ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) has invited applications from Pakistani and Azad Jammu and Kashmir national students and non-PhD faculty aspiring for PhD scholarship under US-Pak Knowledge Corridor for comprehensive online or physical GRE training.
According to the official source, the applicants may apply for GRE training till December 10 and will be charged a concessional fee of Rs 2,500 for online training while Rs 5,000 will be charged for physical training however the remaining amount of the training fee will be paid by HEC.
A maximum four years bachelor’s degree is required for the applicants with no second or third division in entire academic career.
Maximum age limit of candidate
The maximum age limit of the candidate till the closing date must be 33 years while in the case of regular Government employees/ regular faculty members of public sector universities and Government colleges/ regular researchers of registered Research and Development organizations, the maximum age limit is 38 years.
The eligible candidates must not be availing of any other HEC scholarship and those who have previously availed of this training opportunity are not eligible to apply.
Earlier, in June 2015 the United States and Pakistan established an Education, Science and Technology Working Group (ESTWG) under the Bilateral Strategic Dialogue discussed the proposal during the meeting of Prime Minister of Pakistan and President of US to establish US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor.
Both the dignitaries directed their respective governments to intensify their cooperation in this important framework to achieve the ambitious priority targets of developing high-level human capital envisioned in Pakistan’s policy document Vision 2025.
10,000 Pakistani scholars will join US universities in the next ten years
According to the Plan, 10,000 Pakistani scholars will join US universities in the next ten years as an effort of the Government of Pakistan to train its faculty resources in identified subject areas.
Phase 1 of the plan approved by ECNEC on Jan 25, 2017, and revised later in August 2020 envisions awarding 1000 PhD scholarships to outstanding Pakistani students in US Universities under the project titled “PhD Scholarships under US – Pak Knowledge Corridor-Phase -1 (Revised)”.
The main objectives of the project include significantly increasing the number and quality of faculty in Higher Education Institutions.
It also aimed to enhance the research and academic capacity of the Higher Education Institutions of Pakistan by providing trained manpower who will improve the quality of instruction and innovative research.
Talent Farming Component
Under the project, approximately 1,000 potential applicants will be trained annually for university entrance exams such as GRE and TOEFL/IELTS under the “Talent Farming Component” of the project.
The program will develop collaboration between Pakistani and renowned US institutions to transfer new research techniques focused on Pakistani needs.
About the categories of scholarships, the official informed that there were two categories of scholarships being offered.
The category-I include scholarship in the top 50 QS World Ranked US Universities for which the prospective applicants must have secured admission in any of these Universities, valid GRE – General Score (Minimum 300 in total) or HAT Score (Minimum 60% Score). The category II –Scholarship requires applicants to have admission in the top 300 QS World Ranked US Universities for which applicants must have secured admission in top 300 QS World Ranked US University and have a valid GRE- General Score (Minimum 300 in total) OR HAT Score (Minimum 60% Score). However, GRE – General or HAT Score is not required where admission is secured with a complete tuition waiver. – APP
