COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT)

The Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) is an international organization. It aims to reduce the ever-growing gap between the developed and developing world through useful applications of science and technology. The Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) initiated the proposal for the formation of COMSATS under the leadership of Nobel Laureate, Dr. Abdus Salam.

The conference decided that the Headquarters / Secretariat of the Commission would be based permanently at Islamabad, Pakistan, and the Head of State of Pakistan would act as the first Chairperson of the forum. It was agreed that the host -Government, Pakistan, would provide for the operational and administrative expenses of the Secretariat, while the development programs of the Commission would be supported and financed through Technical Assistance Fund. This fund would be established by contribution from member countries, income from services provided to member countries, grants from international agencies and project funds, if under taken under contract.

The CIIT was established in 1998, as a project of the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), which is an inter-governmental organization with 21 member states in three continents; Asia, Africa and Latin America, namely Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea (DPRK), Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Currently, CIIT has the status of a public sector degree awarding higher education institution, and was given charter by the Federal Government in August 2000.