July-August 2018

Higher Education Commission - Pakistan

July-August 2018

Higher Education Commission - Pakistan

P - 14

Chairman HEC kicks off Tree Plantation Drive

P - 2

nd22 VCs Committee Meeting Hails Dr. Banuri as New HEC Chairperson

Table of Contents

Publisher:Higher Education

Commission, Pakistan

5

Graphic Designer

Raja Ahmad Nadeem

Reporter

Syed Muhammad Ittifaq

Editor

Aayesha Ikram

News & Views is published after

every two months. No part of this

publication may be reproduced in

any form without prior written

permission of the publisher.

The views expressed by authors in the art ic les are their sole responsibility and not of HEC. The Commission would like to thank all the institutions and individuals who contributed information and photographs for this Magazine.

Graphic Designer

Raja Ahmad Nadeem

Reporter

Syed Muhammad Ittifaq

Editor

Aayesha Ikram

News & Views is published after

every two months. No part of this

publication may be reproduced in

any form without prior written

permission of the publisher.

The views expressed by authors in the art ic les are their sole responsibility and not of HEC. The Commission would like to thank all the institutions and individuals who contributed information and photographs for this Magazine.

4

8

2nd22 VCs Committee

Meeting Hails Dr.

Tariq Banuri as New

HEC Chairperson

HEC Deliberates on

Collaboration in

Agricultural

Research

Chairman HEC

Emphasises

Protecting Rights of

Students

6

7

9

11

13

14

15

16

17

18

22

HEC, NBP Launches Online Scholarship

Disbursement Mechanism

HEC to Invest in Students

Chairman HEC Meets President Mamnoon Hussain

US Assistant Secretary on Educational,

Cultural Affairs Calls on Chairperson

HEC to Strengthen Academic Linkages with

Mauritius: Chairman HEC

Workshop on BS Programme Structure,

Semester Examination System

Sensitising Universities on Environmental

Sustainability

HEC Encourages Universities to Plant Trees,

Contribute for Dams

HEC Chairman Stresses Strengthening of

Academic, Research Alliances

HEC Consultative Meeting on Improving

Academic Governance

HEC Urges Varsities to Uphold Academic

Standards

Chairman HEC for Market Study to Identify

Required, Obsolete Academic Programmes

HEC, TDF Awareness Seminars in HEIs

9

ndThe 22 meeting of Vice Chancellors Committee was

recently held in which 130 VCs and representatives

of provincial higher education departments

participated.

The meeting, chaired by Dr. Masoom Yasinzai,

Chairman, VCs Committee, welcomed Prof. Dr. Tariq

Banuri on joining the Higher Education Commission

(HEC) as its Chairperson.

Extending his gratitude to the university heads, Dr.

Banuri thanked the selection committee for

reposing confidence in him. “I will do my best to live

up to the Government’s expectations,” he stated.

He appreciated his predecessors, Dr. Atta-ur-

Rehman, Dr. Javed Laghari, and Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed

for their contributions to the higher education

sector. “I want to build up on the achievements of

my predecessors,” he said. He thanked the VCs

Committee for organising the meeting and said, “My

purpose to meet you is to reflect on five objectives

i.e. having a detailed interaction with you; starting to

work together; sharing my own vision; developing

national consensus on initiatives for development of

high education sector; and, solving the problems

facing the sector collaboratively.” He stated that, it is

our responsibility to address the problems that

history has thrown into our lap.

He shared his plan for the development of higher

education, strengthening universities and pursuing

the HEC objectives including focus on access, quality

and relevance. He stressed the need for evolving a

‘right order of priorities’ to move forward. He

affirmed that issues pertaining to students, faculty,

nd22 VCs Committee Meeting Hails Dr. Banuri as New HEC Chairperson

Declaration for Uplift of Higher Education

2

research, service, university leadership, HEC’s

internal processes, universities autonomy, and

funding to universities need to be focused. He said

that we have to support our students in becoming

whatever they want to become. He emphasised that

the academia must be a guardian of the rights of

students. He underlined the significance of quality of

teaching and proposed revival of National Academy

of Higher Education (NAHE) to conduct trainings for

in-service and new faculty members.

He urged the VCs to consider devising Recruitment,

Promotion and Tenure (RPT) System to develop the

criteria for faculty development. He emphasised the

need for taking steps to improve quality of research

produced by universities across Pakistan. He urged

the VCs to contemplate over revival of disciplinary

learned societies in order to strengthen the research

culture in the country. He expressed his views on the

need for measures to avoid academic leadership

gaps and suggested chalking out a succession

system to train potential university leaders.

Referring to universities autonomy, he revealed that

HEC is committed to autonomy of universities,

however, we need to evolve milestones which

universities will pass through and earn autonomous

status. He said autonomy needs to be extended

step-by-step, adding that autonomy must be

supplemented by accountability. He observed that

HEC, Pakistan and provincial HECs are on the same

page with regard to autonomy of universities.

He underlined that at least 10 or 12 universities must

initially earn autonomy and guide other universities

to fulfil the requirements. Dr. Banuri said efforts are

needed to ensure gender parity in faculty

development and student enrolment. He also

emphasised on promotion of entrepreneurship and

increasing investment for human resource

development. Highlighting the importance of

progress in Information Technology, he said IT has

brought novel solutions to issues of almost all

spheres of life.

Concluding his remarks, he underscored that, “we

have to confront prevailing problems, finding

solutions to them by thinking collectively”.

He announced establishing a steering committee,

headed by Dr. Ishrat Hussain, to ponder upon the nd recommendations made by the 22 VCs Committee

Meeting and propose solutions to the problems

facing the higher education sector. He said the

Council of Common Interest has clarified the status

of HEC, Pakistan and provincial HECs.

Answering the questions of VCs at the end, he

stressed the need for strengthening accreditation

bodies, evolving a system to promote translation of

literature, promoting extra-curricular activities,

coming up with an agenda on resource sharing,

improving quality of private universit ies,

strengthening systematic award of scholarships, and

ensuring effective resource management.

In his welcome address, Dr. Yasinzai said universities

play important role in socio-economic development

of a country. He added that VCs welcome the new

Chairperson HEC to become part of academic

fraternity. He maintained that VCs acknowledge the

services of Dr. Ahmed, former Chairman HEC,

pledging that they will carry forward his mission.

“Strengthening universities is a common cause and

we all are together for this cause,” he concluded.

The VCs stressed the need for increased budgetary

allocation to education, especially the higher

education sector. The VCs were divided into various

groups to discuss themes including review of TTS;

enhancing university autonomy; harnessing IT;

improving HEC processes; gender policy; enhancing

efficiency in university operations; financial

sustainability of universities; student and alumni

relationships; enhancing quality and value of distant

learning programmes; enhancing teaching quality;

enhancing research quality; enhancing the quality

and employment prospects of Pakistani PhDs;

capacity building of university faculty, leadership

and managerial staff; government financing of

higher education, protecting the students’ rights;

and, enhancing quality and currency of educational

material published in national languages.

The VCs shared their input and agreed upon the

following declaration:

Ÿ We welcome the appointment of Dr. Tariq Banuri

as Chairman Higher Education Commission and

resolve to work together for promotion of

higher education under his leadership.

Ÿ Students are the primary stakeholders for higher

education and we all must protect the right to

quality education for all students.

Ÿ Good quality faculty is essential for imparting

quality education, and helping our students

compete at global level. Efforts are needed to

ensure availability of quality faculty for public

and private sector universities.

Ÿ The government must allocate four per cent of

GDP for education with at least one per cent for

higher education to increase the access to

university education, enhance its quality, and

ensure wider socio-economic impact on society.

Ÿ More responsible autonomous universities with

monitorable, reportable and verifiable system of

governance is essential.

Ÿ We demand that there should be no external

interference in university affairs.

Ÿ HEC must conduct trainings leading to

i m p r o v e d g o v e r n a n c e a n d fi n a n c i a l

management in universities.

