Research & innovation: 'Setting up of new university to provide platform to industrial development'

ISLAMABAD: The objective of the establishment of a new state-of-the-art technology Research University is to provide a platform for research and innovation leading to industrial development of Pakistan.

This was stated by Director Marketing and Communications, National University of Science and Technology (NUST), while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Science and Technology.

The 13th meeting of the committee was held on Wednesday at NUST, Islamabad under the chairmanship of Sajid Mehdi.

The rector, NUST welcomed chairman and members of the Standing Committee.

While briefing on the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), he apprised that the NIO was an autonomous organisation under the administrative control of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and was established through a resolution in 1982.

He also gave briefing on NUST and apprised that the university gave admission on merit basis to those qualified students who had obtained 60 percent marks.

He added that the university provided four-year degree programme in just Rs0.8 million and also provided 1,800 scholarships to the students yearly.

After that, he invited Director (M&C) to brief the committee regarding salient features of the university.

Director M&C, NUST briefed that the objective of the establishment of a new state-of-the-art technology Research University was to provide a platform for research and innovation leading to industrial development of Pakistan.

The proposed university would be a postgraduate and doctoral research university, which would house various centres of excellence in the cutting edge fields of science and technology, and a state-of-the-art technology park.

The students will be enrolled as regular students of associated university, and they will receive Masters and PhD degree as per international standards and university regulation.

The committee deferred the following legislative business/bills till the next meeting due to unavailability of the movers: The National Institute of Oceanography (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (moved by Amjid Ali Khan, MNA), The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (moved by Amjid Ali Khan, MNA), The Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority Bill, 2019 (moved by Amjid Ali Khan, MNA), and The National University of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 20l8 (moved by Riaz Fatyana, MNA).

The committee also deferred "The University of Engineering and Emerging Technology Bill, 2020" (Government Bill) till the next meeting.

After meeting, the committee visited the various departments/centres of the university and also got briefing in detail about Covid-19 kit, ventilator and stunt technology.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020