Islamabad, December 31, 2025 — The Higher Education Commission hosted the TDF Impact Showcasing (TIS’25), putting on display more than 100 technology solutions developed under the Technology Development Fund. Exhibits highlighted innovations across health, agriculture, biotechnology, engineering, energy systems, environmental management and emerging technologies.
The exhibition reflected the scale of the programme: of 238 projects awarded under the Technology Development Fund, 192 have been completed while the remainder remain in execution. The daylong event brought together government representatives, industry leaders, academia, entrepreneurs and development partners for panel discussions and a fireside conversation that connected research with commercial potential.
Nadeem Mahbub, Chairman HEC, described the showcasing as evidence of the commission’s commitment to turning ideas into market-ready solutions and strengthening the Triple Helix of government, industry and academia. He noted concrete outcomes from the Technology Development Fund including 116 patent filings with 25 patents granted, 48 trademarks and copyrights filed with 13 granted, development of 177 products and prototypes, 162 technology licences signed and 18 emerging start-ups and spin-offs. The initiative has also produced 330 research publications, 241 of which appeared in impact factor journals, and trained more than 5,600 professionals.
Imtiaz Ali Rastgar, Chairman of Rastgar Group of Companies, emphasised the lasting importance of consistent execution in technological projects and praised HEC initiatives such as Offices of Research, Innovation and Commercialization and Business Incubation Centres for strengthening university-industry linkages. He suggested practical steps to deepen collaboration including updating business and entrepreneurship curricula, expanding the role of business schools in commercialisation and profiling students toward entrepreneurship and export-oriented skills.
Dr. Zia Ul Haq, Executive Director HEC, reiterated the commission’s call for industry to open its doors to academia so that research can translate into socio-economic impact. He underlined that a strong Triple Helix synergy and aligned policy implementation are essential to scale promising technologies developed under the Technology Development Fund.
Dr. Muhammad Ali Nasir, Advisor Research & Innovation Division, said the Technology Development Fund was designed to move universities beyond publications toward prototypes, products, patents and commercially viable enterprises. He added that the PC-I for TDF Phase II has been prepared and will be presented to the government soon.
Launched in 2016 under PSDP with an initial budget of Rs. 2.9 billion, the Technology Development Fund was created to facilitate knowledge and technology transfer from academia to industry through development of prototypes, products and processes. In recognition of its results, the initiative has been extended until June 2027 to further support university-led commercialisation and industry partnerships across Pakistan.