Ÿ Evolve a transparent higher education system

by utilising information technology for good

governance and quality education delivery.

Ÿ Ensure gender parity in faculty, student

enrolment and appointment of university

leaders.

Ÿ HEC should support the development of learned

societies in all fields, including Humanities, Basic

and Social Sciences, so that country can produce

scholars of international eminence.

Ÿ We request HEC to review and streamline its

operating procedures in order to enhance

service delivery.

3

The rights of students must be protected, as they are

the primary stakeholders of higher education sector.

Prof. Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman, HEC stated this

while addressing a press conference at the

Commission Secretariat. He emphasised on steps to

protect student rights in order to cater to the needs

of next generations and enable students to become

successful in life.

He maintained that a number of measures need to

be taken in this regard e.g. ensuring quality of

education and research, capacity building of faculty

and imparting practical knowledge to students.

He underlined that the faculty capacity building

programmes need to be reviewed for further

improvement. Training programmes are being

planned for university

leadersh ip as wel l as

administration so that

issues like governance,

financial management,

h u m a n r e s o u r c e

d e v e l o p m e n t , a n d

a d d i t i o n a l r e s o u r c e

g e n e r a t i o n c a n b e

efficiently addressed, he

added.

Dr. Banuri termed quality of

education and research a

fundamental goal. Vice

Chancellors should ensure

students’ right to quality education wherein they

may have interaction opportunities, he added. “It

must be ensured that students are not cheated or

defrauded in any way,” he emphasised.

He explained that substandard and low quality

academic programmes initiated by universities in

violation of HEC guidelines are also tantamount to

cheating students. He said the institutions issuing

fake degrees are not only endangering the students’

future but also committing injustice to the society.

“Exploiting education invites strong regulatory

Chairman HEC Emphasises Protecting Rights of Students

action,” he clarified, as HEC gives minimum

standards which universities must abide by.

The Chairman stressed the importance of

Information Technology to bring efficiency in

teaching, research, university governance and

administrative as well as

financial affairs.

He said that a transparent

system is to be evolved to

consolidate educational

database, adding that the

un ivers i t i es ’ financ ia l

management systems need

to be made transparent. He

said that deliberations on

developing a job portal to

facilitate qualified students

i n s e c u r i n g j o b s a r e

underway.

Quality of education has a strong link with economic

uplift, he observed. He said HEC will set a pathway to

increase universities’s autonomy.

Only those universities which ensure transparency in

their operations, show capability of taking

independent decisions, and ensure financial

transparency will be given autonomy, he revealed.

He hinted at a social contract with the government

to end interference in universities’ affairs.

“Universities will eventually be made autonomous

for the country’s real development,” he stated.

4

The Higher Education Commission (HEC), United

States Agency for International Development

(USAID) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)

recently celebrated launch of new online method

for scholarship disbursement mechanism of the

USAID-funded Merit and Needs-Based Scholarship

(MNBSP) in 30 partner universities across Pakistan

during signing of a Memorandum of Understanding

between HEC and NBP.

This online system is part of USAID’s multi-year $ 36

million Merit and Needs-Based Scholarship

Programme and is the first programme at HEC to

adopt an online disbursement mechanism. Under

this programme, students will be issued ATM cards

so as to facilitate them in withdrawal of funds for

both tuition payments and living expenses.

In this connection, NBP accounts have been opened

for 1,470 awardees at 30 partner universities

throughout Pakistan. First payments using the new

system will be made during next week.

Addressing the ceremony, Dr. Arshad Ali, Executive

Director, HEC said, “The conventional methods of

stipend disbursement involved lengthy procedures

at the partner universities, which frequently delayed

stipend release to the scholarship recipients. Now,

through the new online stipend disbursement

mechanism, students will receive payments directly

into their bank accounts, ensuring maximum

efficiency.”

HEC, NBP Launches Online Scholarship Disbursement Mechanism

In his remarks, Mr. Saeed Ahmad, President, NBP

lauded the efforts of HEC for adopting the online

banking system replacing conventional procedures

to disburse funds in speedy manner. He said that

scholarship funds means a lot to the students and

we are pleased that NBP through its Asaan Account

has given the facility to the scholarship awardees of

this programme to open their accounts anywhere in

Pakistan. “No doubt it will be a huge relief for the

students,” he added.

On the occasion, Erica Rounsefell, Acting Director,

Office of Education, USAID Pakistan lauded HEC for

partnering with USAID throughout the programme.

“This is a remarkable achievement that brings not

only efficiency but also greater security and

transparency to the scholarship payment process.

We look forward to continue to work with HEC to

assist student access to higher education,” she

emphasised.

Alleviating Students’ Difficulties

5

Prof. Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairperson, Higher Education

Commission (HEC) has recently stated that the

purpose of HEC is to invest in students and help

them attain success, while addressing gender

disparity.

He said this while addressing faculty and students of

Fat ima J innah Women University (FJWU),

Rawalpindi recently. Addressing the female

students, he said, “Whatever you want to become,

HEC is here to support you.”

Outlining his future vision for the uplift of higher

education sector, he said he will follow the policy

devised by the Steering Committee on Higher

Education, which led to the inception of HEC, and

pursued by his predecessors.

“There is no policy change, as from the day one HEC

has a clear set of objectives including focus on

access, quality and relevance,” he explained, adding

that HEC will however evaluate the outcomes of

programmes initiated by HEC in order to assess

deficiencies and fix the gaps.

The Chairperson outlined the targets he has

specified in his vision statement. “I want to see at

Chairperson HEC Outlines Future Vision

HEC to Invest in Students

least 10 universities fully autonomous at the end of

my term, as this will be a start to the process of

giving autonomy to higher education institutions,”

he said. He announced to make National Academy

of Higher Education (NAHE) operational, which will

organise various courses and conduct trainings for

university faculty. Refresher courses will be

organised for in-service teachers, he added.

He maintained that new faculty members will be

trained to improve their pedagogical skills. He said

his targets include ensuring that a growing number

o f Pa k i s t a n i f a c u l t y m e m b e r s b e c o m e

internationally recognised. He further said that

other initiatives to be taken in his term include

devising a transparent system using Information

Technology, pursuing gender parity in faculty as

well as student enrolment, and revival of learned

societies.

Appreciating his predecessors, he said, that my

predecessors have invested a lot in a large number

of areas and my task is to build upon their

achievements. He felt, however, that the area of

quality has suffered and it needs to be given due

attention. “This is a national crisis that needs to be

addressed urgently,” he stated.

6

He also stressed the need for increased budgetary

allocation for education, especially higher

education. He said 0.1 per cent of GDP used to be

al located to education

which was raised to 0.3 per

cent.

He added educationists

believe that four per cent of

the GDP should be allocated

to education sector and one

p e r c e n t t o h i g h e r

education.

T h e C h a i r p e r s o n s a i d

trainings will be held for

potential academic leaders

as well. He added HEC will invest in the capacity

building of university faculty and staff in addition to

taking steps for improved governance of

universities. Being the first Chairperson who is a

Social Scientist, he said Science, Technology,

Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects have

great importance, but equal importance has to be

given to Social Sciences and Humanities. He said the

focus is on development of human capital. “Pakistan

needs scholars of great

stature in all spheres of life,”

he emphasised.

Answering questions from

media persons, he said that

a u t o n o m y c a n n o t b e

attained with a single stroke

of pen, as milestones will be

set for universities to go

through a process and

acquire fully autonomous

status.

He revealed HEC will mobilise funds for promoting

higher education in backward areas. He added that

investment will be made to develop programmes

leading to gender parity, apart from investment in

governance and Information Technology and

revival of learned societies.

Mr. Mamnoon Hussain, President, Islamic Republic

of Pakistan has stressed the need for special focus

on improving financial governance of universities

and taking practical steps to ensure transparency.

