ISLAMABAD - Twelve overseas and five indigenous HEC scholars have completed their Ph.Ds. in the last week.Since its establishment in 2002, HEC started various scholarship programmes to develop higher education institutions and research and development organisations for the socio-economic development of Pakistan.Among the overseas scholars, Dr Salamn Khan completed his Ph.D. from University of Graz, Austria, in computer sciences. His thesis was entitled ‘Aspects of Content Quality Management in Digital Libraries of Scholarly Publications.’ The scholar published eight research papers in international journals. He has joined Virtual University, Lahore. Dr Tania Habib completed her Ph.D. with distinction from Graz University of Technology, Austria, in signal processing and speech communication. Her area of research is ‘Auditory Inspired Methods for Multiple Speaker Localisation Using a Circular Microphone Array.’ She has three publications. She is joining UET Lahore through HEC’s Interim Placement of Fresh PhDs Programme (IPFP).Dr Israrullah of Malakand Agency completed his Ph.D. from University of Manchester, UK, in Mechanical Engineering. His thesis tile was ‘Vibration based Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.’ During Ph.D. study, the scholar published four research papers while two more are in the pipeline. He has joined his parent organisation.Dr Fazli Subhan of Charsadda completed his Ph.D. in mathematics from University of Leicester, UK. His research title was ‘Multilevel Kernel-Based Interpolation.’ He has joined Higher Education Department, Government of KPK. Dr Nasarum Minullah completed his Ph.D. from Zhejiang University, China, in biological sciences. His research title was ‘Molecular Biology of Plant Disease Resistance (Tomato MAPKs in defense response against Botrytis cinerea and tolerance to drought stress).’ The scholar has joined NUST, Islamabad.Dr Faiza Sharif completed her Ph.D. in biological and medical science from Leiden University, The Netherlands. Her thesis’ tile was ‘The Zebrafish as a Model for Tissue Regeneration and Bone Remodeling.’ She belongs to Education Department, Government of the Punjab. Dr Niaz Ahmed Niazi of Bahawalpur completed his Ph.D. from Imperial College London, UK, in molecular biology. The scholar published two papers and is joining National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad. Dr Zahida Parveen of Bhakkar completed her Ph.D. from Medical University Vienna, Austria, in biochemistry. Her research title was ‘Functional Biology of Multispecific ATP-driven Drug Efflux Transporters.’ She has two publications and has applied for placement through IPFP. Dr Owais of Peshawar completed his Ph.D. from Linkoping University, Sweden, in communication electronics. His thesis’ title was ‘Differential Six-port Radio Transceiver for Ultra-wideband and Wideband Antennas.’ The scholar has to his credit six journal publications and 11 conference papers. He has joined COMSAT Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad. Dr Abdul Qayyum of Lodhran completed his Ph.D. from AIT Thailand in business education.  The scholar got specialisation in marketing with four publications. He is also seeking placement through IPFP.Under HEC Split PhD programme, Dr Abbas Hassan completed his Ph.D. from University of Texas at Austin, USA, in organic chemistry. He has five publications and has applied for IPFP. Dr Muhammad Kaleem completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof Dr AZ Hilali from University of Peshawar in management sciences. His work revolves around the management training of public managers in off the job setup. The scholar has joined Kohat University of Science and Technology.DrArab Naz from Dir completed his Ph.D. from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad in anthropology. He published nine papers and has joined University of Malakand. Dr Asma Gul also completed her Ph.D. from QAU in biological sciences and looking for placement through IPFP.Dr Saira Irum completed her Ph.D. in Chemistry from HEJ Research Institute, Karachi, with six publications. Dr Niaz Ahemd completed her Ph.D. from University College of Agriculture, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, in soil science and joined the Directorate of Rapid Soil Fertility Survey and Soil Testing Institute, Lahore. Dr Ghulam Murtaza completed his Ph.D. from QAU, Islamabad, in plasma physics. He has seven publications. The scholar is working in Pakistan Meteorological department. In addition, six scholars also completed MS from Korea in Engineering under MS level training programme. The returning scholars are fulfilling the faculty requirements at local universities and are also a source of international linkages between the universities/departments m where they have graduated.