Pakistan Wins 3G Excellence in Higher · sector in Pakistan have been recognised internationally....

Universities to Make More Concerted Efforts for Enhancing Quality

Universities to Make More Concerted Efforts for Enhancing Quality

May-June 2016

Higher Education Commission - Pakistan

HEC initiatives and services for development of higher education

sector in Pakistan have been recognised internationally.

VCs Meeting held at Lahore

Pakistan Wins 3G Pakistan Wins 3G Excellence in Higher Excellence in Higher Education Award 2016Education Award 2016

P-11

3G Excellence inHigher Education Award 2016

HIGHER EDUCATIONCOMMISSION, PAKISTAN

P-2

Table of Contents

Publisher:Higher Education Commission,

Pakistan

Chairman HEC Visits Hungary

Pakistan Wins 3G Excellence in Higher

Education Award 2016

NACTE holds Capacity Building Workshop

HEC, Microsoft Organise National Final for

Imagine Cup 2016

HEC Committed to Developing Higher

Education Sector of Balochistan

HEC, SECP to Promote Investor Education

among Youth

9 Varsities Win Grant under Pakistan-

France PERIDOT Programme

Cooperation with Maldives Discussed

Gambia’s Minister Visits HEC

th27 Faculty Development Programme

Concludes

HEC Signs MoU with Law & Justice

Commission

7

11

11

12

13

13

14

15

15

16

17

VCs Meeting Calls

for Enhancing

Quality of Higher

Education, Research2

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 articles is 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

Waseem Khaliqdad

Editor

Aayesha Ikram

Graphic Designer

Raja Ahmad Nadeem

Reporter

Waseem Khaliqdad

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 articles is 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.

5University Students

Prove Mettle in

Oratory

9Avenues of Further

Collaboration with

France Explored

The three-day Vice Chancellors’ Committee

Meeting recently held at Lahore developed a

consensus that the Higher Education Commission

(HEC) and universities across the country will make

more concerted efforts to ensure quality whether it

is faculty appointment, student admissions,

opening of new institutions and sub-campuses,

curriculum development, offering new degree

courses, granting affiliations, teaching and research

or any other matter related to higher education.

Concluding the session, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed,

Chairman HEC appreciated all the Vice Chancellors

for their active participation and discussing in detail

various challenges being faced by higher education

sector and deliberating possible solutions. He

stressed the fact that implementation of quality

criteria and other higher education policies in letter

and spirit was inevitable for development of

university education that is compatible with

international standards.

Ms. Shahnaz Wazir Ali, former Adviser to Prime

Minister and currently President of SZABIST said

that higher education leadership has to come from

HEC and ensure implementation of quality

standards in line with global trends. She urged

university heads and HEC to adopt a cohesive

approach for policymaking and its implementation.

A detailed session was held on Tenure Track System

(TTS) for faculty appointment wherein Dr. G. Raza

Bhatti, Member (Operations and Planning) HEC

described the purpose of introducing the system

and the discrepancies arising due to deviation from

set criteria for appointment.

Issues related to TTS discussed on the occasion

included non-approval of statutes from respective

governing bodies, submission of relevant record to

HEC, appointments without advertisement, lack of

Technical Review Panel reports from two foreign

experts, lack of Departmental Tenure Review

Committee reports, non-observance of Annual,

Mid-Term and Final Reviews, assumption of

administrative posts by TTS faculty, award of

increments at the time of initial appointment

against approved criteria, and deviation from

prescribed probationary contract period.

Mr. Tahir Abbas Zaid i , Di rector Genera l ,

Accreditation and Attestation, HEC gave a

comprehensive briefing on accreditation procedure

of opening of new universities, sub-campuses as

well as criteria for affiliating colleges. He showed

concern over violation of HEC criteria for opening

DAI/ sub campuses, grant of affiliations exceeding

the jurisdictional limits defined in respective

Acts/Charters, offering programmes in affiliated

colleges which are not available on the Principal

Seat, vetting of Charters as per Cabinet Criteria,

VCs Meeting Calls for Enhancing Quality of Higher Education, Research

2

increased enrolment of students without required

facilities, acute shortage of faculty, foreign

collaborations with non-chartered institutions. He

also emphasised the importance of accreditation of

degree programmes from relevant professional

councils, including Pakistan Nursing Council,

Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, Pakistan

Veterinary Medical Council, Pakistan Pharmacy

Council, Pakistan Engineering Council, Pakistan

Council of Architects and Town Planners, National

Computing Education Accreditation Council,

National Technology Council, Pakistan Bar Council,

National Agriculture Accreditation Council,

Accreditation Council for Teacher’s Education,

Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of

Pakistan, and National Business Education

Accreditation Council.

Another session focused on Role of Media and

Universities in Promoting Societal Development,

Discourse and Peace in Society. Among others the

session was attended by Mr. Mujeeb-ur-Rahman

Shami, Mr. Amjad Islam Amjad, Mr. Sajjad Mir, Mr.

Yasir Peerzada, Mr. Habib Akram and Mr. Ajmal Jami.

The participants agreed that both media and

universities play a key role in shaping any society,

particularly character building of citizens especially

youth. It was emphasized that interaction among

universities and media should be enhanced to

promote good research.

Mr. Shaharyar Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Cricket

Board (PCB) and Dr. Shabbir Ahmed Lehri, President,

Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) also

gave brief talks during the meeting. Mr. Shaharyar

highlighted the importance of promoting cricket in

universities and how it could benefit the

development of the game in Pakistan. He said PCB is

ready to work with HEC and universities for further

development of inter-university cricket and offered

to form a committee for this purpose.

Dr. Lehri underlined how the medical education has

suffered due to lack of proper policies as well as

implementation of the existing ones. He requested

the vice chancellors of medical universities to come

up with suggestions and enhance coordination with

PMDC for improving the overall quality of medical

education in the country.

On the occasion, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC

said that the Commission will soon hold a meeting

of PMDC and medical universities/colleges for

identifying different issues pertaining to medical

education and setting a roadmap for the future.

The Vice Chancellors were also briefed about HEC

Safe Campus Solution for universities which is

aimed to address the challenges being faced by

universities. The project included blanket Wifi

coverage for 30 universities each year along with

security cameras for surveillance of campuses. The

University heads also gave various suggestions for

improving security of higher education institutions

keeping in view that educational institutions are a

very soft target for anti-state elements. They agreed

3

to work in close coordination with HEC for devising a

security strategy for their respective campuses.