The President met Dr. Tariq Banuri on assuming

charge as the Chairperson, Higher Education

Commission (HEC) at the Presidency. He

appreciated the role of HEC in expanding access to

higher education in the country. In addition to this

HEC needs to focus on improving efficiency through

better financial management and administrative

transparency. He directed the HEC to assisting and

implementing double entry systems and ensuring

automation in financial management systems.

He directed the Chairman HEC to pay special

attention to adherence to standards, as it will help

our students compete at international level. He

urged the universities to play their role in human

resource development as well as the socio-

economic development of Pakistan and to take

concrete steps to overcome tendencies to

intolerance among youth.

The President felicitated Dr. Banuri on joining HEC

as Chairperson and expressed a hope that he will

utilise his exposure, experience and faculties to

bring the country’s higher education system at par

with the world.

Chairman HEC Meets President Mamnoon Hussain

7

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) recently

held a meeting on Collaboration in Agricultural

Research to discuss prevailing scenario, challenges

and future opportunities in the agricultural

universities of the country and provincial agriculture

departments. The meeting was chaired by Dr.

Arshad Ali, Executive Director, HEC.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Arshad Ali said that

Research and Development (R&D) is one of the core

strategic aims of HEC. Since its establishment in

2002, HEC has initiated, devised and implemented

numerous programmes to cultivate a culture of

quality and relevant research in the higher

education institutions.

He observed that magnitude and quality of research

has gradually increased, which has been widely

acknowledged nationally as well as internationally.

“However, this is just a beginning and we not only

have to sustain this trajectory, but also to

contemplate and ensure that R&D activities

constructively impact life of people of Pakistan

through academic , economic and soc ia l

contributions,” he underlined.

He maintained that HEC has been at the forefront of

HEC Deliberates on Collaboration in Agricultural Research

facilitating higher education institutions in fostering

quality and relevance of research. The Executive

Director said agriculture is the backbone of

Pakistan’s economy and HEC is promoting

agricultural research activities in the country’s

agricultural universities. He stressed the need for

inter-provincial collaboration to foster the

agricultural research in the country.

He maintained that agriculture research board

should also be established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,

Balochistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir like

Punjab and Sindh. He offered funding to all

provincial agriculture departments through

universities in different projects.

Moreover, he assured to provide digital library

access to provincial agricultural departments on

fulfilment of legal formalities. He also assured his

full support to formulate and finalise a roadmap for

agricultural research projects.

Dr. Muhammad Latif, Adviser (R&D), HEC, all

provincial Agriculture Secretaries along with a

number of Director Generals and Vice Chancellors

of agriculture universities attended the meeting

through video conference.

8

Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary for Educational

and Cultural Affairs recently visited the Higher

Education Commission (HEC) to highlight the wide

range of State Department education and exchange

opportunities that the US Embassy offers to

Pakistani citizens.

Royce met with Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairperson, HEC

and discussed with him the continuing educational

partnership between the American and Pakistani

governments, including the Fulbright Programme.

Dr. Banuri shared with the visiting delegation HEC

plans to create a culture of quality in Pakistani

higher education sector through scholarly

interaction among US and Pakistani faculty and

administrators.

The Fulbright is the American government’s

flagship academic exchange programme, and,

owing to contributions by both the American and

Pakistani governments, Pakistan’s programme is

one of the largest in the world. The United States

Educational Foundation administers the Fulbright

Programme in Pakistan, and Royce also met with

Rita Akhtar, Executive Director, USEFP.

The Assistant Secretary also spoke to 156 Pakistanis

preparing to depart for the US, where they will

pursue advanced studies and research in the

Fulbright’s Master’s, PhD and Fulbright Language

Teaching Assistant programmes. She gave opening

remarks to 210 alumni of US exchange programmes

at the Pakistan-US Alumni Network international

conference, which included eight Afghani alumni.

US Assistant Secretary on Educational, Cultural Affairs Calls on Chairperson

Visit Highlights American Education and Exchange Opportunities

The Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan

will do its best to further strengthen cordial

relations with Mauritius through enhanced

academic linkages.

This was stated by Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman, HEC

while talking to Mr. Soobadar Rashidally, High

Commissioner of Mauritius in Pakistan who visited

the Commission Secretariat.

Mr. Rashidally acknowledged HEC’s advice in the

establishment of Higher Education Commission,

Mauritius which will be made operational by 2019.

He said the HEC, Mauritius has been structured on

the model of HEC, Pakistan.

Mauritius is an island State and in its 50 years of

independence, it has 100 per cent literacy rate. He

said that Mauritius offers free education from

primary to university levels and spends eight to 10

per cent of GDP on education. He added that the

country is also a member of the Middle Income

Club. He expressed his desire for expanding

collaboration with HEC and sought further support

in areas of Information Technology and medical

postgraduate studies.

HEC to Strengthen Academic Linkages with Mauritius: Chairman HEC

9

Dr. Tariq Banuri informed the High Commissioner

that HEC, Pakistan is funding centres of excellence in

advanced technologies and these centres provide

assistance to partner countries.

He said that HEC will support postgraduate studies

for medical students. He also mentioned Pakistan’s

expertise in marine sciences which could be of value

to Mauritius, given its strategic focus on the Blue

Economy. He said that HEC looks forward towards

strong cooperation and sharing of expertise after

the Higher Education Commission, Mauritius is

made operational. The High Commissioner

expressed his appreciation for HEC, Pakistan and

said that Mauritius is looking forward towards HEC,

Pakistan’s support in strengthening its tertiary

education structure.

Mr. Mohammed Motahar Alashabi, Ambassador of

Yemen to Pakistan visited the Higher Education

Commission (HEC), Pakistan and called on Dr. Tariq

Banuri, Chairperson, HEC. Dr. Arshad Ali, Executive

Yemeni Ambassador Calls on Chairman HECDirector, HEC also joined the meeting. Talking to the

Chairperson, the Ambassador admired the progress

made in the higher education sector in Pakistan and

took keen interest in the initiatives taken by HEC for

promotion of higher education.

He also expressed a desire to send Yemeni students

to acquire education in Pakistani universities.

The Chairperson shared the achievements made by

HEC since its inception in 2002. He assured the

Ambassador of full cooperation in facilitating

Yemeni students to come to Pakistan and acquire

education in higher education institutions.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) is

committed to facilitating the higher education

institutions and safeguarding the rights of students,

as they are the primary stakeholders of higher

education sector.

Prof. Dr. Tariq Banuri said this during a meeting with

a large number of faculty members of different

universities from across the country at the

Commission Secretariat on Wednesday.

Chairman HEC Terms University Professors, Faculty His ‘Primary Constituency’

Terming university professors and faculty his

‘primary constituency’, the Chairman stated that his

doors are open to all stakeholders of higher

education sector as his fundamental responsibility

as Chairman of HEC is to protect the students’ rights

with the help of faculty and other stakeholders. “We

need to work as a team for the uplift of higher

education sector and that aim can be achieved with

faculty that excels in their respective fields,” he

emphasised.

10

The faculty made a brief presentation on agenda

items of the meeting including senate resolutions

regarding tax rebate of 75 per cent for university

teachers and enhancement of university teachers’

retirement age to 65 years; quality of research

journals; university autonomy and academic

freedom; university acts; appointment of Vice

Chancellors and university governance; Tenure

Track System (TTS) issues; and a variety of other

issues.

The Chairman said HEC is supportive of tax rebate

and enhancement of teachers’ retirement age and

will put up these issues with the government. He

reiterated the HEC’s commitment to investing in the

quality of research journals especially Social

Sciences and Humanities journals. He said HEC will

put tangible efforts to restore the prestige of Social

Sciences and Humanities. He informed the faculty

members that HEC plans to revive the concept of

establishing learned societies. “We will be not be

party to any development that lowers the standard

of journals,” he clarified.

Referring to university autonomy and academic

freedom, he said HEC believes in gradually

increasing university autonomy. “We have received

various proposals on how to ensure university

autonomy, which are being deliberated upon,” he

maintained. He said that declaring universities

autonomous will be a step-wise process wherein the

universities which ensure transparency in their

operations, show capability of taking independent

decisions, and exhibit financial transparency will be

given autonomy. He revealed that the issue of

uniformity in University Acts needs to be taken up

with government.

