Photo used for illustrative purpose.

Tariq Butt, Correspondent

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has announced the Overseas Scholarships 2022 for Ph.D in selected fields and MS/MPhil in Engineering Technology.

Officials said applications are invited from outstanding Pakistani/AJK nationals for the award of Ph.D and MS/MPhil scholarships. Ph.D scholarships are being offered in selected fields, whereas MS/MPhil scholarships are being offered in Engineering Technology.

Scholarships will be awarded for the Spring/Fall (2022) session in HEC-identified top-ranked foreign universities of advanced countries.

As per eligibility criteria, the candidate must be a Pakistani/Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) national. While for Ph.D scholarships, candidates must have a minimum qualification of MS/MPhil/ME or equivalent (18 years) before the closing date.

For MS/MPhil scholarships in Engineering Technology, candidates must have a minimum of 16 years of education and should be registered with National Technology Council (NTC), Pakistan.

Maximum one 2nd division throughout the academic career prior to the final degree. Candidates must have a minimum CGPA of 3.0 out of 4.0 in semester system or 18 Division (in the annual system) in MS/MPhil/ME/ Equivalent degree.

The maximum age on the closing date should be 40 years for full-time regular faculty members of public sector universities/colleges and employees of the public sector R&D organisations registered with Pakistan Council for Science & Technology (PCST).

However, age should be 35 years for all others. The candidates must have a minimum of 70% marks in a valid HEC Aptitude Test (HAT). HEC will consider the best HAT score of the last two years for shortlisting purposes.

The candidates must not be availing any other scholarship, it mentioned. Merit will be drawn on the basis of a valid HEC Aptitude test (HAT) score. However, the candidates are required to opt for foreign countries/universities of their choice in the online application form. HEC reserves the right to re-allocate any country/university to the candidate. Only shortlisted candidates will be called for interviews and the admission process.

The candidates are required to make sure that their field of the subject is being offered in their choice of country/university, otherwise, the candidate will not be considered for an interview/scholarship.

They are required to fulfill the requirements of the host university to secure admission, which may include International GRE, TOFEL, etc. They are also advised to appear in these tests before the interview/admission.

Applicants are required to provide the information through an online application process at https://eportal.hec.gov.pk. The merit list will be prepared on the basis of online data/information provided by the applicant.

In case any information is found to be misrepresented at any stage, the application process will be terminated. Awardees will have to execute a bond with HEC/Respective Pakistani University to serve for a period of five years immediately after completion of the Ph.D study.

Request for change of University for the purpose of service bond will not be entertained at any stage. Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of Government Approved provincial quota. The applicants provisionally or finally selected in any of the HEC scholarship schemes in the past are required to obtain NO Objection Certificate (NOC) from relevant scholarship sections before submission of their applications.

Copies of this NOC must be emailed at OSSPhase3@hec.gov.pk before the closing date of application submission, i.e., May 30, 2021. Sharing the details of the HAT test, it was informed to the students that the Education Testing Council (ETC), Pakistan is planning to conduct HEC Aptitude Test (HAT) in the second week of June, 2021.