Earlier in the opening ceremony, Dr. Mukhtar

Ahmed, Chairman Higher Education Commission

(HEC) made an impassioned call to ensure quality all

levels of higher education in the country. He

reviewed year’s performance, challenges and issues

to set target for the next year and urged the

gathering of over 120 heads of public and private

universities that quality of higher education should

top their agenda while planning for further

expansion and development.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed particularly advised the private

sector institutions that undoubtedly education has

become a business worldwide but that should not

be done at the cost of quality.

He also spoke at length about

mushrooming of sub-campuses

as well as launching of MPhil and

PhD p rog ram m es w i thou t

fulfilment of minimum criteria. “If

any institution violates criteria

and goes ahead just for the sake

of competit ion or increase

resources, it will definitely be held

accountable. Remember there are

no shortcuts if we want our

ins t i tu t ions to deve lop a t

international standards. Proper planning for

resource generation and developing human

resource is the key to achieve success.”

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said that over the years HEC has

not only considerably increased the budget for

research but has also ensured that the faculty

members and researchers focus on priority areas

related to our society and country’s economic

challenges. He asked the university heads to take all

possible measures for encouraging relevant

research and allocating maximum amount for this

purpose. He also stressed upon them to clear

plagiarism cases pending at their end and enhance

efforts for eradicating the menace.

The Chairman also discussed the security problems

facing the country, particularly educational

institutions, and asked the vice chancellors to

thoroughly review the situation and come up with

solutions that envisage not only protection of

students and staff but make sure that open display

of weapons should not create a fearful environment

on campuses.

He also shed light on various ongoing and

upcoming projects of higher education sector

including establishment of technical universities,

thousands of scholarships under US-Pakistan

Knowledge Corridor in addition to existing

scholarship schemes, establishment of Centres of

Excellence in Water, Energy, Food Security and

Climate Change, creation of technology parks as

well as many national and international partnerships

for developing human resource in all fields of

national importance.

Earlier in his welcome address, Dr.

Rasul Jan, Chairperson of the VCs

Committee welcomed the guests

and thanked them for joining the

forum to deliberate the current

and upcoming challenges of

higher education sector.

H e a p p r e c i a t e d H E C f o r

conducting such sessions on a

regu la r bas i s fo r input of

univers i ty heads regarding

different polices of the higher education sector said,

“Our sector has weaknesses as well as many

achievements made during the last decade but if we,

the VCs remain united while identifying different

issues and their possible solutions, I’m sure this

august forum can lay foundations for changing

destiny of our future generations.”

In his presentation on Institutional Performance and

Programme Review, Dr. Arshad Ali, Executive

Director HEC shared Commission’s efforts, under

Prime Minister’s directive, to visit universities across

the country and identify deficiencies in fulfilment of

various quality criteria.

Appreciating HEC’s quality performance review

there were calls for making the report public so that

universities could correct their shortcomings.

4

The Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan th organized the final round of the 18 All Pakistan

Inter-University Declamation Contest at its

Secretariat.

Engr. Baleegh-ur-Rehman, State Minister for

Education and Professional Training, was the chief

guest, while Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC

and Vice Chancellors as well as students of different

universities were also present on the occasion.

Mr. Shehan Zafar from University of the Punjab,

Lahore and Mr. Ammad Shakil from Al-Hamd

Islamic University, Quetta clinched the Allama Iqbal

Shield in English and Urdu

categories respectively.

I n E n g l i s h c a t e g o r y , M s .

Rameesha Khan from University

of the Punjab won the second

position and Mr. Abdul Hannan

f rom Government Co l l ege

University, Faisalabad obtained

the third position, while in Urdu

category, Mr. Abdullah Imran

from University of Engineering

and Technology, Lahore and Mr.

Taqi Jawwad from Preston University, Kohat gained

second and third positions respectively.

Speaking on the occasion, Engr. Baleegh-ur-

Rehman said that declamation contests and speech

All Pakistan Inter-University Declamation Contest

University Students Prove Mettle in Oratorycompetitions among students enhance their

analytical and critical thinking. He said such

activities create a spirit to come forward and work

hard for national growth. He urged the youth to

forge optimism for the national growth and social

uplift. He said Islam strongly condemns pessimism,

adding that disappointment among people

destroys nations. “Always see both the sides of a

picture, as you have to sort out way out of the

darkness of problems for your prosperous future,”

the minister stressed.

In his welcome address, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed,

Chairman HEC congratulated the position holders

and said that holding of the declamation contest is

a regular activity organized by HEC every year.

As many as 30 contestants, both in English and

Urdu categories, participated in the final round of

the contest. Prof. Dr. Waseema Shehzad, Dean

Faculty of Social Sciences Air University, Islamabad

chaired the English session, while Prof. Fateh

Muhammad Malik, former Rector International

Islamic University Islamabad chaired the Urdu

session of the contest.

Those who took part in the English category

included Mr. Fahad Farooq from

Army Medical College (National

University of Medical Sciences),

Mr. Habib-ur-Rehman from

B a l o c h i s t a n U n i v e r s i t y o f

I n f o r m a t i o n Te c h n o l o g y ,

Engineering and Management

Sciences, Quetta, Ms. Salika

Durrani, Foundation University,

R a w a l p i n d i , M s . M a r y a m

M a h s o o d f r o m G a n d h a r a

University Peshawar, Mr. Talha bin

Azhar from Ghulam Ishaq Khan

Institute of Engineering Science and Technology,

Topi, Sawabi, Mr. Humaira Ahmed from Gomal

University Dera Ismail Khan, Mr. Abdul Hannan from

Government College University, Faisalabad, Ms.

Sana Murtaza Dayo from Liaqat University of

5

“Declamation contests and

speech competitions among

students enhance their

analytical and critical

thinking. Such activities

create a spirit to come

forward and work hard for

national growth.”

Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Ms. Anam

Noor Ehsan from Aga Khan University, Karachi, Mr.

Barmsh Khan f rom Pakis tan Inst i tute of

Development Economics, Islamabad, Ms. Rafia

Noor from Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University,

Quetta, Ms. Maria Esan from University of

Balochistan, Quetta, Ms. Dua Fatima Faiz

Muhammad from University of Sindh, Jamshoro,

and Ms. Rameesha Khan from University of the

Punjab, Lahore.

The Urdu category contestants included Mr. Ahmad

Cheema from Army Medical College (National

University of Medical Sciences), Rawalpindi, Mr.

Ammad Shakeel from Al-Hamd Islamic University,

Mr. Muhammad Taqi Jawad from Preston University,

Kohat Campus, Ms. Ruqia Khan from Sardar

Bahadur Khan Women’s University, Quetta, Ms.

