HEC Invites Applications For Technology Development Fund

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has asked for applications from candidates for the fourth edition of the Technology Development Fund (TDF).

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) provides funding to the Technology Development Fund (TDF) for proposals of completed interdisciplinary applied research for prototype development and industrial value addition for developing tech-based products or processes.

What is a Technology development fund?

Development Fund was approved in 2015 by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) at the cost of Rs. 2.9 billion. TDF received official administrative approval in 2016.

Technology Development Fund has funded 200 joint academia-industry projects between 2016 and 2019. 160 academia-industry projects have been licensed to the industry for commercialization and mass scaling. The majority of projects with licenses raise funds for all stakeholders.

Objectives: –

Technology Development Fund has four main objectives, which are as follows,

• Increase of knowledge with interaction with the industry and researchers in various academic disciplines.

• Achieve distinction by transforming knowledge for entrepreneurship and creativity to benefit students, industry, and communities.

• To help businesses and industries by adding goods and services by using new technologies.

• Applying knowledge through exchange and extension with society and entrepreneurs

Main areas: –

Proposals are invited in the following thematic areas:

• Impact of climate change on the socioeconomics of Pakistan (agriculture, food security, urban development, floods, pollution, biodiversity conservation, etc.)

• Telecommunication, Computer Science, and Information Technology (applications in government services, textile, agriculture, health, dairy, etc.)

• Engineering Sciences, Water, Energy, Micro Electronics, Power, and Fleet Management

• Biotechnology and Allied fields (in textile, health, leather, agriculture & dairy, etc.)

• Nanotechnology, i.e., Material Sciences/Man-Made Material

• Robotics, Military, and Defence.

Any other applied discipline which can yield successful products or increase the process of industrial manufacturing.

Selection Criteria for TDF: –

Projects will be approved for Technology Development funding under the following criteria:

• University/industry joint proposal

• Interdisciplinary research product/process

• Problem-based solution

• Identified customer/application

• Business plan, marketing strategy, and competitive analysis

• Award of TDF

Eligibility Criteria for TDF: –

Faculty members of public and private universities with relevant commercialization partners from industry/private/investor/public sector R&D institutes/spin-offs/startups at accelerators or leading incubation centers.

The proposals need to be multi-disciplinary, joint academia-industry, and multi-institutional leading to services or projects which solve a current problem of society/industry or identify an opportunity of business that leads to positive cash-flows.

Project Duration: –

The life of each project under the Technology Development Fund will be for at most two years.

How to Apply?

Interested candidates are required to submit their proposals online.

The Office of Research Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC)/Research Office/Registrar Office of applicants’ respective universities will be asked to scrutinize initially before endorsing the proposals to HEC for competitive consideration.