Five Pakistani universities selected for EU research grant

Five Pakistani universities have been selected for award of research grant under Erasmus Mundus STRoNG TiES (Strengthening Training and Research through Networking and Globalisation of Teaching in Engineering Studies), a project under the Erasmus Mundus Programme supported and funded by the European Union.

The Pakistani universities selected for award of grant under the programme include Mehran University of Engineering and Technology Jamshoro, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Muhammad Ali Jinnah University, Islamabad, University of Punjab, Lahore and Lahore University of Management Sciences.

The main disciplines covered under the programme include science, technology, engineering and mathematics with special emphasis over electrical and electronics engineering; information and communication technology; photonics; biomedical engineering; computer engineering; energy and power systems; informatics and; telecommunication engineering.

Under Erasmus Mundus STRoNG TiES Programme, forty-three (43) researchers submitted their individual research proposals from Pakistani universities in November 2012 and won the award. The programme is implemented under the facilitation of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan. HEC Chairman Dr Javaid R. Laghari was invited by the European Union Science Forum last year to deliver a keynote address at the EU Parliament and he had subsequent meetings with EU officials to increase Pakistan’s share in both research grants and scholarships, the outcome of which was positive and is evident with the current awards. Following that, the Research and Development Division of HEC shared this information with Pakistani universities and encouraged and guided them to apply for EU research grant.