Kanwal Iqbal from Sindh Madressatul Islam

University, Karachi, Mr. Muhammad Ehtisham Akbar

from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Mr.

Abdullah Imran from University of Engineering and

Technology, Lahore, and Ms. Mahrukh Baloch from

University of Sindh, Jamshoro.

Ms. Noor Amina Malik, former Director General,

Learning Innovation, HEC, Mr. S. Munawwar H.

Naqvi, senior journalist from Financial Daily

International, Islamabad, Dr. Najeeba Arif, Assistant

Professor, Department of Urdu, IIUI, and Dr.

Shaheena Ayyub Bhatti, Associate Professor,

English Department, NUML performed the

responsibilities of judges of the contest.

Prior to the final round, HEC organised various

rounds of the competition at its regional centres,

including Quetta, Karachi and Peshawar, in addition

to contests previously held at universities.

Quetta, Ms. Shaista Gul Khan from Balochistan

University of Information Technology, Engineering

and Management Sciences, Quetta, Mr. Inam-ur-

Rehman from Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan,

Ms. Hafsa Abdul Ghafar from Government College

for Women University, Islamabad, Ms. Adeela

Batool from International Islamic University,

Islamabad, Ms. Hareem Zafar from Islamia College

University Peshawar, Ms. Umm-e-Farwa from

Jinnah Sindh Medical College, Karachi, Mr.

Makhdoom Shahab-ud-Din from National

University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad,

Indus University, Karachi

HEC RC Quetta

HEC RC Peshawar

6

Chairman HEC Visits HungaryProf. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman, Higher

Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan visited

Budapest, Hungary to formalize Higher Education

and Scientific Exchange Programme signed

between the two countries in December 2015 for

award of 240 scholarships to Pakistani students to

pursue higher studies in reputed Hungarian

institutions and 30 scholarships for Hungarian

students to study in leading Pakistani institutions.

The visit was also aimed to explore further areas of

cooperation in the field of higher education. The

Chairman was accompanied by Engr. Waheed

Ahmed Mangi, Deputy Director (HRD).

During the visit, Chairman met with the Minister of

State for Education of Hungary, Dr. László Palkovics,

Ministry of Human Capacities, the Deputy State

Secretary for International and EU Affairs, Mr.

Gergely Prőhle, and representative of Tempus Public

Foundation, Dr. Zsuzsanna, to discuss bilateral

education cooperation. He also visited some

renowned Hungarian universities in the field of

Physical Education, Engineering & Technology,

Economics, Medicine, Agriculture & Veterinary

Sciences and Public Policy.

During meetings with Rectors of Hungarian

institutes, he discussed possible opportunities of

direct academic linkages between leading higher

education institutions of both the countries.

He met with Mr. Lajos Mocsai, Rector, University of

Physical Education (Sports), Dr. JánosJózsa, Rector

of Budapest University of Technology and

Economics (Engineering & Technology), Dr. Zoltan

Szilvassy, Rector of the University of Debrecen

(Medical & Pharmaceutical Science), Dr. Janos

Toszer, Rector of SzentIstvan University in Godollo

(Agriculture & Veterinary Sciences DVM) and Dr.

Norbert Kis. Vice Rector of National University of

Public Service (Public Policy& Strategic Studies).

After detailed deliberations with the Minister of

State for Education of Hungary, the Deputy State

Secretary for International and EU Affairs as well as

Rectors of leading Hungarian institutes, it was

agreed to establish close academic linkages

between the top ranked universities of both the

countries through HRD scholarships, joint research

programmes, workshops and conferences,

7

Academic Links to be Strengthened

I. Exchange of delegations from academia of

both the countries. HEC may send a team of

researchers and academicians from Pakistan

to study the ‘cluster function model’ in place

at the University of Debrecen for promotion of

university-industry linkages.

ii. Consider establishing a Joint Educational

Commission for promotion of education,

science and technology.

iii. Encourage linkages in areas of mutual interest

between universities of the two countries

through HEC and Hungarian Rector’s Council.

iv. Unde r the St ipend ium Hungar i cum

Scholarship Programme, the Government of

Pakistan may enhance the monthly stipend

from the existing (150 USD approx. for BA/BSc

and MA/MSc and 365 USD approx. for PhD

students) being offered by the Hungarian side

to 450 USD approx. and 1095 approx.

respectively.

v. Initiate tripartite collaboration between NUST

and the Hungarian Universities of Physical

Education and Budapest University of

Technology and Economics (BME), to work in

the fields of Sports Engineering & Sports

Management.

exchange of faculty and scholars, joint R&D

programmes, and academia-industry linkages.

Dr. Palkovics, Hungary’s Minister of State for

Education, expressed desire to establish long-term

relationship under the umbrella of Stipendium

Hungar icum Scholarship Programme. He

highlighted that among 48 countries, number of

applications from Pakistan was the highest.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed expressed gratitude for the

scholarships offer by the Hungarian Government.

He also gave a brief introduction of the higher

education sector of Pakistan. In this context, a

delegation of Pakistani academicians will soon visit

Hungary.

Earlier, Mr. Muhammad Syrus Saj jad Qazi,

Ambassador of Pakistan in Budapest, Hungary, and

Mr. Azeem Khan, Deputy Head of Pakistan Mission

warmly welcomed HEC delegates at Budapest

airport and effectively coordinated scheduled

programme with Hungarian Ministries and Rectors

of leading universities.

Points for Follow-Up Action

vi. Establish joint research linkages in the fields

of climate change, food security, water

management , d isaster management ,

vaccines, R&D exchanges, logistics, transport,

energy, etc.

vii. University of Physical Education may consider

imparting short training to sports coaches

from Pakistani universities in different sports.

viii. In tandem with the Ministry of Inter-

Provincial Coordination arrange a sports

conference in Pakistan. Invite Rector of the

University of Physical Education for this

conference.

ix. Initiate reciprocal acceptance of higher

education degrees awarded by each other’s

recognized universities.

x. Work towards exchange of faculty and PhD

students between Pakistan and Hungary to at

least enrol in one or two semesters in each

other’s universities.

xi. Tailor made short courses (Two-week training

courses) preferably on Leadership, Good

Governance for un ivers i ty and HEC

management at National University of Public

Services, Budapest.

8

A d e l e g a t i o n o f H i g h e r

Education Commission (HEC) led

b y D r . M u k h t a r A h m e d ,

Chairman HEC and comprising

Mr. Wasim Hashmi, Adviser

(HRD) , Ms . Ayesha Ik ram,

Director Media, Rana Shafiq

A h m a d , P ro j e c t D i re c to r,

Overseas Scholarships, and Mr.

