Academia-industry linkage: Student startup business centres soon

Centres will fund projects to promote self-employment.


Our Correspondent March 12, 2015
This was announced at the National Forum on Higher Education 2015 organised by the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies and PEP Foundation at the Pervez Hassan Environmental Law Auditorium on Thursday.

LAHORE:


Student Startup Business Centres (SSBC) to fund student projects to promote self-employment will be set up by the Promotion for Education in Pakistan (PEP) Foundation, the Higher Education Commission and various universities.


This was announced at the National Forum on Higher Education 2015 organised by the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies and PEP Foundation at the Pervez Hassan Environmental Law Auditorium on Thursday.

The centres aim to facilitate students starting their businesses.

Higher Education Commission Chairman Mukhtar Ahmed, PU Vice Chancellor Mujahid Kamran, PEP Foundation President Khalid Iqbal, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences Dean Zakria Zakir and vice chancellors of various public and private universities took part in the forum.

Iqbal said though a large number of students graduated from Pakistani universities every year, they were not being employed.

He said to combat unemployment, it had been decided that opportunities for entrepreneurship would be given to students so that they could become the employer instead of seeking employment.

He said under the SSBC, 30 universities had sent their letters of intent.

Iqbal said five to 10 awards worth Rs6 million each would be given for successful proposal.

He said under the arrangement, Rs2 million each would be provided by the PEP Foundation, the HEC and by the concerned university.

He said objective of the forum was to develop a university-industry linkage.

“This will encourage students, train them and provide initial financial support to establish start-up companies,” he said.

Dr Mukhtar Ahmed lauded Iqbal’s idea for helping creative students start their own businesses. He also extended HEC’s support in this regard.

He said efforts must be made to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

He said the HEC had promoted research culture in higher education institutions because of which worldwide rankings of Pakistani universities had improved.

He said last year, Pakistani researchers had produced 8,000 publications.

He said HEC would fund projects which would help solve social problems.

Ahmed said equal educational opportunities should be provided to every child in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2015.

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