IUB, Chinese university expand research, AI collaboration

In a major effort to strengthen international academic and technological collaboration, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Kamran, Vice Chancellor of The Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB), recently visited China to participate in the 120th anniversary celebrations of Sichuan Agricultural University (SAU) and explore expanded bilateral research initiatives, an official visit that garnered prominent international press coverage across platforms such as China Economic Net (CEN), Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), and the Daily Independent through coordination by Dr. Malik Adnan, Chairman of IUB's Department of Media and Communication Studies. During the visit, IUB and SAU officially extended their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for another five years, solidifying their high-impact joint intercropping research led locally by IUB's National Research Center of Intercropping (NRCI) under Director Dr. Muhammad Ali Raza which has successfully adapted Chinese strip intercropping technology across more than 12,000 hectares of Pakistani farmland to optimize yields, secured 56 fully funded scholarships for IUB students at SAU, and positioned IUB as the sole Pakistani institution on the Standing Council of the Food Security Education and Technology Innovation Alliance. Furthermore, in an exclusive CEN feature comparing China's clean-energy-driven 'East Data, West Computing' AI model in Ulanqab to Bahawalpur's landscape, Prof. Dr. Kamran emphasized the necessity of pairing digital infrastructure with robust local research and human capital, detailing how IUB is actively building these native capabilities through its Artificial Intelligence Research and Advancement Lab, interdisciplinary AI integration, and a specialized Quantum Computing program launched in 2026.