He said that HEC supports the faculty’s call for

transparent recruitment of Vice Chancellors. He

stated that a transparent competency-based

system is necessary for appointment of Vice

Chancellors. He also highlighted the importance of

a succession plan to avoid university leadership gap.

He noted that Vice Chancellors must be adept in

dealing with administrative, financial as well as

academic matters. He informed the faculty that TTS

system will be reviewed to address the grievances

against it.

The Chairman said that creation of positions for

faculty is linked to enrolment of students. “We have

witnessed 8 to 10 per cent annual increase in

student enrolment, so the faculty induction must be

proportionate to this increase,” he stressed. In

addition, he said, with the rising access, at least one

per cent of GDP is required for the higher education

sector.

The Learning Innovation (LI) Division, Higher

Education Commission (HEC) recently organised a

five-day workshop on four-year BS Programme

Structure and Semester Examination System in

collaboration with Federal Directorate of Education

(FDE).

The workshop was attended by 25 faculty members

o f I s l a m a b a d M o d e l C o l l e g e f o r G i r l s

(Postgraduate), F-7/2. It was aimed to equip the

existing faculty members of affiliated colleges with

basic skill set in order to begin four-year BS

programme. It was an effort to update college

faculty regarding semester system guidelines and

structure of four-year Bachelors programme (BS)

Workshop on BS Programme Structure, Semester Examination System

which is going to be implemented by 2020

replacing two-year BA/ BSc programmes.

Resource persons from various universities have

been engaged to conduct different sessions on HEC

Semester System Guidelines and BS curriculum

structure. The workshop emphasised the need for

centralised Semester Examination Cell to monitor

and support examination in all affiliated colleges.

An important aspect of workshop was to apprise

participants of the preparation of course file and

lesson plan, designing of question paper and course

curriculum. The participants displayed a gesture of

satisfaction that this workshop has not only made

11

them aware about the semester system guidelines

and its effective implementation but also provided

them with a platform to address their queries. They

stressed the need for organising such workshops

time to time to acquaint the faculty with latest

trends in education system.

The HEC, as per its policy, has planned to implement

four-year BS programmes and phased out two-year

BA/ BSc promgammes from the academic year 2020

in all affiliated colleges of the country. In order to

c rea te compat ib i l i t y w i th i n te rna t iona l

qualifications and equip college faculty with unified

semester system guidelines designed by HEC,

workshops are being held in every affiliated college

of the country. The first series of these workshops

will be conducted in all Islamabad Model Colleges,

while the series will be continued in provinces.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Learning

Innovation Division (LI) Division recently organised

Pilot Testing Workshop on Restructuring of Master

Trainers Faculty Professional Development

Programme (MT-FPDP). Renowned academicians,

resource persons and FPDP alumni from various

universities participated in the workshop. The prime

objectives of the workshop were to review the

revised training contents/modules, methodologies,

assessment techniques and implementation modus

operandi.

The HEC aims to empower the higher education

institutions’ faculty through in-service capacity

Workshop on MT-FPD Programme Restructuring

building programmes. It intends to establish a

faculty training academy which will serve as a hub

for professional development of pre-service, in-

service and senior faculty members of higher

education institutions. The HEC is determined to

focus on developing and empowering human

resource as this is the most important factor for the

development of the universities.

The revised FPDP aims to enable teachers to use

innovative teaching strategies and improve

pedagogical and research skills required for

effective teaching, research and communication

skills.

12

Universities must prepare their students for a world

in which they will have to face threats from climate

change, water and energy scarcity, food insecurity,

and waste accumulation. This was stated by Dr. Tariq

Banuri, Chairman, Higher Education Commission,

while addressing a National Workshop on

GreenMetric Ranking. He said that universities must

ensure that sustainability is fully incorporated in

their teaching and research as well as campus

operations.

The GreenMetric World University Ranking is an

initiative of Universitas Indonesia, and has been

adopted in several Asian universities. The current

year's ranking is focused on the Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs).

The purpose of the National Workshop was to

sensitise representatives of the Higher Education

I n s t i t u t e s o f Pa k i s t a n a b o u t e m e r g i n g

environmental challenges and introduce them to

the GreenMetric Ranking. The workshop was also

addressed by Prof. Riri Fitri Sari, Chairperson, UI

GreenMetric, Mr. Junaidi, S.S., M.A. Expert Member,

UI GreenMetric, and Dr. Arshad Ali, Executive

Director, HEC. Representatives of over 90

Sensitising Universities on Environmental Sustainability

universities, including Vice Chancellors, Rectors,

Registrars, and faculty members attended the event.

Prof. Riri Fitri Sari presented an overview of the

ranking system, which was the only international

ranking on sustainability in universities. In 2017, 619

universities from 76 countries were ranked. The

ranking results are compiled on the basis of a

number of sustainability indicators, including

infrastructure (15%), energy consumption (21%),

waste generation (18%), water consumption (10%),

transport us (18%), and educational programs

(18%).

Mr. Junaidi provided additional details about the UI

GreenMetric Indicators as well as the data

submission process. This was followed by

presentations by university representatives on their

major sustainability initiatives.

In his welcome note, Dr. Ali observed that Pakistan is

facing acute water scarcity, which will intensify in the

coming years. He said that the HEC senior

management has a consensus on the need to

sensitise university leaders about the emerging

threats. “There is no better platform than

13

Workshop on GreenMetric Ranking

universities to start this campaign, as by focusing on

universities we can sensitise youth,” he underlined.

He said the presence of a large number of university

representatives show their understanding of the

sensitivity of this issue. He informed the audience

that six Pakistani universities participated in the UI

GreenMetric World University Ranking 2017.

Universitas Indonesia initiated a world university

ranking in 2010, later known as UI GreenMetric

World University Rankings, to measure campus

sustainability efforts. It was intended to create an

online survey to portray sustainability policies in

universities around the world. For details, the link:

www.greenmetric@ui.ac.id can be visited to get an

invitation letter and access to the system.

The Higher Education Commission has directed

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to participate in

Tree Plantation Campaign and contribute in Diamer

Bhasha and Mohmand Dam Fund being established

by Supreme Court of Pakistan to combat on-going

water crisis and environmental degradation.

In a recently issued letter to Vice Chancellors,

Rectors and Leaders of all public and private sector

universities, the HEC directed HEIs to be an active

part of greener Pakistan movement by initiating

Tree Plantation Campaign in their respective

campuses. One of the primary reasons of

instructing universities is to play their part in HEC’s

resolve to involve universities in fight against socio-

economic issues including water crisis and

environmental degradation.

The letter reads, “Every student and member of the

university should plant one tree to contribute to this

HEC Encourages Universities to Plant Trees, Contribute for Dams

effort.” It advises that every plant should be tagged

with the name of student or staff member who

planted it and they should take care of plant till

eight weeks.

“This will ensure better survival of the trees planted

and inculcate a sense of responsibility in those who

will spend a few minutes of their day to nurture it,”

the letter explains.

Universities should allocate proper place for each

department for plantation, keeping in mind that

plants would not be damaged during construction

activities, advises the letter.

Referring to Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand Dam

being established by Supreme Court of Pakistan,

HEC says that each and every HEI should ensure that

a minimum of one day salary be contributed to the

fund. HEC staff will also contribute to the fund.

Prof. Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman, Higher Education

Commission kicks off Tree Plantation Drive by

planting a sapling in HEC premises.

All the Senior Management Committee members

also planted saplings during the campaign.

The Higher Education Commission has directed

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to participate in

Tree Plantation Campaign.

Chairman HEC kicks off Tree Plantation Drive

14

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) is

committed to capacity building of universities and

building centres of excellence in all fields of national

importance.

