Rs 25.226 billion US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor (Phase-1): 1000 PhD scholarships to be awarded to Pakistani students

KARCHI: Pakistan and USA will implement PhD Scholarship Program under US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor (Phase-1) at Rs25.226 billion for provision of 1000 Ph D scholarship to Pakistani students for studying in leading universities of the world including USA.

According to official documents of the project, which was approved recently, the foreign exchange component of the project is Rs24.303 billion whereas Rs922 million would be financed through local sources.

The programme will develop collaboration between Pakistani and renowned US institutions to transfer new research techniques focused on Pakistani needs. The project will also bring opportunities to develop research projects and simultaneously build capacity in the higher education system of both the partner countries. The new Ph D faculty will promote R&D activities to enhance the quality of learning and teaching across the sector and will provide opportunities to promote the professional development of teaching staff.

It will increase PhD faculty of universities and promote research and development activities in universities with special emphasis on areas of economic relevance to the country as well as promote lifelong learning in the higher education institutions by allowing faculty to upgrade their skills at regular intervals for responding to diverse demands.

The project will also share expertise and facilities among universities though national and international partnerships for supporting socio-economic regeneration and growth. Besides, it will provide opportunities and means to the universities and institutes to interact across geographical boundaries of institutions, integration of teaching, research and evaluation, and mutual collaboration and cooperation for optimum utilization of available resources and ensure availability of the locally trained manpower as per needs of the industry.

In June 2015, the United States and Pakistan established an Education, Science and Technology Working Group (ESTWG) under the Bilateral Strategic Dialogue. During the official visit of the then Prime Minister of Pakistan to meet with USA President and other US officials on October 22, 2015 the two leaders discussed the proposal to establish "US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor" and directed their respective governments to intensify their cooperation in this important framework to achieve the ambitious priority targets of developing high level human capital envisioned in Pakistan's policy document Vision 2025.

The scheme will be implemented by PMU, headed by Project Director under the administrative control of Higher Education Commission. The PMU will be established in HEC, Islamabad. The Project Director will be assisted by the supporting staff. Project Management Unit (PMU) will facilitate the proper implementation of scholarship scheme. PMU is responsible for overall implementation of the scheme including planning, implementation, monitoring, coordination, facilitation and supervision. A Project Steering Committee is included for smooth implementation of the project. One post of US based Coordinator / Focal Person has also been included in the project.