ISLAMABAD, May 2: Ministry of Information Technology would establish career placement offices in country’s top-rated universities to hunt for talented IT minds. This was said by Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari while speaking at the concluding ceremony of two-day Nascon-2006, the all Pakistan IT, engineering and business gala, held at the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences FAST, Islamabad.

He said initially these career placement centres would be established at 25 universities.

The minister’s remarks came in response to the clarion call by director of the university, who had urged the minister to take steps to save the IT talent in wake of inadequate growth opportunities in the sector.

He said the objective of setting up the placement centres across the country was to harness the talent of the youth. These offices will be run and managed by the Pakistan Software Export Board and the selection of candidates will be made strictly on merit and performance, he added.

The programme to be funded by National ICT Research and Development Fund will start in the next five to six weeks and it would include 5,000-6,000 internships at best IT companies of the country.

These youths will undergo extensive training-cum-internship for a period of three years and the ministry will provide 50 per cent of the total cost that will include a competitive and sizable monthly stipend, Mr Leghari said while outlining the details of the project.

The minister pointed out that about 80-85 per cent of the human resource employed by the industry came from four to five tier-one universities which offered around 2,000 seats in the IT discipline.

“Our aim is to bring up 15-20 tier-two universities to the tier-one level and the ministry has decided to pump resources into this crucial area along with complete support and assurance from the IT industry for 100 per cent absorption of the human resource,” he added.

Awais Leghari told the upcoming IT graduates not to pay heed to misperceptions created in the last few years about lack of jobs and career growth in the IT sector.

He said the government considered production of quality human resource in the IT and telecom sector a top priority and the ministry of information technology had already taken a lead in sending 65 boys and girls abroad last year to top international universities to pursue to MS/PhD programmes.

Meanwhile, a total of 100 teams comprising 540 students from all over the country, participated in the Nascon 2006.

Hamid Mukhtar and Majid Khan of NIIT, won the first prize, followed by Anam Ghaffar and Misbah Mubarak from Nust. The third prize was shared by Lums and PUCIT.

In the category of engineering project (hardware), EME Nust got the first and second prizes, while the third prize went to the University of Faisalabad.

In Harvard Case Simulation, CIIT Abbottabad won the first prize, while the second position was shared by MAJU, Islamabad, and FAST-NU Islamabad Campus.