Organizing seminars, conferences, symposiums and training workshops provide tremendous opportunities to academic and scientific community to share the scientific knowledge and research outcomes. This also helps promote research culture in higher education institutions. HEC encourages Pakistani universities to display their academic achievements at national and international forums. To this end, the HEC gives financial support to public sector universities and private universities eligible for public funding for organizing seminars, conferences, symposia and workshops. The universities are encouraged to host national and international level events to this effect so as to afford learning opportunities for the indigenous Pakistani researcher community who are geographically distributed, helping them keep abreast of the contemporary research. Such seminars and conferences provide a forum for university-industry interaction as well.

 

The objectives of this programme are;

Ÿ To extend financial assistance to Universities and Degree Awarding Institutes (DAI), so as to encourage them to plan, 
      organize and educate their faculty and students with the cutting-edge technologies and development in the relevant areas

      of research.

Ÿ To provide forum for interaction between academicians and researchers at national and international level.

Ÿ To assess academic and research capabilities/achievements by taking into consideration national requirements and

      international settings.

Ÿ To consolidate and share academic and research experiences and achievements at national as well as international level.

Ÿ To provide an opportunity of exposure to our academicians and researchers of international community.

Ÿ To disseminate academic and research achievements to our industrial and commercial establishments.

• Ÿ To explore opportunities for national and international academic collaborations.

 

For application forms, eligibility criteria and other requirements, please click the proper link. Applications must be received at least 6 weeks prior to the event date. Late and incomplete applications will not be processed.

 

For further details, please contact Director General (R&D) at dgrnd@hec.gov.pk 

Eligible Institutions

 

Proposals for hosting seminars, conferences, symposia and workshops in any discipline from the following institutions are invited: 

A.     All public sector universities/degree awarding institutions, Centers of Excellence, Area Study Centers, Pakistan Study Centers

B.     Private universities/ degree awarding institutions eligible for public funding

      (please see HEC website for eligible universities)

 

Note: Private universities/degree awarding institutions not eligible for public funding may collaborate with any of the university at (A) and/or (B) above. HEC encourages universities to collaborate with other institutions to organize seminars, conferences and workshops jointly.

 

How to get reimbursement of funds?

 

·        Upon approval of the grant, HEC issues sanction letter indicating the approved amount against each components. The amount must be spent on specified heads.

·        For approved cases, the sanctioned amount is reimbursed after the event and upon filing the reimbursement claim consisting of original receipts of payments.

·        Statement of expenditure will be duly audited by the University Auditor and endorsed by the principal organizer and head of the institution.

·        Grant will be approved for specific event and cannot be utilized for any other event or purpose.

·        The reimbursement claims should be filed within two months after the event, failing which the grant is considered withdrawn automatically.

·        Grant will be released in favor of the head of institution (Vice Chancellor, Rector, President or Director). Anyhow, the focal person will be responsible for its proper utilization as per approved components.

·       HEC expects the universities to put some seed money for preparatory work of the even. Universities facilitate the focal persons by providing the amount in advance against the sanction letters to incur the expenditure of the event.

·            The proposals from all disciplines of Universities and Degree Awarding Institutes in public sector, Pakistan/ Area study Centers, Centers of Excellence will be entertained.

·            The proposals from Private Sector Universities/DAI's, eligible for funding will be entertained.

        (List of eligible Private Sector Universities/DAI's)

 

 

·        Download the appropriate Application Form by clicking the hyperlinks below.

·        Following two forms are available:

           i)        Application Form for Organizing Seminar, Conference and Symposium

           ii)       Application Form for Organizing Training Workshop

·        Fill-in the application form with appropriate information. Please provide all the relevant information requested in the

      form. Incomplete applications will not be processed.

·        Supporting documentary evidence, according to the checklist available with the application form, should be enclosed

·        HEC expects that universities may put seed money for initial preparatory work of the event and seek sponsorship from corporate institutions.

·        Universities are encouraged to apply for grant once the program is finalized and resource persons/invited speakers are identified.

·        Complete application form along with supporting documents should reach HEC, via surface mail, at least 6 weeks prior to the event date. Late or incomplete applications are not processed.

 

 

 

What’s required with application?

 

A.               GRANT FOR ORGANIZING INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL SEMINAR, CONFERENCE AND SYPMSOIUM

 

i.       A list of foreign invited speakers along with their CVs and abstract of the papers to be presented in the proposed seminar, conference and symposium will be required with the application form. HEC will sponsor only those foreign invited speakers whose complete details will be provided. HEC will provide travel and accommodation facilities to maximum 05 foreign invited speakers.

ii.      A list of local/national invited speakers along with their CVs and abstract of the papers to be presented in the proposed seminar, conference and symposium will be required with the application form. HEC will sponsor only those national invited speakers whose complete details will be provided. HEC will provide travel and accommodation facilities to maximum 10 national invited speakers.

iii.     In case there is any change in the list of foreign or national invited speakers after the approval of the grant, HEC should be informed immediately and the changed list along with CVs and abstracts of paper is to be endorsed by HEC prior to the event. Organizers will pay travel and accommodation of any invited speaker if he/she is not duly approved by the HEC.

iv.     A brief CV (2-3 pages) of the focal person organizing the event will be required. The relevance of academic and scientific contribution of the focal person to the subject matter of the event is very important. The committee approving the subject grant gives due weightage to this aspect.

v.      Brochure of the event containing aims, objectives and themes etc. will be required along with the application form.

vi.     Appropriate registration fee from the participants of the event is mandatory. The number of participants and the income from registration must be indicated in the application form.

vii.   A copy of the program of the event indicating the sessions and speakers.

viii.  A list of organizing committee will be required. A diversified committee comprising of the professionals on the subject matter from different institutions is highly encouraged.

ix.     A detailed list of stationery and publication items will be required. HEC provides funds for consumable items of stationery.

