HYDERABAD, Jan 18: The director Research and Development, Higher Education Commission, Islamabad, Dr Altaf Shaikh, has said that the National Research Universities and Development (NRUD) programme was the most important venture of the HEC and ample funds were available for universities under the programme for all health related research projects.

He was delivering a lecture on research and development programmes of the HEC at the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Jamshoro here on Thursday.

He said a research proposal pro forma was available at the HEC website which could be downloaded.

He said research projects ranging from Rs6 million to Rs15 million could be submitted under the NRUD programme to the commission.

Dr Shaikh said that different public universities had so far submitted 1,200 research projects to the commission under the programme out of which 500 projects had been approved and 119 were under consideration.

He said that the medical researchers who read papers at national and international seminars will be paid Rs75,000 as expenses by the HEC.

He referred to the joint research programmes by universities and industry and added that 15 chambers of commerce and industry of the country including HCCI had been included in this programme by the HEC.He was hopeful that by the year 2020, tens of thousands of students would be able to get their PhDs and other degrees under different HEC’s programmes.

He lauded efforts of the LUMHS vice-chancellor in the development of the university as well as for holding successful programmes on medical sciences and health.

The university should prepare a PC-I for submission to the Sindh government and the HEC for establishing a separate hospital by the university, he proposed.In his address, LUMHS vice-chancellor Professor Noshad Ahmed Shaikh thanked the HEC for providing funds for various research projects of the university.

He said by providing funds for laboratories, research equipment, chemical and medical equipment, research activities could be increased. He exhorted the young doctors to take interest in the research.

Deans, professors, faculty members and teaches attended the programme.