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Since its establishment by the Armed Forces and Federal Govt in February 2018, NUTECH has endeavoured to develop close and intimate intellectual, academic and professional relationship with the national industry and especially with that at Karachi. Through its pro-active and dedicated efforts, NUTECH managed to engage a team of industry professionals in February 2019 during their first visit to Karachi. The reciprocal visit of industry team of professionals at NUTECH took place in April 2019, which resulted in the creation of a dedicated Core team of NUTECH’s Karachi industry volunteers. Through subsequent interactions NUTECH pledged to serve national industry at Karachi voluntarily, academically and professionally as its top priority. The University undertook technical studies of various industry sectors at Karachi; planned to meet and present the findings of their studies before FPCCI, KCCI, various industry sector and estate associations at Karachi.

NUTECH’s core team of industry volunteer facilitators from Karachi facilitated the visit of University’s high level delegation led by their Director General NUTECH Office of Research Industrialization, Internationalization and Commercialization (NORIC) Air Vice Marshal Rana Anees Latif. During the visit NUTECH delegation met with the leadership of FPCCI, KCCI, FBATI, S.I.T.E Superhighway, PPMA (Plastic), PPMA (Pharma), PLGMEA (Leather), ABAD, PAKSEA, PHMA (Hosiery), TMA (Towel), PAAPAM (Auto Parts), PASHA (IT), APMIA (Marble) and PCSIR Complex Karachi. In all these meetings NUTECH delegation presented the findings and conclusions of their studies related to the technological development of different national industry sectors.

The subsequent interactions and coordination between NUTECH and Karachi Industry led to the 1st NUTECH-OBA PSTC-Industry Joint Collaboration Symposium held at NUTECH on February 18, 2020. It was attended by the delegations of FPCCI, KCCI, S.I.T.E. Association, KATI, NKATI, FBATI, BQATI, S.I.T.E. Superhighway, PLGMEA, PPMA (Plastic), PPMA (Pharma), TMA, PHMA, PAKSEA, APMIA, PAAPAM, PASHA, SIMAP apart from more than one dozen leading renowned industrialists of Karachi. Apart from this delegations of PCSIR, PCRET, PCST, NIE, NIO, PEC (Ministry of Science & Technology) and National Center for Physics (NCP), HIT (Defence Production), NLC (National Logistics Cell), COMSATS University, Baha uddin Zakriya University (BZU) Multan and senior leadership of Armed Forces attended the event. During the symposium NUTECH presented National Industry Development Program, Innovative TVET Model for Industry and concept details of upcoming 4th Industrial Revolution for National Industry Development. At the end of Day-long 3-sessions based symposium NUTECH and Karachi industry agreed to work together to establish university’s campus at Karachi for much needed technology driven industrial development at fast pace. Consensus was made to create NUTECH-Industry joint working groups, ‘NUTECH Industry Policies Pursuance Cell’ and focal persons for industry representations at NUTECH. Nominee from KCCI, industrial estates and industry sector associations were decided to be made members of the five separate NUTECH forums of industry policy, coordination, technology development, industrial TVET skills, industry projects and labs. It was agreed for the establishment of NUTECH-Industry joint technology platforms of academic and industrial experts in future to plan, design and develop joint NUTECH-Industry research centres, labs etc for technologies creation, development and promotion as per identified needs of the industry. At the end of the symposium NUTECH and Karachi Industry pledged to work together for national industrial development and committed to hold such collaboration symposium twice in every year. Karachi industry committed to host and organize second symposium with NUTECH in July 2020.

In March 2020, NUTECH delegation visited Karachi, met with the leadership of KCCI, seven industrial estate associations and concerned industry sector associations as part of efforts to meet the objectives and timelines which had been finalized at the joint symposium in February 2020. The delegation signed a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FPCCI for developing future relationship with all the Chambers and associations of the national industry, including those at Karachi.

