Karachi, January 9: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), jointly funded by US and Pakistan governments, today conducted the second in a series of interactive workshops on promoting the commercialization of research in Pakistani universities and research institutions.

Part of the HEC-CSF Matching Grant Program, the purpose of the workshops is to help business people, academics and researchers to identify and exploit potential commercial applications for innovations developed at academic institutions. Success would mean turning pure research institutions into research and development (R&D) institutions, which are the engines of knowledge-based innovation in the world’s leading economies.

CSF is a platform creating public-private partnership to promote cluster development, encourage the formation of an innovative business incubator program, promote knowledge-based enterprise development, and better jobs. The workshops encourage researchers to link up with Chambers of Commerce and other consortia of businesses to jointly develop knowledge-based technological innovations with the potential to compete in domestic and global markets. Addressing the workshop, Advisor to HEC, Dr. Altaf Shaikh, observed that there was much untapped potential in the country for creating synergies.

Dr. Arthur Bayhan, CEO for the Competitiveness Support Fund, congratulated the participants for becoming part of a program that brings together Pakistani government, academia and industry to boost economic development. “This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that all three players--academia, industry and the government--will be working together for economic development and competitiveness,” said Dr. Bayhan.
The Government of Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance established the Fund in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID contributed over $12 million to setting up CSF, while Pakistan contributed $10 million.
With the HEC-CSF Matching Grant Program scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2007, more workshops have been planned for Quetta and Islamabad next month. Organizers hope that these

workshops will include strong participation by Government of Pakistan officials, establishing the basis for what economic competitiveness experts call a “triple-helix” of industry, academia and government collaborating in the development of knowledge-based innovation.

Dr. Bayhan stressed that this partnership benefited everyone involved. Universities and research institutions get investment and the latest expertise from the industrial world, while firms benefit from the continuous evolution of ideas found in academia. “Government also plays an important role by providing a suitable environment for such innovation to take place, and of course benefits from the end result, which is a strong economy, providing more jobs of higher quality for its citizens,” he said. Dr. Bayhan added that the media is an important part of the glue binding together the ‘triple helix’ of innovation.

HEC and CSF are also planning to hold trade fairs in Islamabad and Karachi in early 2007 to promote academia-based research projects with knowledge-based commercial potential.

The Competitiveness Support Fund has been tailored to the current Pakistani economic environment to strengthen and make the private sector competitive by improving the policy framework needed for knowledge-based innovation (more information available at www.competitiveness.org.pk). Support for CSF is part of the $1.5 billion in aid that the U.S. Government is providing to Pakistan over five years to improve economic growth, education, health, and governance.

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