The Higher Education Commission (HEC) organised a consultation session involving academic experts from across the country at Lahore Knowledge Park (LKP) Project to identify prospects of mutual cooperation to ensure the project’s success.
LKP Chief Executive Officer Shahid Zaman Mohmand briefed the participants about its keys aims and the overall plan. HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed and Executive Director Dr Arshad Ali were also present on the occasion.
Mohmand said Rs 100 billion LKP, spearheaded by Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was being viewed as a turning point in the socio-economic development of Punjab. He shared different dynamics of the project and described its background, vision and objectives.
He said the project envisioned applying knowledge to address national challenges and capture opportunities for innovation present in the industry and society, adding it envisaged to cluster interaction of universities, businesses and researchers to drive innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Mohmand said the park would assist existing companies and new enterprises in contributing greater value to community development and industrial growth through innovation and increased global competitiveness. He said it would generate employment opportunities by nurturing growth of SMEs and start ups in addition, supporting professionals, entrepreneurs and university graduates and promoting modern technology.
In his remarks, Dr Mukhtar offered his full support to this state-of-the-art project techno polis and remarked that the knowledge park presented countless opportunities and collaborations for Pakistani universities. He also informed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) was also considering establishment of such a park. He said the HEC and LKP would meet KP government for deliberations.
“LKP is a national project, so it was necessary to hold a national level consultation on it in order to identify the areas wherein the academia can play its part in the LKP execution,” he said.
The chairman said that HEC would provide new PhDs to help catering to the need for skilful human resource in the project. He said such parks should also be set up in Sindh, Balochistan, Aazad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.
Those who attended the session included Dr Khalid Khan, additional secretary, Higher Education KP; Dr Sohail Naqvi, vice chancellor LUMS; LCWU vice chancellor, Kinnaird College for Women vice chancellor, and representatives of National University of Science Technology Islamabad, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Peshawar, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute Swabi, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences Quetta and Mehran University of Engineering and Technology Jamshoro.