Promoting innovation: Turkey to help set up technology parks in Pakistan

By PEER MUHAMAMD

Published: October 4, 2011

” Imagination is more important than money,” METU Technology Park Manager Tolga Ozbolat.

ISLAMABAD:

Turkish experts will assist Higher Education Commission (HEC) in establishing Technology Parks in Pakistani universities, it was learnt on Monday.

Middle East Technical University (METU) Technology Park Manager Tolga Ozbolat and Deputy Manager Ufuk Batum reiterated their resolve to share technical knowledge with the HEC in a meeting held at the Commission Secretariat.

Ozbolat said, “We would share with the HEC all that we have learnt from our experience in technology.” However, he said that no financial assistance will be given to Pakistan. “Imagination is more important than money”, he maintained.

Briefing the media, HEC Executive Director Dr Naqvi said that on Tuesday, the METU’s technical experts will have one-to-one meetings with universities and industry, besides holding a one-day workshop on “Technology Parks: Challenges and Opportunities” for the stakeholders. He said that the main objective of this exercise is to help universities learn about technology parks and their pre-requisites.

The experts will get an overview and assessment of the prevailing conditions, including status of IT software development, telecommunication industry, industrial development and service industries in Pakistan, including financial institutions.

Dr Naqvi explained that a technology park is an organisation managed by specialised professionals, with the aim to increase expertise within a community promoting a culture of innovation and competitiveness of its associated business and knowledge-based institutions.

To achieve these goals, technology parks stimulate and manage the flow of knowledge and technology amongst universities, research and development institutions, companies and markets. They facilitate creation and growth of innovation-based companies through incubation and spin-off processes and provide other value-added services together with high quality space and facilities, he added.

He revealed that the METU’s technology park generated a revenue of $150 million annually from contract research as it is the first and oldest such Park in Turkey. He highlighted the fact that the world over, universities were working alongside the industry and hence registering spectacular growth. Later in the day, the Turkish experts visited Quaid-e-Azam University and National University of Sciences and Technology.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2011.

via Promoting innovation: Turkey to help set up technology parks in Pakistan – The Express Tribune.