The Shehnaz Index A Digital Framework for Categorizing ORIC Maturity and Sustainability in Pakistani Higher Education Institutions in Alignment with SDG 2030)

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has mandated the establishment of ORICs to bridge the gap between academia and industry. However, stakeholders—ranging from prospective students to seasoned research scholars—often struggle to find real-time, consolidated data regarding the functional status of these offices. Current challenges include: · Information Asymmetry: Difficulty in identifying which universities have fully functional (Notified) versus nascent (Aspiring) research infrastructures. · Sustainability Tracking: A lack of visible metrics showing how research activities contribute to the SDG 2030 vision. · Verification: The need for universities to cross-reference their self-reported status with official HEC records.