The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board has signed memorandums of understanding with the University of Engineering and Technology Mardan and the Institute of Management Sciences Peshawar under its AI Innovation Hub initiative, aimed at building collaboration on artificial intelligence capacity building for government employees and AI driven solutions for improved governance. The agreements also cover joint research and hackathon based innovation between the two universities and the board going forward.
The event bringing together the signing of both agreements was attended by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Minister for Higher Education, Archives and Libraries, Meena Khan Afridi, underscoring the province’s continued focus on aligning higher education institutions with its broader digital transformation agenda. Through the partnerships, KPITB aims to equip government employees with practical artificial intelligence skills while also drawing on academic research capacity from both universities to help design AI based approaches to public sector governance challenges.
Alongside the MoU signings, the event also served as a platform to recognize graduates of the EDSIY Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security programs through a certificate distribution ceremony, marking the completion of training for a new group of participants in the province’s growing digital skills pipeline. The recognition ceremony highlighted the expanding pool of AI and cybersecurity trained professionals coming out of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s technical training programs, positioning them as part of the province’s broader effort to build a more capable digital workforce.
The AI Innovation Hub initiative reflects KPITB’s ongoing strategy of partnering with academic institutions to advance artificial intelligence adoption across government functions in the province, combining formal training programs with applied research and competitive innovation formats such as hackathons. By bringing universities directly into government focused AI development work, the board is positioning Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as a province actively building out its own technical capacity for AI driven governance rather than relying solely on centralized federal initiatives.
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