This was stated by Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairperson, HEC

at a consultative meeting of HEC and the Pakistan

Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) on CERN-

SESAME collaboration. He called for active

collaboration between universities and other

national institutions in order to build national

capacity and strengthen each department and

institution through increased involvement of

Pakistani universities in such international

endeavours as CERN (Conseil Européen pour la

Recherche Nucléaire), and SESAME (Synchrotron-

light for Experimental Science and Applications in

the Middle East).

The meeting was also attended by Dr. Hafeez

Hoorani, Director General, National Centre for

Physics, Dr. S. M. Javed Akhtar, Member (CAC),

PAEC, Dr. Sohail Ahmad Janjua, Director, (CSC),

PAEC, heads of different departments from various

universities, and the Executive Director and Director

Generals of HEC.

Participants stressed the need to promote High

Energy Physics through collaboration and

networking among subject experts , c lear

delineation of the role of each institution, e.g.,

through the revival of learned societies, and the

development of a consensus programme. Dr. Banuri

Session on Pakistan CERN-SESAME Collaborations

HEC Chairman Stresses Strengthening of Academic, Research Alliances

said that the pursuit of excellence in science

subjects was a national agenda of the highest

importance.

In h is remarks , Dr . Arshad Al i sa id that

multidisciplinary collaboration is required for

excellence in science disciplines. He said that certain

areas must be identified for joint collaboration and

a timeframe must be defined for completion of

collaborative projects. He said clusters need to be

created to work on a certain programme under pre-

agreed mi les tones . He emphas ised that

opportunities offered under these programmes

must be publicly available. He revealed that

meetings will be held for consultation on other

science subjects as well.

Dr. Hafeez Hoorani, Dr. Muhammad Latif and

representatives of universities also expressed their

views on the occasion.

It was decided that NCP, PAEC and National

University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) will

develop a website for public access to information

about High Energy Physics so that relevant people

may benefit from the initiatives.

It was further decided that for development of a

primary framework, a group of five Physics experts

will develop a proposal in the coming week and

come up with a complete plan of action.

Furthermore in near future, groups for other fields

like biology, chemistry etc. will be constituted.

15

Producing human capital to meet national and

international market demands is a need of the hour

and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) is

committed to developing such human resource

capital through universities.

Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairperson, Higher Education

Commission (HEC) said this while chairing a

roundtable consultative meeting on academic

governance at the Commission Secretariat.

The meeting was attended by Senator Dr. Musadik

Malik, Dr. Adil Najam, a senior academician,

internationally reputed leaders of higher

educational institutions and other notable

academicians from Pakistani universities. The key

themes discussed included international linkages

for faculty development, post-docs placement, US-

Pakistan research programme, and mentoring

arrangements for improving the quality of

governance.

Dr. Muhammad Safeer Awan, Dean, National

University of Modern Languages (NUML), Dr. Nasir

Mahmood, Chairman, Early Childhood Education

and Elementary Teacher Education Department,

Allama Iqbal Open University, (AIOU), Islamabad,

Dr. Azra Yasmin, Dean, Fatima Jinnah Women

University (FJWU), Rawalpindi, and other notable

academicians and educationists were also present.

On this occasion, Senator Musadik Malik said

Pakistani students and researchers, awarded foreign

scholarships should build international linkages and

fetch exposure and experience to the country. He

stressed the need for setting up research

universities which may not only focus on research in

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

HEC Consultative Meeting on Improving Academic Governance

(STEM) subjects but also in Social Sciences and

Humanities. He said that teaching universities must

also conduct research on their own, however, they

may benefit from the research conducted by the

research university. He said the research universities

should have national laboratories accessible to

other institutions.

The Senator observed that the biggest challenge

facing the higher education sector in Pakistan is the

dearth of a research culture. He proposed that

university advisory councils should be initiated for

integration of universities. He maintained that

universities should serve as data centres and data

observatories to facilitate researchers eager to

produce authentic data-driven results.

In his keynote address, Dr. Najam stressed the need

for providing trainings to Vice Chancellors while

competency-based interviews need to be

conducted to identify areas for trainings. He said the

trainings of Vice Chancellors should be a

continuous process covering basic and advanced

levels. “We should also motivate Vice Chancellors to

hold frequent meetings with one another to discuss

academic issues,” he emphasised.

He urged the universities to devise retreat

programmes for university leadership, faculty and

non-academic staff. He added that the retreat

programme will also bring positive change and will

broaden the vision of university leadership. These

university staff retreats will also bring change in

behaviours and attitudes of staff, he noted. He said

that close observation of foreign universities’

operations is also a beneficial practice that may

strengthen academic liaison of Pakistani academics

with educationists of other countries.

16

Dr. Najam also shed light on issues relating to

external interference in university affairs. He said the

Vice Chancellors should establish merit review

committees for recruitment, selection, retention

and promotion of academic and non-academic staff

in order to minimise external interference. He

underlined that universities should focus on

devising University Management System to

automate their operations. He said that Alumni

Portals should be established to build relationship

among alumni to create employment and

entrepreneurial opportunities. He also raised the

issue of trust deficit between universities and

industry.

Concluding the discussion, the Chairman HEC said

HEC will keep on interacting with eminent

educationists to get their insight into issues

pertaining to higher education. He said knowing the

problems facing the universities at present is a

major task that HEC will work to resolve the

universities management issues.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has

recently directed the higher education institutions

to uphold academic standards in order to ensure

quality education and fulfilment of all requisite

criteria in quantitative and qualitative terms.

In a letter issued to Vice Chancellors, Rectors and

Directors of all public and private universities, the

HEC has expressed its serious concern that certain

universities announce admissions and admit

students three-to-four times a year and even enrol

fresh students in summer programmes.

The letter reads, “As per policy, any educational

institute can admit students’ maximum twice in one

academic year i.e. Spring and Fall sessions.” The

letter explains, “it is neither allowed as per policy nor

administratively and physically viable to run more

than two academic sessions in one year.” It advises

all the universities to refrain from enroling students

more than twice in an academic year, rather

advertise and enrol students in Spring and Fall

sessions as per HEC semester system guidelines.

HEC Urges Varsities to Uphold Academic Standards

Referring to financial regulations, the HEC has

further advised universities to maintain proper and

dedicated bank accounts for fee transactions of

students. Universities have been urged to ensure all

fee transactions through official bank accounts

instead of collecting fee in cash or through any

other method.

Many universities have been issuing academic

transcripts to students from its principal seat

without mentioning the actual place of study from

where the students have completed their

educational progress in actual.

The letter emphasises that due diligence must be

excercised in issuance of degrees and transcripts

and HEC-prescribed semester guidelines be

complied with in letter and spirit before issuing any

transcript or Detailed Marks Certificate to students.

“All transcripts must reflect the actual place of study

of the students accurately to save the students from

inconvenience during their degree verification

process,” the letter underlines.

17

Universities should conduct a market study to

identify areas which may be launched or abandoned

in v iew of the country’s socio-economic

requirements.

This was stated by Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman,

Higher Education Commission (HEC) during

interactive sessions with academicians from

University of Utah, USA and University of Nevada,

USA.

The delegation comprised Steven J. Burian,

Associate Professor, Civil & Environmental

Engineering, University of Utah, Mercedes Marie

Ward, Post-doctoral Research Associate, University

of Utah, Muhammad Aslam Chaudhry, Research

Professor, Department of Economics, University of

Utah, and Sajjad Ahmad, Department Chair, Civil

and Environmental Engineering and Construction,

University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Senior HEC

management, representatives of both public and

private sector universit ies and other key

stakeholders also attended the sessions.

The main themes of interact ive sessions

encompassed Engineering Education, RPT

(Recruitment, Promotion & Tenure), capacity

building of university faculty and administration,

and utility of Information Technology.

Chairman HEC for Market Study to Identify Required, Obsolete Academic Programmes

Dr. Banuri said that Pakistani universities need to

come up with their achievements and share them

with the key stakeholders so as to expand their

scope.

Emphasising on strong academic-industry linkages,

he stressed the need for deliberation on ways to

create job opportunities for graduates. In this

connection, he underlined the need for conducting

studies to find out ways towards linking academics

with both the market and social needs.

