ISLAMABAD: Higher Education Commission has finalised arrangements to set up the University of Central Asia and Pakistan (UCAP) to fulfil federal government’s plan for providing higher education facilities to the students of Central Asian states.
Official sources told APP on Sunday, that the project would be completed with a total amount of Rs 2.84 billion, of which, Rs 600 million had been allocated in the 2016-17 annual budget.
This amount would be used for establishment of the basic structure of the university as Rs 500 million would be allocated in the current year, sources said.
Under the plan, the classes for the UCAP University would be started temporarily in the building of COMSAT Institute by September 2018. HEC would decide about allocation of land for the project in August 2017.
The UCAP University is being established in Islamabad under the government’s policy to promoting international peace, social and economic development in the region and cultural exchange.
This initiative of the government would help make the country a hub of knowledge and civilizations and increase cooperation among the South and Central Asian countries, the sources added.
Initially, the programmes of Schools of Business and Leadership would be started.
In this regard, the induction process of university’s faculty and other staff is being initiated in an effort to complete the process of finalising the courses, admissions and other projects.
The process for the induction of head of the university and faculty members has been opened for all countries and those fulfilling criteria would be eligible to apply.
The allocation of land and the provision of basic structure for the establishment of the university was the responsibility of the Pakistani government while the Central Asian states can take part in operational cost, directly or by providing scholarships to their students.
SCIENCE AND TECH PARK TO BE ESTABLISHED AT NUST:
At the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), HEC will establish a National Science and Technology Part (NSTP) worth Rs 3 billion to encourage knowledge creation at cutting edge technologies.
The park will be established under Public-Private partnership; sources informed APP that an amount of Rs 40 million would be issued in the current year for the initial work on the technology park.
NUST would be responsible for conceptualisation and implementation of the NSTP. The University will seek to establish the park with financial, operational and thought-leadership support from federal and provincial government bodies, international development donors, private equity participants and venture capitalists.
The technology park will host a research commercialisation center, university-industry liaison nucleus, event management and recreational facilities.
Moreover, the park will have a distinctive knowledge brokering facility by means of which it will act as an information intermediary to provide advice on the selection of goods or services, business intelligence, or research data to interested parties.
It will build networks stretching far beyond the major institutions today to include a comprehensive knowledge ecosystem of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, professors, students professionals (from various sectors) and underprivileged communities for mentoring and learning.
The NSTP will promote interaction between institutional elements including universities, research parks, large companies, venture funds etc and non-institutional elements like talent, bodies of knowledge and virtual communities to create job opportunities for the youth and link local assets to global and domestic markets to generate value.
