Staff Reporter
The revised PC-I of the project ‘Advanced Skills Development through International Scholarships- Phase I’ has been submitted to Central Working Development Party (CDWP) for approval after the changes suggested by Planning Division.
According to an official source, the project costing up to Rs. 12.46 billion was being implemented under the Prime Minister Knowledge Economy Task Force Initiative with an objective to provide international standard education to the students of various levels who cannot afford to opt such opportunities.
The Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocation for the project was Rs. 800 million during the year 2019-20. Around 700 students will be sent abroad for study in PhD and Masters under the scholarship programme.
The CDWP approved the PC-I on December 9, 2019, in principle, however, constituted a committee headed by Member Science and Technology, comprising members from Ministry of Information Technology, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Ministry of Science and Technology and Higher Education Commission to suggest changes in the programme for making it more effective, the official source said.
The second post CDWP meeting held on January 23, 2020 where the chair recognized the need of specialized Human Resource in emerging fields and recommended that the scholarships project may be implemented under Ministry of Science and Technology subject to mandatory inclusions of HEC experts in planning implementation and a functional model for non-PMU based operational framework for long term sustainability.
The project is aimed at providing opportunity to students to excel in emerging technology thrust areas, better preparing students and professionals for advanced career challenges in Artificial Intelligence and Applied Technology domains and facilitating talented students who cannot afford higher education abroad due to financial constraints, the source revealed.
It would also help develop think-tank that would contribute to policy making and work on defining regulations for the areas that might get affected due to advent of Artificial Intelligence, Block Chain and other applied cutting edge technologies, but also embrace this challenge to identify new prospects and opportunities.
Knowledge Economy Task Force was formed by the Prime Minister to focus towards technology to transform economy and capitalize huge human resource potential of the country by initiating effective projects, the source added.