 

 

B.               GRANT FOR ORGANIZING INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL TRAINING WORKSHOP

 

i.       A list of foreign resource persons along with their CVs and abstract of the presentation will be required with the application form. HEC will sponsor only those foreign resource persons whose complete details will be provided. HEC will provide travel and accommodation facilities to maximum 05 foreign resource persons.

ii.      A list of local/national resource persons along with their CVs and abstract of the presentation to be presented in the proposed workshop will be required with the application form. HEC will sponsor only those national resource persons whose complete details will be provided. HEC will provide travel and accommodation facilities to maximum 10 national resource persons.

iii.     In case there is any change in the list of foreign or national resource persons after the approval of the grant, HEC should be informed immediately and the changed list along with CVs and abstracts of presentation is to be endorsed by HEC prior to the event. Organizers will pay travel and accommodation of any resource person if he/she is not duly approved by the HEC.

iv.     A brief CV (2-3 pages) of the focal person organizing the event will be required. The relevance of academic and scientific contribution of the focal person to the subject matter of the event is very important. The committee approving the subject grant gives due weightage to this aspect.

v.      Brochure of the event containing aims, objectives and themes, charges of registration etc. will be required along with the application form.

vi.     A copy of the program of the event indicating the presentation/training sessions, speakers name and duration.

vii.   A list of participants of the training workshop. A diversified group of participants from various institutions is encouraged.

viii.  A list of organizing committee will be required.

ix.     A detailed list of stationery items will be required. HEC provides funds for consumable items of stationery.

x.      A list of laboratory consumables for on-hand training sessions.

 

Events like seminars, conferences, symposia and workshops need special planning and preparation to ensure that every critical aspect is being taken care of. Successful events also enhance your institution's image and branding. Some steps should be considered while organizing an event to give it a professional touch and create a lasting experience among attendees.

·       Plan Ahead: Plan your event well before the tentative event date and give yourself enough time to plan and execute the event. Depending on the size and complexity, this could be sixty days to six months before the event.  Make a list of all the resources needed, including the people and their duties and responsibilities. There are lots of little pieces needed to make an event successful. Write down everything needed on a checklist and make sure that everything is assigned to a particular person.

·       Selection of the Theme: Theme of the event is very important. Select a topic that is current and of high-interest, as more listeners will likely be drawn to a topic of this type. A theme helps to decide on the target audience, and the promotional tactics. In general, an event like international conference should appeal to professionals in the same arena, as well as the sponsors who would gain mileage by publicizing their products.

·        Selection of Venue: Venue selection is highly dependent on the scale of the event. Usually this is determined by the number of participants, the presence of any guests of honor (such as royalty or politicians) the activities during the event, or if there are additional floor space required for exhibition purposes. A typical seminar of about 100 – 200 can be comfortably implemented in a seminar room, possibly in a theater style setting or classroom setting. However, larger scale events with participant numbers scaling between 500 – 1000 may require a large hall, ballroom, auditorium or a convention center. The location and quality standard of the venue is also important especially if the event involves the participation of VIPs. With this, a reputable location would be imperative, including good quality and wide range of seminar facilities available. It is always wise to explore the possibility of a few venues and examine their location suitability, level of services, ambience, and costs before coming to a decision. The other consideration in the selection of venue would be availability of multimedia equipment, public address system, and quality of catering etc.

        Seating Arrangement: For training workshop, the physical layout of the room is important. It must take into consideration comfort and easy access for attendees. If arranged properly it will extend the influence of the resource person in the room and eliminate distractions. Theater style or Classroom style (with tables) is appropriate for larger groups. If notes are to be taken, or reference material will be referred to, Classroom style is better because it provides a writing surface. To promote interaction with the participant, switch to Chevron style, (seating rows angled on both sides of the room toward center stage), which can be used with or without tables. For smaller groups of up to 15 people, Boardroom style (around a conference table) works very well. It provides the appropriate feeling of formality and leadership, yet facilitates interaction. To encourage a greater degree of participation consider a U-Shape set–up with a speaker’s table at the open end of the U.

