ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has appointed National University of Sciences and Technology (Nust) Rector Dr Mohammad Zahid Latif as the national chair on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics, entrusting the university with spearheading a strategic national initiative in two of the world’s most transformative domains.

“Based at NUST Islamabad campus, the National Chair, together with a panel of experts, will serve as a premier national platform for policy direction, strategic alignment, governance structures, and comprehensive assessment of the national AI and Robotics ecosystem, particularly in relation to HEC-supported national centres, including the National Centre of Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) and the National Centre of Robotics and Automation (NCRA),” says a press release issued by Nust.

According to the press release, the appointment reflects the confidence reposed by HEC in the rector NUST’s visionary leadership and underscores the university’s growing stature as a leading hub of academic excellence, cutting-edge research, and technological innovation in Pakistan.

Expressing his appreciation to HEC leadership for honouring Nust with the important national mandate, the rector said: “This initiative is not only a recognition of NUST’s academic and research contributions, but also a collective national opportunity to build long-term strategic coherence in emerging technologies. The success of Pakistan’s AI and Robotics journey hinges upon meaningful collaboration between academia, industry, government and innovators. As part of this initiative, we aspire to foster precisely that synergy.”

According to Nust, the national chair will also lead efforts to identify structural gaps, systemic inefficiencies and operational challenges impacting the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of the national AI and robotics ecosystem.

“Through benchmarking against international best practices, the initiative seeks to develop an integrated national framework capable of ensuring coherence, strategic alignment and coordinated progress across institutions and stakeholders. The initiative is further expected to recommend transformative national pathways and implementation approaches that can accelerate Pakistan’s emergence as a competitive knowledge economy driven by innovation, intelligent systems, and advanced automation,” said the press release.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2026