Referring to relevance of curricula to national

demands, Dr. Banuri said, “It is my duty to protect

the rights of students.” He emphasised on making

reforms to substandard curricula in order to bring

them at par with international standards.

He highlighted the importance of an integrated

education programme and de-centralised system

of curricula. He urged the academic fraternity to

beware of risk management strategies, as funding

fluctuates on regular intervals.

He maintained that mentoring sessions and in-

house trainings for faculty and non-academic staff

are fruitful in developing performance based

evaluation criteria. He underscored the significance

of spending resources on faculty training

18

programmes leading to engage students by

arranging internship opportunities and providing

scholarships to study abroad. He also highlighted

the importance of sports activities for students.

With regard to improvement in quality of

accreditation, the Chairman said that HEC seeks

concrete proposals from Pakistan Engineering

Council (PEC) and National Technology Council

(NTC) to suggest how engineering and technical

programmes can be operationalised in universities.

The participants brought under consideration

progress on various scholarship programmes

launched by HEC.

Various other academic issues including curriculum

rev iew , conten t deve lopment , t each ing

methodology, learning assessment, capacity

building programmes and recruitment, selection

and promotion of faculty members on Basic Pay

Scale (BPS) and Tenure Track System (TTS) were also

brought under consideration during the sessions.

The participants stressed the importance of Modern

Engineering Development Team. They discussed

performance evaluation criteria, employing IT in

academic governance, research, communications,

student relations, teaching and mentoring, faculty

evaluation, and employee matters.

The participants also shed light on the need for a

more automated and information based system. To

this, Dr. Banuri laid emphasis on scaling up the

system in accordance with international standard.

The universities must internally resolve their

problems, while the role of Higher Education

Commission (HEC) and other external entities may

be sought as a last resort. My doors are open to all

who aspire to work for uplift of the higher education

sector.

This was stated by Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairperson, HEC

while talking to a delegation of Academic Staff

Association, Qauid-e-Azam University (QAU),

Islamabad.

The delegation called on Dr. Banuri and shared with

him a number of problems facing the QAU faculty

and the univers i ty as a whole inc luding

administrative governance, lack of infrastructure,

lack of facilities for faculty, Tenure Track System (TTS)

challenges, lack of international collaboration, and

QAU funding.

Prof. Dr. Tariq Banuri gave a patient hearing to the

Academic Staff Association delegation and advised

it to submit a position paper which should contain

the problems as well as solutions to the challenges.

He however expressed his disappointment at the

Uplift of Higher Education is My Aim: Dr. Banuri

aggravated situation in QAU where the core values

of civilised discourse have been compromised.

He said QAU has been a reputable institution and it

still has the potential to become a premier

institution. He underlined that HEC wants to see

QAU taking autonomous decisions and becoming a

world-class learning institution.

The university must improve quality of academic

programmes and its governance structure needs to

be improved to deal with issues, he said. He added

that protection of students’ rights must be a priority.

The Chairperson said HEC is committed to making

QAU one of the country’s top universities. This

requires support and cooperation from faculty as

well as administrative staff, he stressed.

Referring to the issues related to TTS, he said HEC

will put efforts to refine the system making it

productive. He said HEC urges universities to follow

academic standards, improve their internal financial

m a n a g e m e n t s y s t e m s a n d s t r e n g t h e n

administrative governance.

19

thScholars, preparing to leave for the 68 Lindau

Nobel Laureate (NL) Meeting in Germany under

Interaction of Young Pakistani Scientists with Nobel

Laureates Programme met with Dr. Tariq Banuri,

Chairman, Higher Education Commission (HEC) and

Dr. Arshad Ali, Executive Director, HEC at the

Commission Secretariat.

Talking to the scholars, Dr. Banuri said HEC is

committed to supporting talented professionals

and human resource development, research

funding, facilitation of university-industry linkages,

enhancement of quality education, investment in

physical and technology infrastructure, and

international collaboration.

Interaction of Young Pakistani Scientists with Nobel

Laureates is a joint programme of HEC, PIEAS, and

the Council for Nobel Laureate Meetings in Lindau,

Scholars Set to Attend Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany

Germany. The project is being funded by HEC out of

its recurring funds for the promotion of higher

education and human resource development in

Pakistan. This project provides a unique opportunity

to talented graduates and young researchers of the

country to interact with 30 to 40 Nobel Laureates

and more than 600 fellow participants from over 75

countries at Lindau, Germany. Fifteen teams of

young scholars from Pakistan have already

participated in the past fourteen annual meetings

since 2003.

This year, the Lindau Council in Germany has

selected five candidates who left for Germany to

attend the meeting. Under a Memorandum of

Understanding signed between PIEAS and the

Lindau Council in June 2016, up to 10 scholars can

participate each year in Lindau Nobel Laureate

Meetings.

20

The Higher Education Commission, (HEC) Pakistan

has recently initiated video conferencing of online

courses, lectures, workshops and seminars of

universities through its Event Registration Portal.

The Event Registration Portal was previously

launched in which information about ongoing and

upcoming events was provided.

Video Conferencing through Event Registration Portal

However, the user is required to provide relevant

information about video conferencing session so

that HEC video conferencing team can make

necessary arrangements. Moreover, these video

conferencing sessions can be accessed by 160

universities which have video conferencing

system.

The Higher Education Commission, Pakistan,

Microsoft and Inseyab recently organised Big Data

Workshop for 20 IT professionals who are working

with various big data sources in different divisions

and sections of HEC.

Mr. Sajid Banday, Sr. Consultant, Inseyab was the

key resource person. He briefed the participants

about Big Data, different identifiers involved in Big

Data, attributes associated with Big Data, hadoop

and hadoop ecosystem. Also, the resource person

HEC, Microsoft Organise Big Data Workshop

discussed Machine Learning (ML) processes with a

brief introduction to Predictive Analysis and

Machine Learning models, including a few tools

such as Azure ML and Spark ML.

HEC to Enhance Scope of Research and Quality Education

The Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme under Prime

Minister’s Youth Programme was assigned to the

Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan for

developing mechanism, criteria, modalities and a

road map for procurement and distribution of

laptops.

One of the objectives of this scheme was to enhance

scope of research and quality of education in the

country and to increase access to information

technology. The project covers distribution of

laptops, carrying backpacks, mobile broad band

devices to access 10,000+ e-books and thousands

of research articles from the HEC Digital Library.

The Laptop distribution in Phase-IV and Phase-V are

underway as both phase-IV and Phase-V were

launched simultaneously under which 200,000

laptops have to be distributed among meritorious

students of Universities and Colleges.

Under Phase-IV 50,000+ laptops have been

distributed among various Universities and

Colleges. Another batch of 100,000 laptops under

Phase-V will be delivered by Haier in the coming

months which would also be distributed.

Moreover, under the PM Laptop Scheme, Microsoft

is offering 400,000 Microsoft Office Specialist

(MOS) vouchers to the students. Out of 400,000

vouchers 200,000 have to be awarded to those

students who get laptops and the remaining

200,000 vouchers are for those who are not laptop

awardees.

Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme

21

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and

Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) in collaboration

with National Nematological Research Centre

(NNRC) University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan

Society of Nematologists and ECO Science

Capacity Building Workshop in Nematology thFoundation (ECOSF) has recently organised 5

International workshop for Capacity Building in

Nematology.

A total of 42 participants of Economic Cooperation

Organisation (ECO) countries attended the

workshop in which Dr. G. Raza Bhatti, Member

Operations and Planning HEC, and Dr. Muhammad

Ajmal Khan, Vice Chancellor, University of Karachi

were also present.

thThe 24 meeting of Accreditation Standard thCommittee (ASC) and 29 General Council Meeting

of National Computing Education Accreditation

Council (NCEAC) was recently held in Lecture Hall of

the Higher Education Commission, Secretariat.

