ISLAMABAD, Feb 26: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has started a programme entitled "International Research Support Initiative" under which 70 PhD scholars from public-sector universities and degree-awarding institutions of Pakistan will be selected to conduct their research abroad.

These scholars will be given the opportunity to conduct research for a period of six months in the subjects they are doing PhDs from prominent international universities.

The scholarships will be open to current HEC scholars who are not only enrolled in a doctorate programme, but also must have completed at least one year of their doctoral programme in Pakistan.

The goal of this programme is to give out a total of 70 scholarships over a period of two years; 35 scholarships per year. Each scholar would receive a reasonable stipend and return airfare from the HEC.

This programme would allow current PhD students adequate support in research projects, hence giving them an opportunity to be on a par with international standards. This programme would not only enhance the quality of doctoral research in Pakistan, but also create a critical mass of highly-qualified manpower.

Furthermore, the project will provide opportunities to doctoral students to conduct their research work at advanced and fully-equipped research labs. The international exposure available to PhD scholars through such a programme would certainly lead to improvement in the quality of research being conducted in Pakistan.