Nano-Materials project at KU: Government to generate Rs 507 million foreign financing

Government would generate Rs 507 million foreign financing for the project namely "Establishment of Facilities for Industrial Productions of Nano-Materials" in Latif Ebrahim Jamal Nanotechnology Center, HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi. Total cost of the project is Rs 718 million, of which federal government would contribute Rs 213.708 million and rest of the financing Rs 507.463 million, would be generated from foreign sources.
Project has been included in Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the current financial year for which Rs 150 million has been allocated. Project has been estimated to be completed in three years time. Nanotechnology is a new and exciting technology and trained people in this technology are currently unavailable in the market while the demand is high and ever increasing.
The project will offer low cost but highly standardized training programme in latest material sciences and biosciences methodologies, hence technologists produced by the institution will have great employment opportunities. Today US, Japan, Australia and Britain are in critical shortage of trained Nanotechnologists of this category which will be produced under project, the working paper of the project stated.
It would also result in encouragement of research and innovation in areas of relevance for the economy and society, particularly by promoting close and productive and would help in interaction between private and public R&D institutions. Project would also promote university - industry and R&D linkages through research capacity buildings of universities.
It would contribute in tapping the potential in field of nanotechnology for commercialization and producing human resource and would be improving laboratories and equipment facilities of the R&D organizations. The main objectives of the project are development easy to clean Nano-coated surfaces on ceramics or glasses through specialized techniques in Nanotechnology.
The project has been planned after it emerged that this particular sector has multiple issues as presently more focus is on assembling and import instead of transfer of technology in this areas. Also, there is poor involvement of private sector in R&D and inadequate system of commercialization of technologies whereas there is minimal participation of national and international collaboration and linkages of universities and R&D organizations.
It has also been identified that there is low investment in R&D by public and private sectors and there is inadequacy of research and its relationship to the technology development, innovation, enterprise and management in this particular areas.