Javed Awan, Project Manager

recently visited France.

During the visit, the HEC and

Campus France organized a

Pakistan Day function in Paris

with an aim to bring French

institutions of higher learning

closer to Pakistani universities so

as to enhance collaboration for

development of human resource

and strengthening of research in

Pakistan’s institutions. The

delegation also visited the

French Senate.

In the Pakistan Day ceremony, Dr.

Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC

was the chief guest whi le

representatives of over 30 French

universities participated in the

event that was also attended by

Mr. Ghalib Iqbal, Ambassador of

Pakistan to France and Ms.

Martine Dorance, Ambassador of

France to Pakistan.

The participants discussed issues related to

bilateral cooperation in higher education,

particularly identifying areas where Pakistani

universities and academics could benefit from

French institutions as well as pinpoint common

disciplines for joint research projects.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed

appreciated the French Government and higher

education institutions for academic collaboration

with Pakistan in the shape of doctoral and post-

doctoral opportunities. “France is providing a

number of opportunities to Pakistani scholars and

students. Both the countries are collaborating in

higher education sector but this needs to be

enhanced and the best way is institution-to-

institution joint initiatives and HEC is ready to

provide all possible support for this purpose.”

9

Avenues of Further Collaboration with France Explored

The Chairman also referred to plan of setting up a

French university in Pakistan. "France has

remarkable achievement in industrial growth and

HEC would like to launch industrial-based research

projects with France so that Pakistan could also

efficiently cope with its industrial challenges," he

added. He also highlighted the concept of US-

Pakistan Knowledge Corridor and hoped that a

similar initiative may be taken between Pakistan

and France.

On the occasion, representatives of NUST

Islamabad, University of Agriculture Faisalabad,

Information Technology University Lahore and

Government College University Faisalabad gave

presentations on their achievements, focused areas

as well as identified fields for possible collaboration

with the French institutions of higher learning.

Mr. Wasim Hashmi, Adviser (HRD) HEC also briefed

the participants about various initiatives for faculty

development including local and foreign PhD

scholarships, fellowships for Post-doctoral research

and other incentives building a strong pool of

academics in every discipline particularly areas

more relevant to national growth.

The representatives of French institutions where

Pakistani scholars are studying appreciated

competence and hard work of Pakistani students.

They appreciated the performance of HEC for

transformation of universities and facilitating

faculty, students, research scholars to meet

international standards of higher education. They

expressed interest in enhancing academic links

between the two countries.

During its visit to the Senate of France, the

delegation was received by Senator Françoise

Cartron who is also the Mayor of Artigues-près-

Bordeaux and Vice-President of the Aquitaine

Regional Council. She was accompanied by Senator

Pascal Allizard.

Senator Cartron and Senator Allizard were part of

French Senators' delegation that visited Pakistan in

April this year to discuss issues related to bilateral

cooperation in higher education. It was agreed then

that both Pakistan and France have a strong basis of

collaboration which should be further expanded.

Talking to the delegation, Senator Cartron

highlighted the significance of education and

culture in development of societies and how

collaboration between countries in these areas

benefit nations at large.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed appreciated the interest shown

by the French Government for collaboration with

Pakistan in different fields, particularly higher

education. Both sides agreed that cooperation in

higher education and research need to be further

strengthened. "Though your country has provided

remarkable support in our faculty development

programmes, yet the scope of our collaboration has

to be strengthened at institutional level,” he said.

He informed the Senators that 400 scholars have

completed their doctoral studies from France while

many others are pursuing it in various institutions

across France. He also mentioned different HEC

initiatives for transformation of universities and

facilitating faculty, students, research scholars.

10

The HEC delegation also visited Aix Marseille Graduate School of Management (AMGSM) in France where a

number of Pakistani scholars are pursuing their doctoral degrees. AMGSM is imparting postgraduate

education and research and offers Master, MSc, MBA and doctoral programmes in Management and

specialized disciplines with a curriculum that is continuously adapted to meet needs of the business world.

Virginie De Barnier, Dean AMGSM welcomed the HEC team and apprised them about history of the School.

“Our School is a truly cosmopolitan environment with noteworthy scientific and cultural influence, and

develop new projects aligned with our core values, humanism, responsibility and commitment to the

common goal.” She admired Pakistani PhD scholars for their competence and hard work.

Performance of Pakistani Students Acknowledged

National Accreditation Council for Teacher

Educat ion (NACTE) in col laborat ion with

International Rescue Committee (IRC), USAID,

Pakistan recently conducted a three-day capacity

building workshop for the Faculty of Education,

International Islamic University, Islamabad.

The purpose of holding the workshop was to

facilitate and provide guidance to the faculty

members to conduct internal academic audit of their

own programmes, draft self-evaluation report, and

prepare for external academic audit/accreditation by

NACTE. It covered various topics like need of quality

assurance in teacher education; NACTE, its scope

and functions; national accreditation standards for

NACTE holds Capacity Building Workshop teacher education programmes; accreditation

documents and process; accreditation tools; role

and responsibilities of institutions, academic

evaluators/ auditors and NACTE in the accreditation

process; pre-requisites of accreditation; and

conducting internal audit and developing

institutional self-evaluation report.

Speakers described the workshop as a much-

needed activity, as it helped the participants better

understand the concept of accreditation and its

process. They appreciated the role of the NACTE

team for the efforts and contributions they made to

ensure and enhance the quality of teacher

education.

11

The Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan

has won “3G - Global Good Governance - Excellence

in Higher Education Award 2016”. The Award

announced by Global Donors Forums (GDF) was

presented during an auspicious ceremony held in

Istanbul, Turkey.

The prestigious award has been bestowed

upon HEC in recognition of its initiatives

and services for development of higher

education sector in Pakistan. Prof. Dr.

Masoom Yasinzai, Rector, International

Islamic University, Islamabad received the

Award on behalf of Prof. Dr. Mukhtar

Ahmed, Chairman HEC.

The HEC, with its prime focus on quality

of higher education and its equitable access, has

been strenuously struggling to promote higher

education in the country since its inception in 2002.

Leaving no stone unturned to ensure equitable

access, faculty development, excellence in

academics and research, technological readiness,

quality assurance, innovation and societal

development, HEC has taken a number of steps for

establishment of research facilities in the country’s

higher education institutions. Offices of Research,

Innovation and Commercialisation (ORICs) as well as

Business Incubation Centres in universities have

been setup in universities to encourage and

commercialise relevant research.

