University – Industry Technology Support Program of the Higher Education Commission is an important step towards fostering high level of tangible cooperation between academia and industry for capitalizing on emerging international demands for products and processes in discrete and continuous manufacturing that shall contribute to national economy. This program is focused on industrial sectors where the country is already a major contributor to world trade. It focuses on harnessing the potential of highly competitive sectors for international trade which need developments both for local and international consumption. The focused sector wise identification of products and processes in discrete and continuous as well as import and export trends is available from public domain local and international statistical data.

University – Industry Technology Support Program (UITSP) of the Higher Education Commission proposes that the researchers preferably with PhD degree and affiliation with international professional bodies collaborate with local industry involved in discrete and continuous manufacturing for tangible results in terms of improvement of product and processes leading to decreased import of raw material and increased export of the finished product and processes. The products and processes needing improvement should ideally be in priority areas relevant to national needs for socio-economic development of the country.

University – Industry Technology Support Program (UITSP) are awarded on competitive merit by HEC for high-level and promising industrial research projects of direct relevance to current needs of the industry to be carried out in Pakistan by creative scientists of public-sector universities and degree-awarding institutions in collaboration with professionals from local industry. The purpose of these grants is to promote scientific research in applied sciences in the country, to strengthen the indigenous capacity for industrial competition in the world market. The research grant will be provided for a maximum period of two years with a budget up to Rs. 6.0 Million.   

The increased globalization of trade, formulation of policies and procedures to streamline the globalization trend and application of international standards by national, international and professional organizations has increased the trade competitiveness and thus has opened new avenues for worldwide industrial sector. To avail these new opportunities, the local industry and the universities at home shall be competitive and compliant with the international standards. The result of this collaboration exercise between industry and academia should be tangible and should reflect in the Gross National Product of the country. Generally, applied sciences section of the academia and discrete and continuous manufacturing sector of the industry needs high level of cooperation to improve products and processes in order to compete worldwide.

University – Industry Technology Support Program of the Higher Education Commission is an important step towards fostering high level of tangible cooperation between academia and industry for capitalizing on emerging international demand for products and processes in discrete and continuous manufacturing that shall contribute to national economy. This program is focused on industrial sectors where the country is already a major contributor to world trade. It focuses on harnessing the potential of highly competitive sectors for international trade which need developments both for local and international consumption. The focused sector wise identification of products and processes in discrete and continuous as well as import and export trends is available from public domain local and international statistical data.   

The applicant (Principal Investigator, PI) should :

• have an advanced academic degree and relevant research experience,
• be a member of the international professional organization and hold a position in a public University/Institution.

Applications should be submitted in English on a ‘University – Industry Technology Support Program Form’ by electronic mail, and five hard copies along with floppy disk by registered mail/courier service may also be provided. The applications shall be reviewed and processed in (at least) 06 months.

Applications should be submitted in English on a ‘University – Industry Technology Support Program Form’ by electronic mail, and five hard copies along with floppy disk by registered mail/courier service may also be provided.  Proposes should allow at least 06 months for review and processing.

Download Application Form in PDF format
Download Application Form in DOC format

Purpose and Nature: University – Industry Technology Support Program are awarded on competitive merit by HEC for high-level and promising industrial research projects of direct relevance to current needs of the industry to be carried out in Pakistan by creative scientists of public-sector universities and degree-awarding institutions in collaboration with professional from local industry. The purpose of these grants is to promote scientific research in applied sciences in the country, to strengthen the indigenous capacity for industrial competition in the world market. The grants (for 2 years duration) are given only to the best proposals after a vigorous peer review.

Research Domain: The University – Industry Technology Support Program provides support for research projects in disciplines of industrial importance.

Duration: A research grant will normally be provided for a period of two years.

Entitlement: Purchase of scientific apparatus/equipment, expendable supplies, specialized literature, on-line literature search and other items needed for the project. The grant covers the honoraria of the Principal Investigator (and co-principal investigator ideally from the industry with advance academic degree), and salaries of research associate(s) and supporting staff. It may also cover travel within the country for project-related activities.

Agreement: After the Research Grant is approved for funding, a written agreement is required between the HEC, the collaborating Industry and the grantee (PI) and his/her institute. The host institute must administer the grant according to the Agreement and must agree to provide laboratory space, salaries and other facilities necessary for the project. The equipment, material and literature provided for the project through the University – Industry Technology Support Program remains the property of the institute after the project is completed. The total project cost shall be borne by the HEC and the Industry where HEC shall contribute 80% of the total project cost  while the rest of the amount shall be disbursed by the industry before the commencement of project to HEC. The HEC Finance Division usually makes the award (first year grant) to the PI’s institute in approximately 30 days after the agreement deed and other requirements are formalized.

Report

• A short annual report is required from the PI within fifteen days of the completion of each year to both HEC and collaborating industry. Progress report should highlight major achievements during the reporting period and completion of targets/goals as envisaged in the Proposal for the subject year. The release of the subsequent year award is tied up with the receipt and review of the Annual Progress Report. 
• The grantee (PI) is required to submit a Final Report including a financial report within one month (three months) of the completion of the project.
• The grantee must keep HEC and the collaborating industry properly informed about applications of the results obtained and must acknowledge support from HEC and the collaborating industry in all publications or presentations. Any research result  under this Research Grant shall be the joint property of HEC and collaborating industry based on the proportion as in equity supplied to researcher by the HEC and the collaborating industry. The researchers shall be able to present/publish the results in all types of normal academic publication mediums.

Financial Assistance by HEC: The research grant will preferably have a duration of 2 years with a budget of upto 6.0 million where HEC component will be 80% of the total budget and the participating industry will share 20% of the total budget. In very special cases, where the PI has proven track record of applied research or have patents, research proposal with a maximum budget of upto Rs. 8.00 ( Eight) million may be considered.

Arbitration: In case of any dispute, related to any matter pertaining to subject research grant, the decision taken by HEC shall be final and binding

HEC with universities promoting commercial research.pdf