The Swedish University for Entrepreneurship and

Technology (SET), Sialkot, Pakistan

Background, Context, and Major Building Blocs

As globalisation affects the business sector in its entirety and all levels of society, prosperity
and the sustainable development of any region or country depends increasingly on the
innovation ecosystem. Key is the extent to which people are able to unleash their
entrepreneurial potential to renew the business sector and revitalise the public sector, while
addressing economic, societal and environmental challenges in a constructive fashion.
Within the knowledge society, the availability of people who have been able to access
appropriate education and to develop skills and a mindset that can allow them to constantly
relearn and evolve productively throughout life, is key to economic achievement and social
prosperity. The global transformation opens new opportunities for universities and the
time is ripe for novel initiatives and approaches.

The Swedish University for Entrepreneurship and Technology Sialkot (SET) is being
established through a pioneering
organisational model, involving public-
private partnership and a unique form of
collaboration between Pakistan and
Sweden, which also opens up for full-
fledged participation by partner
institutions in third countries around the
world. SET has as its prime goal to
complete an internationally pioneering
and locally relevant institution for
higher education and research, placed
in Sialkot (Punjab), Pakistan, based on
an entrepreneurial mindset and
international outlook combined with
innovative use of technology.

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Local context and soul, paired with global outlook and connectedness; wisdoms of the past
also form the motherhood and fatherhood for prosperous societies of the future. Punjab is
the largest province of Pakistan in terms of population (85 Million), and the second largest
in terms of area. Stemming from the Persian words punj – „five‟ - and ab - „water‟, it is the
ancient land of „five rivers‟. Its rich cultural heritage includes historical cities such as
Lahore, Sialkot, Bahawalpur, and Multan. In
evolution since pre-historic times, the region has
seen the ancient Indus civilization, the Gandhara
Civilization, the Islamic Period, the Sikh Period,
the British Period and Post independence.

The location also marks the divide - as well as the

bridging link - between Central Asia and South
Asia. Unique to Pakistani Punjab are the imprints
of temporary conquests by various central Asian,
the Persian, and the Greek empires. Such historical
movements over the centuries brought the
inhabitants in this region a character of their own,
entailing a blend of influences from various
peoples, some of them gone since long, and parts
of the world, having left a unique legacy in terms
of culture, language, literature, food, dress,
furniture and folklore.
Baradari, Bahawalpur

Today, Punjab is the most industrialized province of Pakistan with 68,000 manufacturing
units, including textiles, surgical instruments, sports goods & machinery, vehicles and auto
parts, bicycles, agriculture machinery, processed food, ICT, etc. Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of Pakistan‟s economy, with some 60 per cent
located in the “Golden Triangle” of Sialkot, Gujranwala, and Gujrat.
In relentless pursuit of moderni-
zation and innovation, H.E Mr.
Shabaz Sharif, Chief Minister of
Punjab, holds out the Vision of a
fully literate, skilled, employed,
tolerant, internationally connected
and healthy society, by 2020. Key
elements include an excellent
educational system along with
vocational training, thriving
competitive companies, world class
infra-structure, and a smart, small
and highly efficient government.

Page 2 of 10
In tune with such strategy, 500 acres of prime land have been set aside for SET in Sialkot,
where the Chamber of Commerce has pledged support, their zeal also manifested in the
unique private initiative to construct a modern neighbouring airport. It has also been
agreed that complementary „state of the art‟ vocational training centres be established by
the Swedish consortium in Lahore and Bahawalpur, to be connected with SET for the
pursuit of undergraduate, post graduate and research education. TEVTA, the Technical
education vocational training association of Punjab, will act as a key partner in developing
these centres in Lahore and Bahawalpur respectively.