It is worth mentioning here that the World

Congress of Muslim Philanthropists

(WCMP), a global network of affluent

individuals, grant-making foundations, and

socially responsible corporations, launched

the GDF in 2008 at Istanbul by the then

honorable Prime Minister of Turkey along

with representatives of Organization of

I s l a m i c C o o p e r a t i o n , I s l a m i c

Development Bank, Islamic Education,

Scientific and Cultural Organization and

sovereign governments, socially-responsible

corporations, and philanthropic foundations.

Since then, the Forum has been held in Abu Dhabi

(2009), Doha (2010), Dubai (2011), Kuala Lumpur

(2012), and Washington DC (2014). It has now

evolved as a biennial convening of the WCMP to

promote effective giving and forge strategic

partnerships for high-impact social investment.

Pakistan Wins 3G Excellence in Higher Education Award 2016

3G Excellence inHigher Education Award 2016

HIGHER EDUCATIONCOMMISSION, PAKISTAN

The National Final for Imagine Cup 2016 was

organized by the Higher Education Commission

(HEC) and Microsoft at the Commission Secretariat.

Dr. Arshad Ali, Executive Director HEC was chief

guest on the occasion. Mr. Nadeem A. Malik,

Country Head, Microsoft Pakistan and Mr. Anwar

Amjad, Director General (IT) HEC were also present.

Imagine Cup is a global student technology

programme and competition that provides

opportunities for students across all disciplines to

team up and use their creativity, passion and

knowledge of technology to create applications,

games and integrate solutions that can change the

way we live, work and play.

This year there were over 100 projects from

universities across the country. A total of 187

students participated in various kinds of projects

that have been broadly

p l a c e d i n G a m i n g ,

Innovation and World

Citizenship.

The contest in Innovation

was won by the team of

students from Comsats

Institute of Information

Techno logy, Sah iwa l

compris ing Ms. Nida

Karim, Mr. Sohaib Hanif

and Mr. Umairullah.

The team from National

University of Computer

and Emerging Sciences

( FA S T ) , F a i s a l a b a d

including Mr. Roger Nazir and Mr. Usman Khan

topped the World Citizenship category, while Mr.

Kasra Zunnayyer from University of Karachi won the

Gaming competition. The winner teams will

participate in world semi-finals going to be held

online.

HEC, Microsoft Organise National Final for Imagine Cup 2016

HEC has been working with Microsoft for the last

seven years to execute Imagine Cup in Pakistan and,

the participation in this competition has been

phenomenal. Over the last seven years, more than

1.65 million students from more than 190 countries

have participated in the Imagine Cup. Pakistan left

its mark on the competition as well, boasting a large

number of student registrations in Imagine Cup

over the past four years, with submission of more

than 500 projects.

S p e a k i n g o n t h e

occasion, Dr. Arshad Ali,

Executive Director, HEC

stressed the need for

increase in the number of

projects developed in

var ious par ts of the

country. He emphasized

that both Microsoft and

HEC should set targets

whi le evolving ideas

followed by a strong

strategy for effective

materialization of their

ideas . Reca l l ing the

Imagine Cup final 2008-

09 in Egypt in which he

participated as a judge, he said the activity is

developing spirit of competition among the youth.

The Country Head Microsoft lauded HEC’s support

for Microsoft and its commitment to promote

literacy of technology among the youth.

12

Mr. Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Member National

Assembly and Chairman Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami

Party (PMAP) and Senators Usman Khan Kakar and

Sardar Azam Musakhel from PMAP called on Prof.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman, Higher Education

Commission at HEC Secretariat. Issues pertaining

to universities in Balochistan province were

discussed during the meeting.

The Chairman briefed the visiting MPs about

various HEC initiatives for development of higher

education in the province, including different

scholarship and R&D opportunities available for

faculty members, researchers and students. He

informed the guests that the Federal Government

has planned to increase access and bring education

to the doorstep. The universities which have given

their consent to establish sub-campuses in

HEC Committed to Developing Higher Education Sector of Balochistan

different districts include University of Balochistan

at Pishin and Dera Murad Jamali, Lasbela University

at Wadh (Khuzdar), Sardar Bahadur Khan Women

University at Naushki, and Virtual University at

Dera Bugti, Harnai, Jhal Magsi, Killa Abdullah and

Ziarat.

He said that under faculty development initiative

for the universities, there are a total of 375 slots for

Balochistan, of which 188 scholarships have been

awarded and 63 scholars have completed their

studies. Under the human resource development

initiative, 1256 scholarships have been awarded

while 2494 are under process.

Similarly, a total of 2515 Need Based Scholarships

have also been provided to the students of

Balochistan since 2012.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and

Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan

(SECP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to

foster partnership for increasing awareness about

capital investment and encouraging youth towards

entrepreneurship through investor education.

Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman, HEC and Mr.

Zafar Ul Haq Hijazi, Chairman SECP signed the MoU

at a ceremony held at HEC Secretariat, Islamabad.

Prof. Dr. Arshad Ali, Executive Director HEC and

other members of senior management from both

HEC, SECP to Promote Investor Education among Youth

sides were also present. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said

that objective of this MoU is to put joint efforts for

raising financial literacy and inculcating saving and

13

A meeting of the joint committee of Pakistan-

France PERIDOT Research Programme (Phase-II)

was held at Higher Education Commission (HEC)

Secretariat, Islamabad and chaired by Prof. Dr.

Arshad Ali, Executive Director HEC.

The French team was led by Mr. André de Bussy,

Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs.

The Programme aims to develop new scientific and

technological cooperation between French and

Pakistani higher education institutions/research

laboratories by supporting the mobility of

researchers. It is being implemented in Pakistan by

HEC and in France by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

and International Development (MAEDI) and the

Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR).

Priority areas identified for 2016 are Health, Energy,

and Education.

9 Varsities Win Grant under Pakistan-France PERIDOT Programme

The Committee unanimously approved nine joint

research proposals for funding in three priority

areas. Pakistani universities that have won the grant

are University of Karachi, Balochistan University of

IT, Engineering and Management Sciences

(BUITEMS) Quetta, COMSATS Inst itute of

Information Technology (CIIT) Lahore, Hazara

University Mansehra, Mehran University of

Engineering and Technology (MUET) Jamshoro,

Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, University of

Education Lahore, FAST-NU Lahore, and Islamia

University, Bahawalpur

The meeting was also attended by Dr. Muhammad

Latif, Adviser (R&D) HEC, Mr. Alban Schwerer,

Scientific and Higher Education Cooperation

Attaché, Embassy of France, Ms. Noshaba Awais,

Director (R&D) HEC and Mr. Rehan Jamil, Assistant

Director (R&D) HEC.

investment culture particularly among university

students while building their financial capabilities.

