Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has approved the establishment of a new engineering university in Swat at the cost of Rs 8 billion.
As per details, the provincial government plans to establish Swat University of Engineering and Technology (SUET) within the next three years, the project will cost around Rs 8 billion.
The university will be established on ‘triple helix model’ critically interlinking government, industry and academic sector.
SUET will comprise of three primary sections namely academic wing, think tank and enterprises for sustainability plan of the varsity.
The first to sections will focus on academics and fund raising respectively, whereas Swat Engineering University Enterprise (SEUE) will be established under the third domain focusing on managing seed funding and linking international venture capitalists for technology transfer.
The project will be the first self-sustainable university of the province, says project director Dr Najeebullah.
The varsity will utilize entrepreneurial approach to tackle constraint and will adapt to the changing dynamics on a continuing basis, he added.
Furthermore, Dr Najeebullah highlighted that their focus is on developing a substantial technical, management and outreach capacity of SUET via enhanced coordination with Higher Education Commission (HEC), government and other stakeholders.
In addition to it, SUET is planned to benefit from technical cooperation with University of Utah, USA; which will further enhance its research capabilities.
Dual/joint degree programs with international varsities are also planned for SUET, noted Dr Najeebullah.
According to Kamal Bangash – advisor to KP Chief Minister on higher education, in the beginning six disciplines including electrical and civil engineering, institute of materials, mining and metallurgy, computer engineering, bio-medical engineering and institute of manufacturing will be taught at the varsity.