Dr. M. Ayub Alvi, Chairperson, NCEAC presides over

the meeting whereas Dr. Shoab A. Khan, Vice

Chairman, NCEAC, ASC Committee Members and

The Technology Development Fund (TDF) is one of

the flagship projects of Higher Education

Commission, (HEC). The TDF has recently

completed its annual series of awareness seminars

for enhancing industry academia joint ventures in

leading universities and higher education

institutions of all provincial and regional

headquarters including HEC Secretariat.

The TDF seminars unfold secrets of successful

proposals which not only mobilise academicians

but also industrialists to partner for funding

opportunities for industrial scale R&D and later on

commercialisation.

The TDF seminars were conducted with focus on

TDF application guidelines; to write joint proposal

thNCEAC holds 24 Meeting of thASC and 29 General Council Meeting

HEC, TDF Awareness Seminars in HEIs

General Council Members attended the Meetings.

A report on 24 recently evaluated programmes was thpresented, along with recommendations of the 24

ASC Meeting.

All recommendations of the ASC about award of

category and batches of the comput ing

programmes inspected by programme evaluators

were approved by the General Council.

(industrial and academia) with business and

research plan along with well linked budget and key stperformance indicators (KPIs). The 1 awareness

seminar of the series was held in University of

Baluchistan and the last seminar was held in HEC

Secretariat in which twin city universities’ faculty

members and industrialists were invited.

The University of Sindh (SU) Thatta Campus in

collaboration with Malteser International recently

established Disaster Risk Reduction Resource

Centre (DRRC).

During the inauguration ceremony, Dr. Muhammad

Barfat, Vice Chancellor SU said that DRRC is

established with an aim to serve as a platform to

scientifically examine causes and consequences of

natural calamities, banking necessary empirical data

and producing trained and qualified human

Centre for Risk Reduction Established in Thattaresource at local level to offset impending disaster-

borne threats to entire coastal belt falling within

jurisdiction of Thatta district.

The Vice Chancellor informed that SU Thatta

Campus is situated close to the coast and offers rich

space for conducting indigenous research aimed at

buffering catastrophes, shielding loss of life and

property, managing disasters and examining and

alleviating causes and consequences of climate

claws.

22

The Aga Khan University (AKU) Bioethics Group (BG)

recently organised a symposium to commemorate thits 20 anniversary. The AKU BG was formed to bring

the education and practice of bioethics into the

clinical settings by involving clinicians and residents.

The BG was formed in 1997 under the supervision of

Dr. Farhat Moazam, the then Associate Dean,

Postgraduate Medical Education, AKU. Bioethics

had been taught to medical students since 1986

through the efforts of Dr. Jack Bryant, Chair,

Department of Community Health Sciences.

Sharing the background of AKU BG, Dr. Moazam

gave credit to Dr. James Barlett, Dean of Faculty of

Health Sciences, for generating her interest in

bioethics. She recalled him handing her a ‘Hastings

Centre Report’ and later sponsouring her for five

days workshop at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics in

Washington DC. After her working paper on the

proposed BG was discussed and approved in the

Dean’s Forum, Department Chairs were invited to

nominate one member from their respective

departments in order to form the group.

She said that four physicians, two nursing

professionals, a clinical psychologist and social

scientist participated in the first BG meeting.

Besides discussing terms of reference and the

working paper, members were enthusiastic in

educating themselves; consequently, all meetings

included discussion of published papers on clinical/

research ethics.

The BG continues in AKU and focuses on revisions,

expansions and methodologies best suited to

teaching bioethics in their undergraduate and post

graduate curriculum.

thAKU Celebrates 20 Anniversary of Bioethics Group

23

Federal Minister for Climate Change Kicks-off Plantation Drive

Mr. Muhammad Yousif Shaikh, Federal Minister for

Climate Change along with Dr. Fateh Muhammad

Burfat, Vice Chancellor, University of Sindh,

Jamshoro recently planted saplings to kick-off

plantation drive.

On this occasion, Mr. Muhammad Yousif Shaikh

said, “We have initiated this drive under the slogan

‘Green Pakistan-Prosperous Pakistan’.” “We must

own the planet we inherit, we must care for it and we

must also play our part in its protection and

promotion,” the Federal Minister stressed.

Dr. Fateh Muhammad Burfat said that unchecked

industrialisation, deforestation, lack of public

ownership and absence of political patronage were

among many causes behind environmental

deterioration.

“We must realise our role, plant more and more

trees and impress upon law and policy-makers to

effectively legislate to safeguard environment. This

way alone we can preserve our planet,” he urged.

A delegation of 50 female lecturers of Provincial

Higher Education Department headed by Mr. Faisal

Ibrahim Khan, Acting Managing Director, Frontier

Education Foundation Academy (FEFA) recently

visited National Defence University (NDU). The

purpose of this visit was to aware educators about

Higher Education Institutions.

Educational Ventures

NDU Hosts FEFA, Girls Cadet College Mardan

Another delegation headed by Brig. Javid Sarwar

(Retd.) along with 70 female students and 10 faculty

members of Girls Cadet College Mardan also visited

NDU. The university outl ined a day long

programme, which included detailed briefing about

education and facilities at NDU, followed by a tour

to various departments.

24

Institute of Space Technology (IST), Islamabad

recently organised Space Summer School (SSS)

under theme of Space Technology Education and

Popularisation (STEP). The SSS hosted over 100

students of 60 schools and colleges of Pakistan in a

two week activity based 50 interactive sessions in 10

exploration tracks for students in two levels as

abecedarian and virtuoso.

Dr. Najam Abbas, Director Student Affairs and

Programme Head SSS outlined the theme of SSS at

the inaugural ceremony. He also emphasised the

importance of Space Technology for Pakistan. The

SSS covered interactive lectures in the domain of

ten exploration tracks namely; the Earth,

IST holds Space Summer School

Atmosphere, Aviation, Rocketry, Astronomy,

Satellite Technology, Space life, Space for Society,

Space Agencies and our contributions. It also

hosted special webinars with Dr. Nozair Khawaja on

Hunt for life in Space and Dr. Aquib Moin on UAE

Mars Mission.

The participants were provided with an opportunity

to explore Planetarium and Aircraft Technology

along with Astrolabe and Telescopy. The students

were trained through hands-on workshops related

with CanSat development, water rocket, Quad-

copter Design, UAV design and Fabrication. The SSS

participants also got a chance to visit space related

laboratories at IST.

Pakistan Air Force Karachi Institute of Economics &

Technology (PAF-KIET) recently held its Second two-

day International Conference on Computing and

Information Sciences (ICCIS-2018). The aim was to

provide a forum to present new research and recent

results of emerging technologies in the field of

computing and information sciences.

Mr. Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Minister for Transport

and Mass Transit, Labour, Human Resource and

Information was the chief guest of the opening

ceremony.

PAF-KIET Holds Conference on Computing

More than 15 universities from across the country

participated in the conference. In the two-day

conference, 73 abstracts of research papers were

submitted whereas only 24 research papers on

different subjects were selected for the final

presentation.

In his opening address, Air Vice Marshal (Retd)

Tubrez Asif, President PAF-KIET welcomed all guests

and participants whereas Mr. Ovais Habib Khan,

Chief Operating Officer, TPS Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. also

shared his views during the closing ceremony.

25

During the recent longest manifestation of lunar

eclipse, an academic and scientific contribution for

the advancement of space sc iences and

cosmological studies has been made by a group of

scientists from Pakistan.

The in te r -d i s c ip l ina ry resea rcher s have stdemonstrated the 1 direct method of measuring

Cyclotron Radius in the Milieu-circumstance of

Hydrogen, which has been termed as Hydro-

Cyclotron Radius (HCR) by the cross-disciplinary

scientists’ team carrying out the experimentation on

corresponding connections and causal relationship

in lunar magnetic flux can have on the hydrogen

element. The cross-disciplinary panel of Pakistani

scientists comprises Dr. Zafar Saeed Saify, former

Vice Chancellor, University of Karachi, Dr. Umar

Farooq, former Vice Chancellor, Dow University of

Health Sciences, Dr. Qazi Aurangzeb Al Hafi, SAARC

Scientists Demonstrate Direct Method to Measure Cyclotron Radius

Pos tdoc tora l Academia , Dr . Ashra f Ch . ,

representative, Royal Society of Chemistry England

and Dr. Khalida M. Khan, former UNESCO chair at

University of Punjab.

