The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has awarded 1,647 scholarships to PhD scholars, studying in higher education institutions of Pakistan for undertaking research at top-ranking universities of 37 academically advanced countries.
The scholarships have been awarded under International Research Support Initiative Programme (IRSIP). These foreign scholarships have been awarded in all the major disciplines, including physical sciences, agriculture and veterinary sciences, biological and medical sciences, social sciences, management sciences and engineering.
This was revealed during the 22nd meeting of the IRSIP award committee, chaired by HEC Executive Director Prof Dr Sohail H Naqvi. The meeting was told that through this innovative programme, the HEC was offering six-month research fellowships abroad to full-time PhD students enrolled in Pakistan to enhance their research capabilities.
It is of utmost importance that the doctoral studies carried out in Pakistan are of a standard that is at par with any international reputed institution. This is only possible if candidates are provided with adequate support in research projects. The indigenous PhD students sometimes face problems in research due to paucity of resources, so the scheme will provide exposure to doctoral students internationally so that they could carry out research projects of high standard.
The participants of the meeting were also told that the scheme was also assisting the ongoing indigenous PhD programmes by providing a mechanism for PhD scholars to travel abroad and conduct research in academically advanced countries. “This is providing exposure to the PhD scholars, which will enhance the quality of research that they will be conducting in Pakistan. The programme has also been greatly helpful to develop academic linkages between Pakistani and leading foreign institutions. The fellowship package covers travel, bench fee and living expenditure. As an outcome of this programme, the number of international research publications by Pakistani scholars has increased from 304 to 662 with 117% increase while the number of local publications has also increased from 380 to 552 with 45% increase,” HEC Executive Director Prof Dr Sohail H Naqvi said.
The HEC executive director and participants of the meeting appreciated the outcome of the programme and termed it a flagship programme of the HEC. The establishment of the HEC in September 2002 has heralded a revolution in higher education in Pakistan. In Pakistan, under the HEC, in addition to quality reforms, there has been a strong resurgence of research and innovation. In particular, there is a significant growth in the number of PhDs awarded out of Pakistani universities. As a result of phenomenal increase in research publications, the world share of Pakistan’s research has gone up by 300 percent in the last five years.
