National ICT R&D Fund (Pakistan)
The National ICT R&D Fund was established in January 2007 by Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom, Government of Pakistan. The purpose behind the establishment of this R&D Fund is to support research and development projects proposed by industry and academia. This R&D fund is contributed in the form of a certain percentage of gross revenue generated by all telecom service providers in Pakistan.
Vision
The Government of Pakistan has set the following vision for the successful completion of these funded projects.
“Transform Pakistan’s economy into knowledge based economy by promoting efficient, sustainable and effective ICT initiatives through synergic development of industrial and academic resources”
Initiatives
The National ICT R&D Fund initiatives are carried out under the two categories:
Development and research initiatives
Under this initiative, research proposals are jointly submitted by industry and university and are given the highest priority. These project proposals are executed by hiring professional developers working jointly with faculty members. The focal area is not only to produce an effective ICT product but also to promote the social networks especially in remote areas.
Human resource development initiatives
Under this initiative, education and training is provided to young citizens. One of the focal areas of this initiative is industry apprenticeship program where the well established ICT & Telecom companies provide jobs to young graduates in ICT related field.