience. For travellers, AI retains its most popular function – research. 70 percent of respondents, who have used AI in travel planning, trusted AI to identify events and other activities for them whether that was finding suitable excursions, popular tourist routes and souvenir shops. 66 percent used AI to select an accommodation, 60 percent made a list of restaurants with its help and 58 percent even assigned AI to search for tickets. Interestingly, families with children more actively used various AI functions in preparing for travel then childless audience suggesting AI is helping users to save time. Compared to information research, AI-powered booking was less popular across all groups. According to the survey, 45 percent of respondents booked hotels via AI services, 43 percent booked tickets and only 38% booked restaurants with the help of AI. Notably, 45 percent of participants stated that they resorted to the help of AI in solving visa and migration questions, which raises some concerns. Recently the story about an Australian writer who couldn't fly to a conference in Chile because of the wrong visa advice from the ChatGPT suggests the risks of AI hallucinations outweigh the time saving benefits for the most critical applications. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