In March 2020, COVID-19 pandemic erupted, which virtually put every physical activity on halt at all the Universities and in the industry. Due to the closure of Universities all across the country including NUTECH, it became very difficult for Karachi industry and NUTECH to pursue joint aims and objectives on ground with full zeal and enthusiasm as per their commitment. Despite all COVID-19 related hurdles, Karachi Industry maintained contacts with NUTECH and a number of on-line meetings of the different segments of Karachi industry were organized and conducted with NUTECH’s concerned officials.

Although NUTECH and Karachi industry faced COVID-19 related multiple challenges but the process of nomination of industry representatives for NUTECH joint working groups for industry associations in the NUTECH industry forums was almost completed by July 2020. The initial online exclusive meetings with the nominees of every industry association were conducted separately with NUTECH officials after the end of 1st wave of COVID-19 in August-October 2020. Just before the beginning of 2nd wave of COVID-19, a 3-member delegation of NUTECH visited Karachi in November 2020 and conducted five separate inaugural sessions of respective NUTECH-Industry joint collaboration forums. During the sessions it was decided that Karachi Industry would host and organize second collaboration symposium with NUTECH at Karachi which could not be held in July 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. Immediately after the visit of NUTECH delegation, the 2nd wave of COVID-19 again gripped the country leading to the disruption of all academic activities in the universities including NUTECH.

In the meantime, NUTECH in collaboration with national construction industry association ABAD, developed a unique Cooperative Model of Bachelor of Civil Engineering Technology (BET) in order to educate and prepare engineering technologists as per the actual needs of national construction industry. NUTECH-ABAD Collaboration based first of its kind BET program was inaugurated at NUTECH by the President of Pakistan in February 2021. The ceremony was attended by around ninety (90) leading industrialists and representatives / nominees of Karachi industry and sector associations.

The sideline meetings of NUTECH management, NUTECH Core Committee of Karachi Industry Volunteers with the prominent industrialist Mr. Zubair Motiwala, President KCCI and follow up online meetings concluded with the mutual understanding that Karachi industry would go ahead with its plans to host and organize a thematic national joint collaboration symposium with NUTECH at Karachi in the earliest possible time and opportunity as soon as conditions stabilize in the backdrop of COVID-19 related challenges. Since precious time has already lost due to COVID-19 pandemic, the thematic national symposium would be designed as focussed and strategic results oriented event. It would include presentations of finalized Karachi industry development plan and its implementation through Karachi campus of NUTECH. To make Karachi symposium (NUKINS) resounding success all strategic stakeholders of Karachi will be invited and briefed in advance including those of the heads of Federal and Provincial Govts, Federal and Provincial (Sindh) Ministers, Parliamentarians of Karachi, concerned Federal and Provincial advisors and Special assistants to Prime Minister and Chief Minister of Sindh, Chairmen and members of Standing Committees of Senate and National Assembly as well as Federal and Provincial Secretaries of Planning, Education, Science & Technology, Industries, Commerce & Trade, Finance, Labour & Overseas Pakistanis, IT, Shipping, etc, leadership of the three armed forces, Karachi Shipyard and Port Officials, Planning Commission, Pakistan Business Council (PBC), SECP, HEC, PEC, NTC, NCEAC, KTDMC, SMEDA, PITB, PCSIR, NIO, Chairman and members of NUTECH Board of Governors (BoG) and all other important stakeholders etc, considered important to attend the symposium (NUKINS) by the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) of the symposium.    

To finalize the theme, objectives, plans, design and organization details of the agreed upon national symposium Mr. Zubair Motiwala and, NUTECH Core Team of Industry Volunteers invited NUTECH delegation to visit Karachi in March 2021. The NUTECH delegation led by its Registrar Brigadier Dr. Syed Adnan Qasim along with Director NORIC Air Commodore Syed Salman Khalid, Director Policy Implementation & Evaluation Air Commodore (R) Naveed Yusuf as members visited Karachi and had series of meetings with the leadership of concerned industry sector associations and industrial estate associations of Karachi. Based on the conclusions of all these meetings the plan of hosting and organizing national level, joint collaboration symposium (NUKINS) was finalized after mutual consensus of all concerned.