“Besides the HCR measurements, during the course

of celestial observations and cosmological findings,

the phenomenon of Magneto-Hydro-Tropism

(MHT) was clearly and affirmably evidenced as per

the scientific parameters,” stated the scientists.

The pane l obse rved tha t the fi r s t eve r

demonstration of measuring the ‘Hydro-cyclotron

Radius’, and evidential endorsement of the

phenomenon of MHT would broaden the prospects

for achieving results to enhance the cosmological

understandings as well as exploring the far-

impacting avenues that would mark paradigm shifts

in academic perspectives and scientific contexts.

Ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shahid Khaqan

Abbasi has recently inaugurated the National

Incubation Centre (NIC) Karachi at NED University of

Engineering & Technology, Karachi.

The NIC Karachi would provide incubation services stfor over 200 next-generation businesses in 1 five

years and empower aspiring Sindh-based

entrepreneurs to create high-growth and

sustainable businesses.

In addition, it would also provide quality incubation

programmes, access to mentor and investor

networks and technical resources. The incubator

would also connect budding entrepreneurs and

National Incubation Centre Inaugurates in NED University

promising startups with mentors, investors and new

business opportunities. It would focus on

identifying and nurturing promising startups by

running various programmes that would range

from two-day boot camps to year-long acceleration

programmes.

26

The Pet Centre of the University of Veterinary and

Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore conducted 5-day

training session on Basic Clinical and Diagnostic

Skills in Small Animal Practice under the project

entitled In-service Training Facility of Advance

Ve t e r i n a r y E d u c a t i o n a n d P r o f e s s i o n a l

Development for Veterinary Professionals.

Dr. Talat Naseer Pasha, Vice Chancellor, UVAS

presided over the concluding session while Dr. Asim

Khalid, Associate Professor, Dr. Hafsa Zaneb,

Associate Professor and training participants from

Training Session on Basic Clinical and Diagnostic Skills

various campuses of UVAS were also present on the

occasion.

Dr Asim Khalid discussed various aspects related to

small animal hospital design, mandatory minimum

equipment required, prescription writing and

documentation, Pre-exam of patient by the staff,

exam by the veterinary doctor, treatment,

admission, client counseling, interpretation of

diagnostic tests, blood work, X-rays, ultrasound,

vaccination and deworming of pets and tick control.

The Office of the Research Innovation and

Commercialisation (ORIC), University of Sindh, (SU)

Jamshoro recently organised one-day training

workshop on how to write effective research grant

proposals to win Technology Development Fund

(TDF). The objective of the event was to build

capacity of faculty members and researchers to

write effective funding proposals. The workshop

helped researchers to utilise their research skills for

development of community.

Dr. Owais Khatri, faculty and proposals grant expert,

Mehran University of Engineering and Technology

Training for Effective Research Grant Proposals

28

facilitated the workshop. Dr. Nek Muhammad

Shaikh, Director ORIC, SU presented welcome note

and briefed about aims of the workshop.

Expressing views on the occasion, Dr. Sarfraz

Hussain Solangi, Focal Person, SU, Thatta campus

said that ORIC had organised workshop on a very

s ign ifican t theme . He a l so apprec i a ted

exhaustiveness and depth of content of the training

session, adding that the events like one in question

greatly assisted towards development of research

activity, professional output and University-

industry linkages.

27

S U C C E S S S T O R Y

Mr. Azeem Hamid, a student of MPhil in Art and

Design Education from Pakistan Institute of Fashion

and Design (PIFD), Lahore participated in an

international workshop entitled, Together: at the

Centre Pompidou, which was held at Centre

Georges Pompidou, museum in Paris.

The workshop was part of The Cumulus Conference

2018, To Get There: Designing Together, which

adopted a cross-curricular interdisciplinary

approach to highlight collective and collaborative

PIFD Student Participates in Design Workshop in Paris

interests in design and research. The workshop

offered young designers from across the globe to

work in teams on subjects linked to living museum.

Mr. Azeem was the only international student from

Asia who was selected for this workshop along with

40 other participants from various design schools in

Europe. He collaborated with three students from

design schools on the topic of re-scripting

interpretative texts, a study on the space of the

museum and arrangements of the artworks.

The students of all seven departments of Pakistan

Institute of Fashion Design (PIFD) have recently

displayed their final year projects for public.

The projects were diverse in nature and were

prepared by keeping consumers and industry

intact. The students prepared a collection of

garments based on individual themes while the

PIFD Students Display Final Year Projectsstudents from Department of Textile Design

incorporated different textile techniques like

waving, knitting, printing and embroidery to

develop their final product.

The hand crafted collection of Jewellery,

Accessories and Footwear, Ceramics Design and

Glassware Collection was also displayed.

Isra University Debating Society, Isra University st th recently organised 1 round of 20 All Pakistan Inter-

University Declamation Contest for award of Allama

Iqbal Shield 2018.

Dr. Feroz Memon, Associate Dean, Faculty of

Medical Sciences, Isra University, was the chief

guest of this occasion.

While speaking on the occasion he said that such

activities are very important to enhance confidence

and knowledge among the students which helps

them to boost their capabilities. Besides, he said,

these competitions motivate youth and develop

Award of Allama Iqbal Shield 2018st1 Round of Declamation Contest

at Isra University

competitive skills among them. So, Universities

should organise such events. The debate

competition took place in both Urdu and English stlanguages. Khair-un-Nisa Noonari stood 1 while

nd rdMuniba Arain and Sadaf Shaikh secured 2 and 3

positions in Urdu language competition.

stSamiullah Saifullah secured 1 position, Shayan ndBaloch got 2 position whereas Kiran Siddiqui got

rd3 position in English language competition. The ndwinners of both languages qualified for the 2

thround of 20 All Pakistan Declamation Contest on

regional level for the award of Allama Iqbal Shield

2018.

28

A delegation from Purdue University, USA recently

visited University of Peshawar (UoP), Peshawar as

part of Pakistan-US Science and Technology

Cooperation Programme to sample River Swat and

River Kabul under the collaborative project entitled,

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Kabul and Swat

Rivers and their Impact on Fish Populations and

Rural Community Livelihoods.

The research visit helped to promote mutual

learning, enhance understanding of the sector’s

operational realities and promote a network of

supportive supervision. Also, it provided an

opportunity for reality checks and building of real-

time evidence to stimulate and guide discussions

during technical and policy review meetings.

The project is also evaluating aquatic ecosystem

health and assess ing local communit ies ’

perceptions of water quality and river ecosystem

health, their lives and livelihoods, and their

willingness to engage in conservation practices.

Overall, the project team aims to provide

recommendations to reduce the impact of

endocrine disrupting chemicals on river health for

use by policymakers, researchers and regulatory

agencies.

Purdue University, UoP Join Hands for Research

NEWS & VIEWSNEWS & VIEWS

ILLEGAL CAMPUSES / INSTITUTIONS

It has been observed that a number of universities/institutions/campuses/affiliated

colleges/foreign collaborative arrangements are operating illegally in Pakistan

without permission of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

All such institutions are hereby to immediately stop their CAUTIONEDoperations, which are functioning.

If such institutions fail to comply, their operations shall be shut down with the

assistance of Law enforcement agencies and provincial governments as per rules.

Students and their parents are also warned that degrees from such non-recognised

and fake institutions/illegal campuses will not be verified by HEC.

Director General(Accreditation & Attestation)

Higher Education Commission, Sector H-9, Islamabad.

Without prior approval/ NOC of HEC

Have opened illegal campuses

Offering foreign collaborative degree programmes

without HEC NOC

OR

OR