He said the two sides will help equipping students

with skills and knowledge so as to make sagacious

financial decisions and managing risks.

Mr. Zafar Hijazi said though SECP has been

spreading awareness regarding capital investment

among youth but joint efforts with HEC will be more

e f f e c t i v e i n a t t r a c t i n g y o u t h t o w a r d s

entrepreneurial activities. He also briefed the

participants about increased interest of investors

owing to different SECP initiatives. It was agreed to

enhance outreach of SECP’s Jamapunji project, an

Investor Education Programme for students. Both

the institutions will coordinate with each other to

prepare curricula for graduate and postgraduate

students on Personal Financial Planning.

Faculty Development Programmes will be

organized wherein SECP will provide training to

university faculty on Investor Education who will

then cascade it among their colleagues and

students.

14

A delegation of the Republic of Maldives led by Mr.

Azleen Ahmed, Deputy Minister of Education

visited Higher Education Commission (HEC)

Secretariat and called on Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed,

Chairman HEC, Prof. Dr. Arshad Ali, Executive

Director HEC and other members of the senior

management.

The delegation included Dr. Mohammad Latheef,

Chancellor, Maldives National University, Dr. Ali

Fawaz Shareef, Vice Chancellor, Maldives National

University, and Ms. Fathimah Amira, Director

General of Higher Education.

Cooperation with Maldives Discussed

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC welcomed the

delegates and presented an overview of HEC’s

initiatives and achievements during last 13 years.

He explained how Government’s commitment to

develop higher education and a considerable

increase in funding has brought remarkable

changes in the sector.

The Maldivian Minister appreciated the hospitality

of Pakistani people and agreed that cooperation in

the field of education will play a key role in bringing

the government and people of the two countries

more closer to each other.

A delegation from Gambia, which was in Pakistan to thattend the 19 meeting of COMSATS Coordinating

Council, visited Higher Education Commission

(HEC) Secretariat and met Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed,

Chairman HEC.

The delegation, headed by Dr. Aboubacar Abdullah

Senghore, Minister for Higher Education, Research,

Science and Technology, Government of Gambia

also included Mr. Mucktarr. M. Y. Darboe and Mr.

Bakebba Jatta.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed welcomed the delegates and

presented an overview of HEC’s initiatives and

achievements during the last 13 years. He explained

how Government’s commitment to develop higher

education and a considerable increase in funding

has brought remarkable changes in the sector. The

Gambian Minister appreciated achievements of HEC

Gambia’s Minister Visits HEC

in the fields of research, HRD, and development of IT

facilities for higher education across the country,

and termed it a role model for the whole Muslim

world. He expressed his desire to collaborate with

HEC for developing their country’s higher

education.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed offered full cooperation and

support to assist the brotherly Muslim country.

15


Commission (HEC) has said that teachers are role

models for their students and are academic leaders

who play a vital role in development of future

generations.

“Unless our teacher and Imam perform their duty in

a responsible manner, we should not expect our

society to come out of social ills be it intolerance,

religious extremism, dishonesty or any other

problem,” the Chairman said this while speaking to th

participants of 27 Master Trainers-Faculty

Professional Development Programme organized

by Learning Innovation Division, HEC that

concluded at the Commission Secretariat on Friday.

Twenty-eight faculty members from 28 public and

private sector universities across Pakistan attended

the eight-week programme and were certified as

Master Trainers, who will conduct similar trainings

at their parent institutions.

“Pakistan does not only need best professionals in

different fields but also good human beings who

show empathy towards fellow humans and work in

a selfless manner, and that is only possible if our

th27 Faculty Development Programme ConcludesTeacher, Imam can bring much-needed behavioral change in society: Chairman HEC

teachers and religious opinion leaders feel their

responsibility and act accordingly,” Dr. Mukhtar

said.

Congratulating the participants on successful

completion of training, he said that HEC is

providing all possible opportunities to faculty

members and researchers to enrich their

knowledge and skills. “Whatever a teacher or a

university needs for professional development as

well as strengthening of institutions, HEC has been

putting all available resources to fulfill their

requirements. We are also thankful to the

Government for continuously increasing the

budget for higher education sector,” he said.

So far, 785 faculty members belonging to different

higher education institutions have benefitted from

Master Trainers-Faculty Professional Development

Programme in 27 batches. The programme has

been designed to equip teaching faculty with latest

pedagogical and research skills required for

effective teaching and research. It includes various

academic modules with additional sessions on

important social topics, with focus on enhancing

and enriching teaching abilities of participants.

16

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Law &

Justice Commission of Pakistan (LCP) have signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster a

partnership in increasing awareness among the

citizens about the rule of law and legal rights,

particularly focusing academia and the younger

generation.

Executive Director, HEC, Prof. Dr. Arshad Ali and

Secretary, Law & Justice Commission of Pakistan,

Mr. Mohammad Sarwar Khan signed the MoU at a

ceremony held at HEC Secretariat, Islamabad. Prof.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC, Prof. Dr.

Ghulam Raza Bhatti, Member Operations and

Planning HEC, Mr. Muhammad Raza Chohan,

Director General (Academics) and other members

of senior management from both sides were also

present.

The purpose of the agreement is to establish a

sustained and effective collaboration between the

two institutions to inform and promote academic

research on rule of law, develop and implement

curricula for degree courses and modules including

short courses to raise awareness among students in

particular and other citizens in general.

It also envisages law clinics initiative to support

enforcement of Rule of Law as part of law degree

activities. Both HEC and the LJCP will jointly hold

different activities such as art competitions, intra-

HEC Signs MoU with Law & Justice Commission

university debates, seminars, walks for promoting

the rule of law at all levels of the Pakistani society.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said

that objective of this MoU is to put joint efforts for

raising awareness on fundamental rights and how

to effectively implement the Rule of Law. He said the

two sides will help encouraging academia for a

proactive role and equipping students with skills

and knowledge so as to lead not their own life while

knowing the rights and abiding by the law but also

spread it among other citizens.

The Chairman said that with mutual consultation,

changes will be made in relevant curricula as well as

specific modules will be developed.

Mr. Mohammad Sarwar Khan said though Law and

Justice Commission has been spreading awareness

regarding Rule of Law among youth but joint efforts

with HEC will be more effective for their guidance

and training. “Our main objective is to ensure that

people know about their legal rights and also

realize importance of their engagement with the

State, and for this purpose youth can play a vital

role,” he said.

Dr. Arshad Ali said that citizens should also be

sensitized regarding their responsibilities because

only then a society can be shaped and developed

on true principles of justice.

