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Office of Research, Innovation & Commercialization (ORIC)

Iqra University Grad

About ORIC

Welcome to the IQRA University Office of Research, Innovation & Commercialization (ORIC). Notified in 2014 under the esteemed guidelines of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), our mission is to propel IQRA University into the forefront of high-impact innovation, applied research, and entrepreneurship. By directly aligning research endeavors with educational, social, and economic priorities, we aim to create a profound impact on both our academic community and the broader society.

Our Core Objectives

  1. Promote Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Cultivate a vibrant and entrepreneurial environment conducive to conducting quality research that expands the boundaries of knowledge.
  2. Build Collaborative Ventures: Strengthen industry-academia-government Linkages (Triple Helix), stimulate collaborative ventures that directly benefit society.
  3. Facilitate Researchers: Develop robust mechanisms to facilitate researchers, establishing strong ties with potential funding/donor agencies.
  4. Transform Research into Societal Benefits: Build a community that transforms university research results and discoveries into commercially viable products and services for societal benefit.
  5. Faculty-Industry Engagement: Engage faculty with industry, outsourcing technical knowledge and expertise to address industrial challenges.
  6. Promote Commercialization Activities: Foster the formation of spinoff companies, technology transfer, and commercialization activities, energizing and supporting the local and national economy.
  7. Strengthen Bonds with Stakeholders: Develop strong, long-term bonds with policy-making and research funding agencies to support research, development, innovation, and commercialization incentives.
  8. Entrepreneurship Promotion: Through business incubation and research/innovation park, promote entrepreneurship among faculty, staff, and students.

Realizing these objectives involves

  1. Strategic Research Directions and Policies: Developing and implementing strategic research directions and policies to enhance the research culture at IQRA University.
  2. Diversifying Research Funding: Increasing and diversifying research funding to support a wide array of innovative projects.
  3. University-Industry Relationships: Strengthening relationships between the university and industry to foster collaboration and mutual benefit.
  4. Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Promoting entrepreneurship and innovation through various programs and initiatives.
  5. Technology Transfer and Commercialization: Facilitating the transfer of technology and commercialization of research outcomes.
  6. Intellectual Property Protection: Protecting the university's intellectual property to ensure the rightful ownership and benefits from innovative endeavors.
  7. Supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Aligning research and innovation efforts with the global agenda of achieving Sustainable Development Goals.Join us on this exciting journey of exploration, discovery, and transformation as we work towards a future where IQRA University is at the forefront of impactful research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Resources in Support of Research

University Research Fund :

  • The allocation of fund is based on proposal submitted by the scholar with an expected tangible outcome to maximize the university’s research output as per standards set by the university or HEC.
  • The allocation of grant from this fund will be done by the subcommittee constituted by the chancellor/vice chancellor.
  • The grant from this fund can be awarded to a project viable for commercialization.
 

External Grants and Projects :

  • Faculty and academic research staff will seek actively for the external funded projects and grants, and will bid for such projects through ORIC or other relevant department in pursuance and compliance of rules and regulations set for such activities.
  • Faculty will actively pursue for research and other consultancy services by engaging industry. All such activities will be conducted under the banner of relevant university unit, department, and center or ORIC.
  • All external applications will be submitted through ORIC; however, can be managed by the faculty, department, center or campus independently.

Research Planning :

Each faculty and research unit is required to develop, implement and monitor is own research plan that is achieved with the university’s research strategy and strategic research goals.

Monitoring and Evaluation :

  • Vice chancellor will monitor and evaluate the overall performance of different units of research through different performance and metrics.
  • Every faculty and department will develop its annual plan of research with specific objectives and targets.
  • Performance evaluation will be done via a committee constituted by the VC.
  • ORIC and RFU will possible an annual report by highlighting achievements of different campuses/departments.

Recruitment and Development :

  • Faculty and staff to be engaged in research will be recruited on the basis of relevant knowledge, experience and interest.
  • Faculty and staff will be provided trainings in different areas to develop the capacity to pursue high level research.
  • Faculty and staff will develop annual plans to carry out research work in consultation with their Deans and Directors.
  • Faculty and staff will be provided opportunities to conduct the basic and applied research individually or in collaboration with other colleagues.
  • Undergraduates and graduates will be engaged by the faculty through fund year projects and independent studies.
  • Deans and directors will ensure the opportunities of trainings of new faculty members and provide suitable venues of sharing and publishing the research.

Commercialization and Patents :

  • The faculty will strive to develop commercially viable products through innovation solutions to industry problems.
  • The commercialization of products can be negotiated with the industry through university via ORIC.
  • Proper agreement will be signed by industry and university with concerned faculty and ORIC as representation of the university.
  • In undertaking as such commercial activity, faculty will not put at risk the name and reputation of university.
  • All financial transactions will be done through official accounts of the university.
  • In case of patenting and licensing any product, university will provide the financial and otherwise any assistance required by the faculty member.

Legislative Compliance :

The university is required to manage its policy documentation within a legislative framework of:

  • By laws and statutes of IQRA university.
  • Higher Education Policy framework.
  • National framework of education policy.

