Govt, varsity to support biotech entrepreneurship

PESHAWAR: The Directorate of Science and Technology (DoST), the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and CECOS University of Information Technology and Emerging Sciences, signed an agreement on Tuesday to support biotechnology innovations in the province and build local capacity for biotechnology entrepreneurship.

Under the agreement, the CECOS University through the government support will conduct capacity-building workshops on selected regional campuses to train faculty and students in innovation and entrepreneurship. It will also ‘incubate’ biotechnology innovations by offering them mentorship, laboratory space and access to equipment and seed funding to every innovative project, said a communiqué.

“Science and Technology is a fundamental ingredient for sustainable socio-economic development and it has cross-sectoral implications as well. We are always keen to work with competent partners to attain the full potential of our department,” said Zahoorul Haq, director, DoST. He was accompanied by assistant directors Waqar Ahmad and Falak Niaz.