The International University of Entrepreneurship and Technology Foundation (IUET) brings

together primarily Swedish, but also other specially invited leading foreign universities, for
the development and delivery of high-quality and innovative educational programmes at
SET. In addition, a number of valuable contacts have been established with Pakistani
universities whose integration will further increase the potential. Activities will be crafted
from the outset so as to cater for an active interface with surrounding industry and society.
Founded by pioneers and entrepreneurs in the Swedish University system, including
presidents, vice-presidents and deans of Swedish university institutions, IUET engages a
consortium of university institutions fully tailored to addressing the ambitious task at hand.
International investors are invited to undertake long-term investment directly in the
university or in specific activities associated within, such as science parks, holding
companies and experimental labs providing the frameworks required for supporting
entrepreneurial initiatives among the students of SET and novel forms of collaboration
with the local business community.
The substantive specialisation of SET will draw on global networks and partnerships, while
adapted to match the development opportunities of greater Sialkot, greater Bahawalpur and
greater Lahore. This applies both when it comes to accessing and applying the newest
technologies, upgrading engineering skills of the local population and of students applying
from elsewhere, and when it comes to strengthening international trade and business skills
among local companies, so as to assist them to climb along global value-chains.

Mission Statement and Content

SET is poised to offer an attractive and well specialised educational platform, attracting
talented students, teachers and researchers on a broad basis, with a view to mastering the
opportunities of technical progress and growing creative and entrepreneurial people. The
university is to be complemented with, and operate in tandem with a science park,
incubator and lab facilities that aim to further enhance its developmental impact and the
university is also planned to become an important vehicle in creating and accelerating
opportunities for international trade. Strong partnerships will also be developed with
organisations such as TEVTA, in charge of vocational training broadly in Punjab, relevant
chambers of commerce and TDAP, the Trade Development Authority Pakistan. In such
ways there will be an effective linking between the hosting region, the national and the
international context.

Page 3 of 10
SET will be built on the following cornerstones:
 Leveraging the unique profile of the Sialkot region with many export-oriented
SMEs with a great potential to move up the international value-chain by bringing in
a critical mass of engineering and international business know-how.
 Leveraging the great potential in the Media, Telecommunications, Wood and Green
technology industries in Lahore.
 Contribute to bringing the present textile and farming dominated economy of
Bahawalpur into its next phase.
 High international quality standards in both education and research within the core
areas of specialisation for the institution.
 Educational activities and research performed in close collaboration with business
sector and relevant public organizations, to provide business acceleration and
technology development, enabling cooperating companies to raise competitiveness,
governmental organizations to introduce entrepreneurial perspectives in public
activities, and new technical and business applications to meet with societal needs
across relevant sectors, such as health, education, tourism, etc.
 A sharp focus on entrepreneurship and growth by fostering entrepreneurs through
effective mentorship and throughout the different academic disciplines and
programmes, linked to new methods for skills upgrading, training, and international
business development activities.
 A simultaneous global and local portfolio of activities and skills will be cherished
through strong partnerships with the Sialkot, Bahawalpur and Lahore Chambers of
Commerce and Punjab Government, as well as multiple strong links to
international entrepreneurship eco-system and leading entrepreneurship-oriented
universities.

The mission for SET is both to become a prime

engine for sustainable growth and innovation in
the region and a pioneering example for
international universities searching for more
entrepreneurial approaches and innovative use of
new technologies. The basis for the university
will be eminent as well as locally and
internationally relevant educational and research
programmes in engineering, ICT and
international business, enabling applications in a
range of industries, while building dynamic
arenas/meeting-places for innovation,
international business development and
international trade.

Sialkot, the Clock Tower

Page 4 of 10
 Education and research at SET will be
marked by effective cross-disciplinary
and cross-departmental commun-
ication and interaction. Core areas
span business, management, eng-
ineering, ICT, trade and investment,
health, e-learning, and so forth. In the
initial phase, the focus will be on
engineering, ICT (Information and
Communication Technologies) and
international business and trade, with
strong connections to supporting
business services and applications in a
range of industries, integrating business and ICT skills into engineering education, and vice
versa. Engineering and ICT graduates will acquire business skills and business graduates
will understand ICT and engineering. All students will gain first hand experiences from
technology-based entrepreneurship and international business development.

