On August 1, 2023, Pakistan launched three new centers of excellence covering quantum computing, nanotechnology, and new manufacturing. Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal attended the launch ceremony in Islamabad and called the centers a “significant leap forward” for Pakistan’s technological capacity, according to the Ministry of Planning.
According to the announcement, the centers will be established at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI), NED University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi, Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Computer Science at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore, and the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) budget was cited as having increased from Rs. 40 billion to Rs. 70 billion in support of these and related initiatives.
Minister Iqbal said the centers would help prepare Pakistan’s economy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and called for embracing emerging technologies including biotechnology, robotics, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing through interdisciplinary approaches.