By Hifsa Raja ISLAMABAD, June 02 (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) has decided to bring university students and industry persons together to promote innovation and commercialisation of technologies for economic growth. Talking to WealthPK, Zaibun Farooq, a senior scientific officer of PSF, said, “The initiative has been taken under the National Technology Innovation Fund (NTIF), and the foundation will grant up to Rs25 million in financing to individual scholars or groups of researchers for the purpose.” “PSF will accept ideas for innovative technologies or products that have an economic impact. The proposals must address product development and commercialisation. The proposals that solve local community issues and aim to achieve global innovation criteria will be considered. Basic research-focused proposals will not be accepted,” she said while explaining the initiative. Zaibun Farooq said that PSF would consider researchers from both the public and private sector institutions. The private sector researchers will have to apply with a letter of intent/consent issued from the industry with a clearly defined economic value, and cost-sharing during or after commercialisation is acquired. She said that Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Cloud technology, industrial biotechnology, advanced robotics and nanotechnology are the funded research fields. According to Zaibun Farooq, a technical committee has been formed and empowered to review submitted proposals. “The technical committee's decision, together with the justifications for recommending or rejecting a proposal, must be documented and approved by all of its members,” she said, adding the technical committee is comprised 10 to 12 subject specialists and headed by the PSF chairman. “The selected projects will be those that possess both innovative technologies and a commercialisation strategy.” The PSF official stated that the ultimate goal of NTIF is to promote innovative culture in the research and development institutions, adding effective collaboration between the research centre/academia and industry would lead to the economic development of the country. ‘She said that a link among academics, the research centre, and the industry is required for the successful commercialisation of products through innovation. “Over the past few decades, there has been an increasing trend in commercialisation of innovative scientific research outcomes both in developed and developing countries,” she told WealthPK. “This will facilitate and enable the development of new and high-quality innovative products. Through proper university-industry collaborations, the graduates will receive proper training and will significantly contribute to Pakistan's socio-economic development. It will be of great assistance in producing knowledge with practical applications. This will also produce high-quality research-oriented products, which will have a direct impact on Pakistan's economy,” she explained. Pakistan’s economy is ranked 99 on the Global Innovation Index (GII) with a score of 24.4, while its regional rating is 7. As the highest GII score is 65.5, there is still room for Pakistan to increase its innovation. Researchers and practitioners agree that innovation is essential for achieving sustainable social and economic growth and competitive advantages in the business sector can be obtained by introducing new technologies and production methods. Recognising the need for a culture of innovation in Pakistan, the Higher Education Commission has encouraged universities to make research their primary priority.