PESHAWAR, June 3: The University of Engineering and Technology will establish earthquake research centres costing around Rs38 million in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission, says university's vice-chancellor Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani.

He was briefing journalists here on the university's future development plans on Thursday. Mr Gillani said that the student community in the university campus would be connected over the Internet at a cost of Rs33 million to facilitate the student community.

The HEC, he said, had approved more than Rs151.6 millions for the UET to renovate its laboratories and hostels at Mardan, Bannu and Abbottabad. The university would also spend Rs37 millions on the establishment of 'Mechatronics Engineering Department' on the Peshawar and Mardan campuses, he added.

"We will set up an Advanced Technical Research Resource Centre at the Peshawar Campus besides renovating Peshawar campus. We are also planning to have a linkage programme with the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals at Damam to examine the possibilities for academic exchange and cooperation.

In this regard, the Dean of the graduate school of the King Fahd University will be visiting the UET this month," Mr Gilani added. The UET will start the semester system from September 2004 besides providing consultancy services to the government departments and private businesses. "The university adheres to (a policy of) hiring foreign faculty members to teach and train the graduates," he said.