CAC AT A GLANCE

The Corporate Advisory Council (CAC) at NUST is emerging as a pacemaker of the micro-economy of Pakistan. New to the idea of such endeavour in Pakistan, the Pakistani Industry has come forward to garner technical support from NUST, the number one Science & Technology Higher Education Institute (HEI) of the country.

The Council has developed linkages with industrial and business enterprises across 6 Sectors of the economy that have been carefully identified based on NUST’s academic and research expertise. The structure of the CAC is unique with respect to Pakistan. No other Pakistani university has established this sort of a dedicated and result-oriented structure for Industry-Academia linkages. CAC has managed to forge alliances with large Industrial Giants and Multinational Companies and SMEs, and continuously receives support from and provides assistance to its Industry Partners. Under the framework of Government establishments, CAC works on the principle of “Triple-helix combination of Academia, Industry and Government”, engaging in advisory, consultation and R&D collaboration. Which has evolved into “Triple-Helix +1 Model” as a natural corollary of engineering the economy for addressing the social problems.

Realizing the social responsibility CAC is helping to foster a culture where NUST students and faculty give back to Society by exploiting their Science & Technology capability. The CAC channelizes the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of its Industry partners towards developing solutions with a discernible social impact, and contribute towards sustainable socioeconomic development. With the same spirit of Triple Helix + 1, CAC manages a program called “Finding Innovative & Creative Solutions for Society (FICS).” FICS an annual event is aimed at promoting Social Entrepreneurship and adding value through technology-based solutions to social problems. The overriding theme of FICS is to generate benefits for Society, in different areas and domains including Healthcare, Energy, Education, Inclusive Growth, Agriculture, Security, Counter Terrorism, and so on. The concept is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have recently been adopted by the United Nations. FICS, along with other initiatives spearheaded by CAC and NUST, ensure that a complete support system, i.e., an ecosystem, is provided to help our engineers, social scientists, and bio-technologists grow in the competitive market, and, at the same time, serve the communities around them.

The aphorism “Think-Collaborate-Build” – the motto of NUST CAC – guides its endeavours to connect and synergize the four elements of our Quadruple Helix Model into a holistic mechanism towards national progress. It is giving rise to better opportunities for our youth, and enabling them to become active players in the new competitive global arena.