HEC organises consultation on Lahore Knowledge Park

Islamabad

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan organised a consultation session, involving academic experts from across the country, on Lahore Knowledge Park (LKP) Project to identify prospects of mutual cooperation to ensure project’s success.

LKP Chief Executive Officer Shahid Zaman Mohmand briefed the participants about its keys aims and the overall plan. HEC Chairman Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed and Executive Director Dr. Arshad Ali were also present on the occasion.

Mohmand said that Rs100 billion LKP, spearheaded by Chief Minister, Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, is being viewed as a turning point in the socio-economic development of Punjab. He shared different dynamics of the project and described its background, vision and objectives.

He said the project envisions applying knowledge to address national challenges and capture opportunities for innovation present in the industry and society, adding that it envisages clustering interaction of universities, businesses and researchers to drive innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Mohmand said that the park will assist existing companies and new enterprises in contributing greater value to community development and industrial growth through innovation and increased global competitiveness. He said it will generate employment opportunities by nurturing the growth of SMEs and start-ups in addition supporting professionals, entrepreneurs and university graduates and promoting modern technology.

In his remarks, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed offered his full support to this state-of-the-art project and remarked that the knowledge park presented countless opportunities and collaborations for Pakistani universities. He also informed that KPK was also considering establishment of such a Park. He said HEC and LKP would meet the KPK government for deliberations. “LKP is a national project, so it was necessary to hold a national level consultation on it in order to identify the areas wherein the academia can play its part in the LKP execution,” he said.

The chairman said that HEC will provide new PhDs to help catering to the need for skilful human resource in the project. He said that such parks should also be setup in Sindh, Balochistan, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Those who attended the session included Dr. Khalid Khan, Additional Secretary, Higher Education KPK, Dr. Sohail Naqvi, Vice Chancellor LUMS, Vice Chancellor LCWU, Vice Chancellor Kinnaird College for Women, and representatives of National University of Science Technology (NUST) Islamabad, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, UET Peshawar, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute Swabi, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences Quetta and Mehran University of Engineering and Technology Jamshoro.