SWABI, Dec 26: Members of the International Advisory Board of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute have called for more incentives for the faculty to do research.

Speaking at a meeting at the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology in Topi on Tuesday, Dr Arif Masud and Dr Ashfaq A. Khokhar of the University of Illinois said that teaching load on faculty must be reduced so that they could focus on research.

The foreign faculty hiring programme, digital library, new opportunities and initiatives and grant for faculty by the HEC also came under discussion.

They said that the faculty should also take benefit from opportunities provided by the higher education commission.

Dr Ashfaq said that consensus should also be developed among the faculty to create a working environment in institutes.

They discussed graduate and undergraduate courses offered by the GIK institute, research activities, GIK-industry collaboration, programme initiatives, inter-disciplinary integrated programmes, challenges, future plan, feedback from the market, fund giving and generating sources.

They also held talks with GIK Institute Rector Dr Abdullah Sadiq and deans on a joint project of worth Rs31 million entitled “Development of Computational Mechanics Infrastructure and Human Resources for Advancing Engineering Design Practices in Pakistan Industry.”

The project is funded by of the HEC, Ministry of Science and Technology and USAID.

Dr Masud said the main goals of the project are: improvement of the quality, relevance and capacity of education and research at Pakistani institutes in the field of engineering education.