SET is planning to initially provide the following educational programmes:

 Three foundational BSc programmes; (1) Engineering and SME development, (2)
International Business, Trade and Entrepreneurship, and (3) ICT and SME
development.
 MSc programmes and courses in Engineering, International Business and Trade,
Entrepreneurship and ICT.
 One MBA programme focusing on the needs for Punjab SMEs to strengthen
international business and trade activities, including access to foreign markets with
increasingly sophisticated products, and based on students working with real
business development challenges.
 An international PhD programme (Engineering, ICT and International Business)
both serving the need of faculty members with a PhD degree, an entrepreneurial
mind-set and an international outlook at Pakistani universities.

In years to come, important development projects for SET include addressing health care
needs, e-learning, innovation in education broadly, etc.
Meanwhile, SET will, in close collaboration with Sialkot, Bahawalpur and Lahore
Chambers of Commerce and the Punjab Government, provide tailor-made training
opportunities for working professionals, both senior managers, managers and specialists,
and draw upon close collaboration with the ambitious TEVTA initiative in Punjab.

The development of frontline science parks, incubators and business labs, will form inherent
building blocs of the initiative, for the purpose of spearheading interaction and
collaboration with private sector and partnering programmes. SET will further draw upon a
pool of international faculty provided by a consortium of entrepreneurship-focused and
technologically leading universities. Their agenda is to pioneer new approaches to

Page 5 of 10
combining strengths in research with the highest ambitions in perfecting excellence and
inspiration in education. Specialised curriculum knowledge will be provided by the
consortium of universities, drawing on the unique competencies and strengths of each,
enabling flexibility and growth.
Members of the consortium will in their various ways engage in a fast-track capacity
building process where talented prospective faculty for SET is recruited both to PhD-
programmes and post-doc programmes and provided with strong pedagogic and research
training, as well as are prepared for the specific operations of SET with its entrepreneurial
focus and approaches.
The consortium will be actively involved in the continuous process of guaranteeing that
academic quality assurance can be met in the academic operations of SET.

The Academic Consortium

Based on experience and the current political situation in Pakistan, the risks of basing the
entrepreneurial university project on the discretion and stamina of an individual foreign
university institution have been taken into consideration. Universities are by nature putting
great emphasis on the reliability of conditions for long-term investment, and are inherently
risk-averse. Multiple universities are supportive and can be energized to commit to strong
long-term contributions to build and run a specialised, dynamic university devoted to
entrepreneurship and technology. Likewise, a number of strong academic personalities are
willing to commit to a long-term engagement on a personal basis.
In order to capitalise on the opportunities at
hand, while avoiding continuous delay and
risk of failure due to the departure of leading
support persons from engaged university
institutions, or sudden changes in the
sentiment of individual university board
members, SET will be organised so as to be
able to draw on the engagement by
individual investors and driving
entrepreneurs. The foreign investment and
ownership stakes will thus be based on their
engagement, along with the financial
engagement of their institutions in cases
where that is possible.

The consortium of backing universities brought together by IUET, Swedish and

international, has been crafted to match and fortify the unique specialisation of SET,
drawing on tailor-made commitments by each institution to be responsible for entire
programs, courses, or modules building up the educational content. Degrees will be offered
to the students at SET through the individual foreign universities, as well as through SET
itself, with the possibility of attaining double degrees.

Page 6 of 10
Initially, the consortium draws on contributions from seven Swedish universities;
Jönköping International Business School (as initial consortium leader), the Royal Institute
of Technology, Mälardalen University, Halmstad University, Borås University and Blekinge
Technical University, and also other European and American universities as contributors.
Other university institutions may be joining in.
The partaking universities are marked by varying profiles. In various combinations,
however, they share a dedication to internationalisation, entrepreneurship, and use of
technology for the purposes of humanity. Whereas some of the universities are young, they
are all internationally recognized and display excellence in their respective areas of
specialisation.