17

Two young men carried their passion for

engineering from Pakistan to the US in the early

1970’s. They had no plan, only big dreams and lots

of ideas. Technology was only beginning to make its

impact and influence on the world and had they not

met when they did, this intriguing story would have

never taken place.

This is an abridged tale of a partnership that spans

over 34 years. The only thing Idris Kothri and Saeed

Kazmi had in common was acquiring education

from NED University Karachi.

The story of Idris and Saeed is not the usual one you

wi l l come across . Together they created

technologies and solutions, built companies,

developed teams, endured hardships and

ultimately experienced great success through

acquisitions and buyouts, several times. They

engineered concepts and products at the forefront

of technology innovation, usually much before their

time.

Idris Kothari

Idris is quite literally, a ‘kid’ from

the slums of Karachi, born

fourth among 11 children. Idris

did not realize how much

control he had over his destiny

until the kids at the popular

table at school were discussing

which family businesses each of them would be

running.

Idris topped in the BSc and got admission in NED.

After four years of studying at NED, he raised

funding from family, friends and community

members to go to the US for his Masters. He quit in

the middle of PhD program at Illinois Institute of

Technology while finding the US job market in its

worst slump. After doing a few odd jobs in

electronics for as little as $3/hour he landed in a real

engineering job and thought his life was set. Until

he met Saeed Kazmi and the roller-coaster ride

began.

Saeed Kazmi

The fact that Saeed Kazmi

worked at the Karachi Airport

a t n igh t wh i l e s tudy ing

Electrical Engineering at NED in

daytime speaks volumes about

the type of individual Saeed is.

He graduated from NED in

1973 and landed at Oregon State with only $300 in

his pocket and an attaché case to study Masters in

Microelectronics. Saeed moved to the Valley in 1976

when the semi-conductor revolution was just taking

off. Business was booming and he landed a job a

Monolithic Memories, a chip design company “I

quickly found out the engineering was not my

passion. Within a year, I changed my job function to

Marketing.”

Saeed was performing well in one of the first

technologies and marketing hybrid positions.

“Often the gap between what the company has

created and what the customer needs is where the

opportunity is.” Saeed started to focus on these

opportunities, which was how he discovered and

nurtured the idea of his own startup. He just needed

to find someone to collaborate with.

Startup with a Healthy Breakfast

The duo decided to ‘’do something’’. So, thirty four

years later, they are still business partners. They

brainstormed the fundamentals: how to set up a

potential business and what they needed. Both had

to keep their jobs in order to support themselves,

but they held great resolve to take this idea forward.

They opened up a bank account, deposited a few

hundred dollars each and got a business license.

Next, they needed a name for their company. “Since

I was the marketing guy, I put together all the

buzzwords I could think of and ‘Semi-Custom Logic’

or SLI was formed,”

In the early 80’s, SLI landed in its first defense

contract. The contractor needed a chip design that

needed to be used in Stinger missiles. “The

Duo of Pakistani Entrepreneurs Prove…

If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It

18

electronics made the missile too large to shoot and

needed the size to be drastically reduced and able

to run with low power batteries. CMOS technology

had just been introduced and could be used to

build the chip they needed. Idris designed the chip

and I did the selling.” Idris’s design combined 18

chips into one and customers loved the team,

making SLI money for the first time.

Saeed was already eyeing the manufacturing

prowess of Texas Instruments and the thousands of

chips they used to make with the help of the big

yellow reference book.

Since he had been exposed to Programmable Logic

at MMI, he realized that he could program one chip

to do the functions of all the chips that were making

the boards too big and bulky. He talked the idea

over with Idris and began

writing a business plan to

pitch to Vcs.

Both Idris and Saeed were

relatively new in the US and

had no clue what stereotypes

w e r e w r a p p e d a r o u n d

educational institution or VCs

for the matter. While raising

VC funding for their ideas was

proving to be difficult, they

ac tua l l y had cont inued

success with their consulting

business through SLI.

There was an Air Force Base

that wanted to set up their

Fab and invited SLI to come

and present. Recalls Saeed “Idris had no clue about

Fabs but knew that I had done my Masters in

Microelectronics so I know how to make chips,

albeit only in the lab. It was a million dollar project

and we got it.

Innovating Times

It was 1992 and the business partners went back to

focusing on the consultancy work that was ongoing

at SLI. They created the prototype of an electronic

book in 1992 called ‘Portabooks’ and the idea was

to put a book inside this mobile device with flat

screen and have some way of navigating through it.

“We started copying books into memory cards that

can be inserted into the Portabook.” Saeed and Idris

traveled to the East coast to pitch the idea to the

major publishers before they went to any VC.

A few years after Apple launched Newton, Saeed

felt the device was good, but not powerful enough

to replace a PC. He needed something that was in

between. As such, they designed a tablet and called

it Vista.

A few years down the line towards the start of the

communication revolution in 1991, Idris and Saeed

wanted to build and IP Telephony system and set up

a company specifically for that space and called it

VPNet.

Idris designed and built the

first Virtual Private Network

(VPN) product, securing that

Internet and VPNet raised $30

million in Venture Capital.

“We eventually sold VPNet to

Avaya for $ 180 million, who

does about $ 1.5-2 billion a

year now.

Saeed would interface with

customers and identify needs

and Idris would build. He

developed FreshStar t , a

technology that centres were

struggling with.

“Each time the computer

system would power cycle, it would produce a

brand new system which takes away common

issues such as hard drive corruption and viruses the

system that run FreshStart are virus-free.

Finally, a lot of ideas and concepts depend on skill,

timing and luck. Luck, timing and a clear vision --

these are three buzzwords you hear the most often

from entrepreneurs who have made it. However

one you get down to it, there are more unknowns

that need figuring out, than knowns.

19

Area Study Centre Far East and Southeast Asia,

University of Sindh, Jamshoro in collaboration with

Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad organised

one-day training workshop on “Research

Methodology”.

MPhil and PhD students of the Centre as well as

individuals from other disciplines attended the

workshop in a large number. The workshop was

facilitated by Dr. Andrea Fleschenberg, Cologne

University, Germany, Lars Bergmeyer, Director,

German Academic Exchange Office, Islamabad,

Omer Ali,Programme Manager Hanns Seidel

Foundation Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Dr. Muhammad

Siddique Kalhoro, Acting Vice Chancellor, University

of Sindh, Jamshoro observed that research should

be the top priority of a university. He said that the

very concept of a university would cease to exist if it

stopped generating new, valid, reliable and

authentic knowledge. Dr. Kalhoro insisted that the

seminal job of higher education institution was to

SU Workshop on Research Methodology create wisdom, solutions to social problems and to

upgrade the quality of life of masses. All the three

goals, he argued, would not be achieved without

genuine research.

