The country's 10 renowned social scientists have submitted their thematic research papers and detailed case studies funded by the Higher Education Commission to find the solutions of social problems confronting the nation like threat to national security of Pakistan, business education etc. These studies will be presented to the policy makers for their help and guidance.

The project titles presented to Higher Education Commission are:

1. Threat to National Security of Pakistan through Interplay of Internal and External Factors in Promoting Violent Extremism Radicalization and Fragmentation of Society by Dr. Umbreen Javed, University of the Punjab, Lahore;

2. Exploring the Level of University, Industry Collaboration and its Implication for Improving Business Education in Pakistan by Dr. Abdul Ghafoor, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad;

3. Ensuring Human Rights and Cultural Diversity: the Role of Media and Civil Society by Dr. Farish Ullah Yousafzai, University of Gujrat;

4. Role of Entrepreneurship Education on Student Attitudes by Dr. Ayub Siddiqui, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (Fast-NU), Islamabad;

5. Digital Citizenship and Governance: online political participation among the citizens of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by Dr. Muhammad Ayub Jan, University of Peshawar;

6. Urban Security: A Case Study of Rawalpindi, Lahore and Bahawalpur by Dr. Irum Khalid, PU, Lahore;

7. Weather Shocks Coping Strategies and Farmers Livelihood: a Case of Rural Areas of District Multan, Punjab by Dr. Junaid Alam Memon, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad;

8. Women Prison Reforms in Pakistan: a Case Study of Peshawar Prison by Dr. Zahid Anwer, University of Peshawar;

9. Effective Management: Pakistani National Culture and Management Practices by Dr. Sadia Nadeem, FAST-NU, Islamabad; and

10. Language Movements in Pakistan: A Sociolinguistic Study of Hindko in KPK and Siraiki in Punjab by Dr. Abdullah Jan Abid, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad.

According to HEC Chairman, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, HEC gives equal importance to Social Sciences in any research grant, as the development of Social Sciences is linked to the uplift of society; the annual funding for Research Support Programme, which used to be only Rs 40 million in the start, has reached Rs 3.5 billion. HEC has so far awarded 140 research grants and opened a new window for research in Social Sciences in the form of Thematic Research Grant to sort out a plethora of lingering issues like terrorism, use of drugs in universities, racial biases, the lack of tolerance in Pakistani society etc.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017