In a significant step towards linguistic and technological innovation, a high-level meeting was held between Sindh University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Khalil-Ur-Rehman Khoumbati and the Director of the Abdul Majid Bhurgri Institute of Language Engineering (AMBILE) Amar Fayaz Buriro at the VC office to discuss fostering collaboration in research on the Sindhi language and computational linguistics, with a strategic focus on developing robust Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools to support the advancement of the Sindhi language.

During the meeting, Vice-Chancellor Dr. Khoumbati assured that a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University of Sindh and AMBILE will soon be finalized and inked for collaboration.

This collaboration will facilitate the selection of students from the Department of Sindhi and Institute of Mathematics & Computer Science for specialized training at AMBILE, enabling them to contribute to cutting-edge projects, including the development of Sindhi NLP tools, WordNet and the expansion of Sindhi Large Language Models (LLMs) to address the evolving demands of artificial intelligence.

In response to a request from the Director AMBILE Amar Fayaz Buriro, the Vice-Chancellor invited Dr. Kamran Dahri from the IT department to explore integrating the Sindhi language into the university’s digital ecosystem.

A key decision was reached to develop and launch a dedicated sub domain featuring a Sindhi-language user interface (UI) for the University of Sindh’s official website next month. This platform will serve as a repository for research articles, theses and final-year projects from Sindhi department students, thereby enriching the digital corpus of Sindhi-language resources. These materials will play a vital role in training Sindhi LLMs and enhancing AI-based linguistic applications.

Recognizing the need to equip students with expertise in AI and NLP, the meeting concluded with the decision to initiate a specialized lecture series in the coming weeks. Director AMBILE will lead these sessions, offering insights into the modernization of Sindhi language applications in the AI era.

Moreover, both parties underscored the importance of developing an online database for speech-to-text and text-to-speech applications, supported by community-driven voice datasets and student-led initiatives.

Emphasizing the pivotal role of universities as research hubs, both institutions reaffirmed their commitment to translating academic research into practical, results-driven projects. The University of Sindh pledged to remain at the forefront of Sindhi language research, ensuring that its findings contribute to institutions dedicated to the preservation and advancement of the language, particularly in the domain of artificial intelligence.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Buriro presented AMBILE’s latest newsletters to Vice-Chancellor Dr. Khoumbati. The meeting ended on a note of mutual commitment, with both institutions vowing to strengthen their collaborative efforts to support young researchers and safeguard Sindhi, a treasured linguistic heritage of the Indus Valley Civilization.