Assistant professors get interim placement, research grant

HEC has placed 415 PhDs in public and private sector varsities.

ISLAMABAD:

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has placed 415 PhDs as assistant professors at 66 public and private sector universities across the country through the Interim Placement of Fresh PhDs (IPFP) Programme.

The specific faculty requirements of the host institutions and the priority of returning scholars were duly taken into consideration prior to every placement so that the services of the PhD scholars are optimally used by HEC. Of the total PhDs, 168 are non-HEC scholars who have benefited from this programme.

The scholars have been initially employed for a period of one year on a salary package of Rs80,000 per month. HEC has also offered to provide a start-up research grant of Rs0.5 million to the selected professors upon joining the host institution.

During the IPFP contract period, the scholars will be given an opportunity to compete for regular posts advertised by the universities for securing a permanent position on open merit. So far,out of the 231 applicants,179 assistant professors have been provided the research grant.

Among the new universities brought on board this year are mostly young DEIs ( degree awarding institutes) such as Khan Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan; Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta; Beaconhouse National University, Lahore; Dawood College of Engineering and Technology, Karachi; College of Business Management, Karachi; Karakoram International University, Gilgit; Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi; Hazara University, Mansehra; Khyber Medical University, Peshawar; Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore; Mirpur University of Science and Technology AJK; National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetics Engineering, Faisalabad; Riphah International University, Islamabad; Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam; Sarhad University of Information Technology Peshawar; University of Gujrat; University of Science and Technology, Bannu; and University of Wah.

The newly-placed scholars belong to diversified fields like solid state physics, poultry and animal nutrition, fisheries, intelligent systems and robotics, geophysics, rural developments, pathology,toxicology, environmental science,business administration,anatomy, genetics, MEMS, anthropology, psychology, veterinary science, urban planning, electrical and mechanical engineering, biomedical textiles, international relations, gender issues, Islamic studies, education and other physical sciences.



Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2011.