PEC and Hattar Industries Sign MOU for Engineering Internships

The Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) and Hattar Industries have signed an agreement for paid internships in engineering and funding of university student’s final year projects that are based on solutions to local issues.

Both the parties also concurred on the acquisition of district-wise industrial data in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and cottage industry identification for the Hattar Economic Zone (HEZ) and the Hattar Special Economic Zone (HSEZ). A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the representatives of the PEC and Hattar Industrial Association on these matters.

The Pakistan Development Committee (PPDC) of the PEC accepted the Hattar Industrial Association’s (HIA) invitation to visit the Hattar Industrial Estate, and its delegation was welcomed by Chairman HIA, Malik Muhammad Ashiq Awan, Senior Vice Chairman, Muhammad Atta ur Rehman, Vice Chairman, Sheikh M. Ilyas, along with Mr. Safeer Akhtar Awan and others.

The PEC delegation was headed by Convener PPDC Committee, Engineer Mir Masood Rashid, MPA Sania Kamran, Engineers Dr. Mirza Jahanzaib, Dr. Khadija Qureshi, Dr. Faisal Ahmed Khan, Dr. Attaullah Shah, Nausheen Irfan, Afaq Ali Siddiqi, Muhammad Haroon, and Muhammad Naeem Qureshi, Secretary Committee, Engineer Muhammad Arqam Jamal Khan, and Senior Vice Chairman HIA, Muhammad Atta ur Rehman, attended the signing.

Convener PPDC Committee PEC, Mir Masood Rashid, Assistant Registrar PEC, and Chairman Mardan Small Industrial Association, Engineer Arqam Jamal Khan, signed the MoU. The provincial Chief Minister’s Special Assistant on Industries, Commerce, and Investment, Abdul Karim Khan, was the chief guest at the signing ceremony.

As per the MoU, the PEC’s collaboration with the HIA will result in industrial tours for engineering students of PEC accredited engineering universities at the HEZ, the HSEZ, and other economic zones in KP. It was also agreed that the HIA would identify pertinent topics for students’ Final Year Design Projects (FYDPs) as per the local HEZ industries’ needs for indigenous solutions to industrial problems and issues. These topics will be circulated among Higher Education Institutions for adoption by faculty and students for research and design. The PEC will also fund the FYDPs on the topics.

Moreover, it will establish a framework for Venture Capital (VC) investments, funds, and public-private partnerships for the financing of startups and innovative ideas in collaboration with the HIA. A dedicated project management unit will be established for the selection and monitoring mechanism of the FYDPs. The PEC and the HIA will also nominate focal persons for this purpose.

According to the MoU, the HIA will provide internship opportunities to fresh engineers for the sake of experience in the industry. The six months of paid internships will be funded by the PEC and the HIA. The PEC will pay Rs. 25,000, whereas the industry will provide a stipend to the engineers.

The MoU also included that a survey will be conducted in cooperation with the HIA for identification and to develop a district wise database for the province, which will comprise the availability of raw materials, climate, skilled labor, resources, market demand, consumption of industrial products, utility services, and the regulatory requirement for a suitable industry to flourish in a specific area or district.

The PEC and the HIA will also identify suitable cottage industries for the HEZ and the HESZ to encourage the development of the cottage industry at these zones through necessary facilitation by the PEC and the government, in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Industries.