IIUI gets Rs60m IDB grant for state of the art electronics lab

The IIUI will be setting up a laboratory for macro, nano and opto-electronic devices, systems.

ISLAMABAD: Students in pursuance of advanced electronic devices and systems education at the International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) were handed a life line after the cash starved institute was extended Rs60 million grant for a new electronics lab.

The grant has been approved by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for the provision of Technical Assistance for capacity building at IIUI. The project aims to strengthen the existing Advanced Electronics Laboratory in the university with the specific purpose of studying various scientific problems in next-generation including micro, nano and opto-electronic devices and systems.

The scientific theme of the research is supported by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory/University of California, Berkeley, USA as an IIU partner.

Undergraduate and graduate students both in engineering and Allied sciences will be able to utilise state of the art facilities in the laboratory once the program is completed.

The project will also double as a user facility within the scientific community by arranging outreach sessions, national level workshops and training on the sophisticated equipments.

The IDB grant is the university’s first major research-specific award on the international level and will open up avenues for further development in the area of scientific research.

Talking to The Express Tribune, IIUI Rector Prof. Fatah Muhammad Malik said that the grants from IDB have been suspended over the past few years before intermittently resuming recently. Normally, he said, the grants were sought for specific development purposes like establishing libraries, laboratories, establishing of new departments as well as to purchase new equipments.

An official of the university said that the institute was currently facing financial crunch and ongoing development projects have been badly affected due to lack of budget and delayed release of funds from the finance division. He added that such grants would be helpful for executing projects.