The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Thursday inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Institute of Space & Technology (IST) enabling all the LCCI members to initiate joint research projects with IST to address R&D related issues. The LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh inked the MoU on behalf of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry while the Institute of Space & Technology was represented by its Vice Chancellor Engineer Imran Rehman.
As per the MoU, the LCCI will encourage its members to initiate joint research projects with faculty and researches of Institute of Space and Technology. The MoU will help strengthen the relations between the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Institute of Space & Technology. The LCCI members may seek the expertise and the consultancy of IST faculty and researchers in product and process design and development. The LCCI members can also utilize the lab testing facilities on actual cost basis.
LCCI and IST will also jointly develop need-based Professional Development short courses on subsidized rates for LCCI members to keep them abreast of latest and upcoming technologies, management tools and techniques. Venue of these courses may be at IST Islamabad or LCCI. LCCI members may also avail the short term professional development courses being offered by IST regularly as per training calendar. LCCI will help IST in implementation of its Entrepreneurship Development Program by nominating successful entrepreneurs to interact with IST’s students and staff on monthly basis. The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry will provide technical assistance to IST in establishment of Business Incubation Centre at IST. LCCI will help IST in placement of IST’s students on internship in various member industries. LCCI will help to prepare a list of projects to address any industrial issue, pertaining to academic and research expertise available at IST, being/to be faced by LCCI member industries that can be assigned to IST’s students as final year project. A joint Review Board having equal representation (maximum 2 from each side) from LCCI and IST will decide the allocation of final year projects to IST’s students. LCCI and IST may nominate representative on the Governing and Advisory Committees of each organization on reciprocal basis. Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, the LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry believes in strengthening of Industry-University linkage to turn the country economically strong.