Research and Development Policy :

Educational institutions at tertiary level exist to create new knowledge. Hence, research & development is a prime concern of the university and the following policies must be complied with:

  • Every student & faculty member of the university must be encouraged to undertake research.
  • All students must undertake at least 06 credit hours of research courses as part of their curriculum.
  • The student researches must be carried out as per their Research Project guidelines.
  • All research work must be checked for plagiarism as per the Plagiarism policy of the university.
  • The university must allocate at least 10 percent of its budget for the research & development activities.
  • The university must encourage its faculty to participate in International conferences and compensate as per its conference participation policy.
  • The teaching departments must encourage their senior faculty in particular & all other faculty to publish in the Impact factor & ISI/Scopus listed journals. As per the university publication policy, University will pay the publication incentive as per the impact factor of the Journal and the policy approved.
  • University encourages disseminates of published work and hence faculty members must share their research work in departmental meetings, seminars and courses so that learning can be shared.
  • The university encourages its faculty to undertake corporate researches as paid project or as a CSR activity so that the business community can be helped & industry university relationships can be strengthened.
  • The research committee of the university working under ORIC must evaluate such projects and approve as per guidelines provided to them. No projects can be initiated without the approval of the Research committee.
  • The role of the ORIC of the university will remain intact in all research activities.
  • The teaching departments must encourage their faculty to commercialize their research work by patenting it. ORIC department will be responsible to provide such support.

Intellectual Property Policy

1. The Intellectual Property Policy (IPP)

The Intellectual Property Policy has been prepared by Iqra University through the Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC). Iqra University and is intended as a guide for the employees and students of Iqra University herein referred as ‘University’. The policy is to put in place to protect and secure intellectual property being generated through research activities of faculty, staff and students of Iqra University.

2. Purpose

The purpose of Intellectual Property Policy is:

  • To provide necessary protection and incentivize the discovery and development of innovation through new knowledge, its transfer for the public benefit and its use for development of the economy.
  • To generate revenues for the University and financial rewards to the inventor/creator.
  • To reserve the right of the University to use the intellectual property and preserve University’s freedom to conduct future research.
  • To raise competitive index of Iqra University among peer institution both locally and globally.
 

3. Ownership

The University is the owner of all the inventions/creations or any other copyrightable work by the employees through University’s Fund and/or using University’s resources. The following conditions shall apply:

  • If the invention/creation is done by the employee through the University’s fund (Patent Filing Fee) or by using any of University’s infrastructure), the University shall be the owner of the work and all royalties/grants shall be in University’s interest. On certain conditions a joint ownership of creator & University can be established.
  • If the research leading to an Intellectual Property has been funded by or through the University by way of a grant or any other funding body (government or private), the terms of the grant or the funding agency may override any of the rules contrary to the University’s IP Policy.
  • If the University’s resources are used and the funding is generated from any external source, University shall be the owner of any IP thus generated.
  • If the researcher has come up with an invention/creation as part of his/her employment contractual obligations, the University shall be empowered to retain the exclusive rights of the IP thus generated, even if University’s resources or funds have not been used.
  • In case an IP is generated which is not in the research interest of the University, the Director ORIC may use his discretionary authorization to grant freedom of filing of IP.
  • If a student’s thesis/dissertations contain therein patentable ideas or other intellectual property which the ORIC, Iqra University deems useful, the University shall be the owner of such IP.
 

 4. Commercialization

The Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC), Iqra University, is the unit responsible and has been delegated with the authority for evaluating, protecting and commercializing University’s IP and administering all relevant University’s policies to assure commercialization.

  • The University may determine means to protect the Intellectual Property in order to commercialization of such innovation/invention. This solely bases on the commercial potential of the Intellectual Property as determined by ORIC, Iqra University.
  • The University will inform the inventor in writing prior to applying or filing for patent as the case may be. However, in such eventuality the inventor shall fulfill all criteria and present all the data as and when required. The University on its sole discretion is entitled to approach, negotiate and enter into any agreement with any external party regarding commercialization of the invention.
 

5. IP Disclosure Information

The following information shall be provided by the investor when they would submit their invention’s disclosure to ORIC, Iqra University.

  • A statement to the best of their knowledge that they are the investor(s) of disclosed invention.
  • Any other IP already in place intended to be used as a reference to practice the invention.
 

6. Revenue from Intellectual Property

The revenue received from the commercialization of the Intellectual Property owned by the University shall be shared between the Inventor and the University on the following terms.

The Revenue shall be divided between the Inventor and the University according to the following rations:

  • Inventor – 50%
  • Inventor’s Faculty/Department – 25%
  • University’s General Fund – 25%
  • The Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC), Iqra University reserves the right to revise the above distribution at any stage.

7. Administration

  • The Relevant Campus from where the Intellectual Property is being filed by the applicant shall bear the Patent Filing Fee.
  • ORIC, Iqra University may advise the University regarding taking up any Intellectual Property of its employee for patent protection or any commercial project.
  • The inventor may not accept any amount/royalty/favor in respect of lending the IP for commercial purposes without prior written permission of ORIC, Iqra University.

Commercialization & Patent

  1. The faculty will strive to develop commercially viable products through innovation solutions to industry problems.
  2. The commercialization of products can be negotiated with the industry through university via ORIC.
  3. Proper agreement will be signed by industry and university with concerned faculty and ORIC as representation of the university.
  4. In undertaking as such commercial activity, faculty will not put at risk the name and reputation of university.
  5. All financial transactions will be done through official accounts of the university.
  6. In case of patenting and licensing any product, university will provide the financial and otherwise any assistance required by the faculty member.