ABBOTTABAD: A high mountain research centre along with the school of environmental sciences and the school of chemical sciences will be established at the Comsats Institute of Information and Technology, Abbottabad.

This was announced by Comsats rector Dr Juneed Zaidi while speaking as the chief guest at the 72nd convocation of CIIT Abbottabad here on Monday. According to him, the CIIT Abbottabad was chosen by the German donors.

The project will be executed with the collaboration of European Union.

Another research project, Horizon 2020 valuing five million Euros, will also be completed with the financial assistance of German organisations.

`This is another landmark for the institution, which is now ranked the country`s top researcher with the publication of more than 160 research papers in noted journals,` he said.

Earlier, CIIT Abbottabad director Gul Khan Jadoon said currently, 6,000 students were enrolled in 68 undergraduate and 28 graduate programmes at the institute, while the number of MS students had increased to 153 over the years.

He said CIIT with 150 PhD faculty members was given quality education to students. Jadoon said 50 research projects had been completed and they included water, sanitation, project, software development and climate change projects.

He said a special consultancy project for government of Punjab on biogas was also in operation. `The biogas project is not only a source of earning for CIIT but it will give exposure to students and faculty members as well,` he said.

The CIIT Abbottabad director said after achieving the ISO 9000 certification, the institute would secure ISO 1400 and ISO 1800 certifications. He said the new campus of CIIT was to be established in Dhamthore.

`Land for the project has been acquired. After the release of funds by the science and technology ministry, work on it will begin,` he said. Later, the chief guest and members of CIIT board of governors gave away gold medals and degrees to 476 students. Correspondent