KARACHI, July 11: The Sri Lankan defence ministry has asked Karachi University to help set up a multi-disciplinary research facility, like the KU’s International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), in the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), Sri Lanka.

This was stated by ICCBS director Prof Dr Mohammad Iqbal Choudhary while presiding over a meeting held at the ICCBS on Thursday. He said the KDU, which is under the defence ministry of Sri Lanka, had decided to set up a world-class research facility like the ICCBS at a cost of $10 million. He said the setting up of a multidisciplinary research facility complied with international standards in the KDU under the guidance of ICCBS patron-in-chief Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rahman and the ICCBS administration would transfer the technology and expert knowledge between the two countries. In this regard, Dr Atta-ur-Rahman with KU vice chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Qaiser and Dr Choudhary recently visited Sri Lanka and the KDU, where they met officials of the defence ministry and the KDU.

KDU vice chancellor major general Milinda Peiris discussed with the Pakistani scientists issues related to setting up of the facility in Sri Lanka and the Pakistani team agreed to help Sri Lanka in setting up a research facility, Dr Choudhary said.

The KDU was established as the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy in 1981. Subsequently it was elevated to university in 1988 by a parliament act. In the beginning, the KDU was dedicated for military personnel, but now it has opened its doors to civilians also. The KDU is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (the United Kingdom).

Meanwhile, the university announced the schedule for submission of semester fee and examination forms.

A KU official on Thursday asked students to deposit semester fee and examination forms from July 15 to Oct 31.

With a late fee of Rs500 the forms can be submitted from Nov 1 to 9. The per course fee of the semester is Rs100 and for repeaters it is Rs200.—APP