The establishment of a dynamic and productive science system that can fuel the process of innovation critical for the development of Pakistan’s knowledge economy is one of the major contributions of HEC to Pakistan. The cornerstone of our strategy in this regard is to enable and nurture truly world-class research at indigenous institutions and to ensure that the research enterprise is sufficiently integrated with industry.

HEC’s programs to establish the competitiveness of research base in global context are geared towards recognizing and supporting truly excellent research-financially-along with fostering effective collaboration. Aligned with the human resource and faculty development programs of the Commission, our programs are aimed at enabling researchers to respond to new trends and developments in their fields and to generate new knowledge critical to the national innovation system. HEC has targeted its programs towards supporting the development of the research enterprise to come to grips with possible future directions of S&T to capture the potential social, economic and environmental benefits that may accompany such technological advances. The successful exploitation of new technologies is now a core component of achieving and maintaining international competitiveness which shall in turn be beneficial for the country.

The programs implemented by the Commission to establish a culture of research in indigenous institutions traget the sector in a holistic manner. The aim has been to create an environment conducive to the conduct of world-class research by improving PhD qualifications of research supervisors, meeting short-term deficiencies through the hiring of international experts and creating pool of talented research students through competitive scholarship programs. Coupled with Infrastructure support programs, the establishment of new laboratories and specialized instrumentation centres and providing ICT solutions including high connectivity and a world-leading online digital library resource, HEC aims to re-establish research as the primary activity of our universities. A host of funding opportunities have been provided to support innovative research projects, and mechanisms have been put into place to ensure the relevance of this research to national priorities along with the integration of the research process with the industrial sector.