Public-Private Partnership (PPP)

SET will be organized as a limited company , incorporated in Pakistan, based on the last ten
years of experience from international university projects and extensive consultations with
Swedish, European and US partner universities. This company will serve the requirements
of effectively channelling supply from Swedish and additional European and international
universities, while enabling a setup that is capable of managing the financial and
institutional risks involved. Equity in the company will initially be held by the initial
investors. Local commitment and long-term ownership will be secured through appropriate
arrangements. The limited company structure will support the formation of a sustainable
business-model for the university. Sustained academic quality in education and research
activities will be ensured and developed through the supplying partner universities, which
will operate and collaborate through the supporting foundation IUET - set up to govern
the academic core activities, including admission, curriculum, examination, faculty
recruitment, faculty promotion etc.
In order to ensure a financially viable and
sustainable model for SET, the limited
company will be complemented by a
consortium specially tailored to
channelling long-term investment, which
is the supporting Corporate Consortium
for Entrepreneurship and Technology
(CCET). The CCET is envisaged to be
chaired by a private sector representative
of local industry. The CCET will also
support close collaboration between the

Page 7 of 10
business development side of SET and the private sector in the region.

The representatives of the partner universities, brought together through IUET, HEC, the
Punjab Government and Punjab Chambers of Commerce, and the initial private investors,
will appoint the board members of SET. This will be done upon the immediate registration
of SET in Pakistan. The board will, in turn, appoint the President of SET.
It is further proposed that the Punjab Government and Punjab export industry (and other
local key stakeholders) will be offered the conditions required for securing ownership of
SET for the long-term, once the university operations have been firmly established.
The costs of preparing SET have so far been borne by the key stakeholders themselves,
including the costs for the coordinators of the foreign universities, and those of the drivers
behind the project within Pakistan, Punjab and the local community.
Investments made in an earlier stage allowed for the securing of the land and needed
infrastructure in support of the campus establishment. The financial means originally
provided to support the engagement of international universities had been exhausted by
the time the present generation of actors became engaged. The value generated by the
activities at that time has nevertheless indirectly supported the project agenda as it has
made the project known and important groundwork is undertaken to collect and structure
relevant information.
In order to secure an effective and successful start of the project in the present stage, a
commitment has to be secured on the part of the local stakeholders to provide bridging
seed funding, thereby allowing the project to move forward and to enable the realisation of
the complete funding package from all key stakeholders and investors.

Page 8 of 10
The agreed core funding for the Sialkot campus amounts to 122 MEuro (in addition to the
land) so as to secure the development phase, the construction of the campus and the
implementation of the first 10 years of the project. The financial plans for the Bahawalpur
campus and the premises in Lahore are still under development. As reflected in the
signing of the underlying MoU between representatives of the university consortium
and the Punjab government on April 26, 2010, an agreement has been reached to meet
with these requirements through a specially crafted public-private partnership arrangement.
On the Pakistani side, the Punjab Government, the Higher Education Commission,
Pakistani government, and TEVTA, will be contributing. Contributions by Swedish and
other international investors will be matched by the local ones.
To the stipulated core funding will subsequently be added further public and private sector
engagement in specific university, Science Park and programme arrangements, and
revenues through student fees.

Next Steps and Principle Time Line for SET

 MoU developed and signed with the Punjab Government,

April 26, 2010

 MoU turned into contract end November, 2010

 Business and Feasibility Plan completed for all three

campuses, specified commitments for University
Consortium, and private sector contribution of 50 MEuro
finalised, early fall, 2011

 Active partnering with TEVTA and engagement in vocational

training programmes, starting fall 2011

 Executive Education training, starting early-2012

 Full-time educational programmes starting 2013 in an

intermediary facility, Lahore

 Educational and research activities move to new Sialkot

campus, opening 2014

Page 9 of 10
Page 10 of 10