·        Event Publicity: publicity of the event is by far the most critical and often most challenging task in event organizing, and is often regarded as the most critical factor of an event’s success. This is because the number of participants turning up for a seminar is highly dependent on publicity. Whether or not the event achieves its objective largely depends on the marketability of the event. This means that the right marketing strategy and seminar positioning must be adopted in order to draw adequate event sign-ups. Most of the time, event organizers who have large budgets will turn to above the line marketing such as newspaper and magazine advertisements to publicize the event. Press releases may also be sent in to major newspapers, in order to create the awareness of the upcoming event. When using print advertising, the specific magazine or newspaper used must have the target audience of your event as their primary readership base. Also all print media should be copy written with an enticing approach, highlighting the extensive benefits of participation. However, if budget is a problem, then below the line marketing may also do wonders. If the event is industry specific, mass faxing to companies belonging to the industry would be feasible. Telemarketing is a very effective marketing channel to create awareness within the right participant group. Mass emailing has become one of the most cost-efficient methods to reach out to large target audiences. This would be really useful if the event organizer already have an existing database.

·        Sponsorship: Getting reputable sponsors to participate in an event will help boost the creditability of the event, as well as reduce costs. Sponsors can also help with marketing, as they also help publicize your event to their customers. Apart from that, some of the sponsors can chip in on venue rental in exchange for exhibition space or publicity for themselves. Some sponsors also require a short message of their company to be given to the participants during the event. Others give away sample products or door gifts to participants.

·        Selection of Invited Speakers/Resource Persons: A seminar will not be successful without reputed speakers sharing their knowledge to the participants. Invite speakers who are of caliber and reputation to the event, and who will provide the participants with relevant information to their work, industry or business. Prepare the speakers beforehand and work with them on their Power point presentations as well as pre-inform them of the logistics processes, timing as well as the expected audience size. Check with them on any special requests, such as the requirement for an overhead projector or additional microphones to be used for question and answer sessions.

·        Team Work: All events require a good team of people handling tasks on ushering, registration, customer service as well as handling financials. Familiarize the team with any required event protocol to eliminate the possibility of confusion or error. In order to ensure smooth implementation, each person should be familiar with their individual roles. This can be ensured through a preparation of a detailed schedule of events coupled with roles and responsibilities for each person. Ideally, the focal person should control the whole team and ensure that everyone is carrying out their duties efficiently. Apart from that, the focal person also has the delegated authority to deal with all parties such as the venue management as well as the sponsors and event exhibitors.

·        Last Minute Work: There would be invariably some work or other that would pop up in the last minute. You should be equipped to meet those challenges. On the actual day, you should visit the venue in advance to ensure everything is in order and as per the requirements. Little things can bring in big headaches, so always check that microphones, projectors, video systems etc. are working properly. Over at the office, have a packing list prepared and get all require items transferred to the actual venue at least a day before the event. Event staff should be dispatched to work on site preparations, including setting up booths, decorations and posters, the day before the event.

·        On the Actual Day: Staff should be present at the venue at least 1 ½ hours before commencement. They should report to their duty stations and must be ready to receive participants half an hour before they are scheduled to file in. Registrations must be made at the door to ensure authorized access. Name tags, door gifts and event schedules or booklets will be given out at this point and ushers will show participants to their seats in the event hall. Staff will also be responsible for providing advice or help to participants during the event.

·        Feedback: Feedback forms should be distributed and then collected from participants to determine the satisfaction level on all aspects of the event experience. This is in order to receive pointers, ideas and advice for future improvements.

 

·        The complete application for organizing the event should be received in HEC at least 06 weeks prior to the event dates. HEC encourages early submission. Please note that late and incomplete applications will not be considered.

·        All proposals are considered on merit and grant is approved on the recommendation of the Committee.

·        Upon approval of the grant, HEC issues sanction letter indicating the approved amount against each components.

·        For approved cases, the sanctioned amount is reimbursed after the event and upon filing the reimbursement claim consisting of original receipts of payments. Universities facilitate the focal persons by providing the amount in advance against the sanction letters to incur the expenditure of the event.

·        The reimbursement claims should be filed within two months after the event, failing which the grant is considered withdrawn automatically.

·        Grant will be released in favor of the head of institution (Vice Chancellor, Rector, President or Director). Anyhow, the focal person will be responsible for its proper utilization as per approved components.

·        Statement of expenditure will be duly audited by the University Auditor and endorsed by the principal organizer and head of the institution.

·        Grant will be approved for specific event and cannot be utilized for any other event or purpose.

·        Financial assistance of Higher Education Commission of Pakistan should be duly acknowledged in all the printed material.

·        In case of postponement or cancellation of the proposed event, the HEC would be intimated immediately.

·        The scope of the event should have relevance with the research work being carried out in the department.

·        Appropriate registration fee from the participants must be charged.

   

Criteria for Award of Grant

 

HEC’s Grant for Seminar, Conference and Training Workshop is highly competitive. There are chances that you may not get Travel Grant even though your paper has been accepted in a conference. While evaluating an application for award of travel grant, followings are the major considerations;

i)       Scope of Seminar, Conference and Training Workshop

ii)      Relevance of Seminar, Conference and Training Workshop with the research paradigm of the department/ institution

iii)     Professional standing of invited resource persons and speakers

iv)    Outcomes of the previous Seminar, Conference and Training Workshop (if any) held by the department/institution.

v)     Contribution from other source of funding