Dr. Fleschenberg maintained that she had been

actively involved in several research projects across

the globe since the last nine years. She said that the

concepts ad methods of research remained in a

constant flux, hence, they all as researchers, needed

to re-acclimatise themselves with those changing

patterns. She further asserted that it would be

erroneous to conceive research as a smooth ride.

For, research involved a number of risks, political

constraints and several other obstacles, she said.

Yet, she opined that the researchers all over the

world, including her, had not only ironed out such

hiccups and hobnobs, but had also successfully

prevailed over them.

Mr. Lars Bergmeyer, Director, German Academic

Exchange Office, Islamabad and Mr. Bergmeyer also

spoke on the occasion.

Nasha Bin Rodziadi has become the first Malaysian

scholar to have completed his PhD in Archaeology

from the University of Peshawar.

The scholar was admitted in the PhD programme

under an agreement signed by the University Sains

Malaysia and the University of Peshawar few years

ago. The topic of the scholar was about the detailed

study and analysis of inscription found in the

Gandhara region for which the scholar collected

material from all the museums in Pakistan.

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Rasul Jan, Vice Chancellor, UoP

conferred the doctorate degree upon the scholar in

a ceremony held at the university.

Speaking on this occasion, he said the doors of

university are open to the foreigner scholars. He

lamented that the intake of foreign students in the

university has decreased due to prevailing security

First Foreigner Scholar Completes PhD from UoP

situation, but special exchange programmes have

been initiated with foreign universities to overcome

the issue. He informed that UniversitiSains Malaysia

was interested in enhancing collaboration with the

UoP in the fields of Disaster Management, and

Peace and Conflict Studies.

20

Engr. Muhammad Ismail, Consultant Quality

Assurance, HEC has won the Asia Pacific Quality

Network (APQN) Quality Champions Award-2016.

The award ceremony was held at Nadi, Fiji. APQN is

a n e t w o r k o f 1 6 6 q u a l i t y a s s u r a n c e

a g e n c i e s / o r g a n i z a t i o n s w i t h

ins t i tu t iona l members f rom 38

countries. It aims to enhance the quality

of higher education in Asia and the

Pacific region by building capacity of

quality assurance agencies. APQN

confers awards annually on outstanding

individuals , inst i tut ions and QA

agencies on the recommendations of an

international jury in four different

categories.

The APQN Quality Champions Award is set up for

the individuals who have made outstanding

contributions to promoting quality and excellence

of higher education and recognized nationally and

internationally in their research achievements or

leadership of Quality Assurance activities.

On w inn ing the honour, APQN

congratulated Muhammad Ismail for his

remarkable contr ibut ion to the

knowledge and practice of Quality

Assurance and for championing APQN’s

cause of quality.

Riphah International University has also

won APQN Quality Award 2016 in the

category of Model Internal QA Award.

APQN Quality Champions Award Conferred

Following the decision of the Syndicate of Quaid-e-

Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, the Higher

Education Commission (HEC) facilitated the

meeting of the committee to review the Tenure

Track Statutes version 2.0 of QAU viz-a-viz the HEC

Model Tenure Track Statues 2.0.

The Committee comprises Ms. Mehreen Anwar

Raja, Ex-MNA, Dr. Sohail H. Naqvi, Vice Chancellor,

LUMS, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Rajput, Ex-VC MUET

Jamshoro, Major General Zahid Hamid, AFPGMI,

Rawalpindi, Dr. Wasim Ahmad, Dean Biological

Sciences, QAU and Mr. Muhammad Ismail,

Consultant QA HEC. Dr Sohail H. Naqvi participated

in the meeting through video conferencing while

Major General Zahid Hamid could not attend the

Committee Reviews QAU TT Statutesmeeting due to other commitments. During the

course of meeting, Mr. Ismail presented a

comparative of the two statutes highlighting the

points of agreements and differences.

Dr. Sohail Naqvi shared a quick overview of the

Model Tenure Track and analys is of the

comparative. He expressed that most of the

differences are minor and there are only a few

points which need to be deliberated on by the

committee to reach a conclusion. The Committee

decided that Dean QAU and Consultant QA HEC

should discuss the points of difference and try to

reach a consensus wherever possible and present

the left over points of difference before the

committee.

21

A seminar on “Linkages between Engineering

Research and Entrepreneurship", a part of the

seminars on the topic, was held recently at the US-

Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Water

(USPCAS-W), Mehran University of Engineering and

Technology (MUET), Jamshoro.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Shahid Qureshi,

Programme Director, Institute of Business

Administration (IBA), Karachi emphasized the

significance of entrepreneurship and said that

entrepreneurs need to work with a passion as it is an

important factor.

He said that starting a small business at the

community level and then expanding it to the

country and global level is a key to successful

Seminar Explores Linkages between Engineering Research, Entrepreneurship

e n t re p re n e u r s h i p . H e m a i n t a i n e d t h a t

entrepreneurship is also a social service, as it

benefits masses at large.

On this occasion, Mr. Ghulam Mustafa and Dr.

Rizwan Ahmed, entrepreneurs from NED University

also shared their experiences of entrepreneurship.

Similarly, students of USPCAS-W also shared their

experiences and participated in a question and

answer session.

Dr. Bakshal Khan Lashari, Project Director said that

this water research centre is trying its best to achieve

the targets and goals set in partnership with the

University of Utah, USA. He said the United States

Agency for International Development (USAID) is

fully supporting the centre.

As many as 50 national and multinational

companies participated in a two-day ‘Open House

and Career Fair’ of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of

Engineering Sciences and Technology.

Mr. Pervez Khattak , Chief Minister, Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa was chief guest during the inaugural

session while Mr. Asad Qaisar, Speaker KPK

Assembly, also graced the event. Mr. Khattak

inspected the projects of final-year students

belonging to different disciplines of engineering

education. He also inaugurated Hostel-11 at the

institute.

50 Firms Participate in GIK Institute’s Open HouseEngr. ShamsulMulk, President, Society for the

Promot ion of Engineer ing Sc iences and

Technology in Pakistan said that the students have

been trained in GIK Institute to face the emerging

challenges and play their due role in the country’s

progress.

Jehangir Bashar, Rector, GIK Institute said the Open

House brings together senior representatives from

industry and research organizations once a year,

which is a very positive step. Prof. Dr. Javed A.

Chattha, Pro-Rector (Academic) and others also

spoke on the occasion.

22

The Government College University (GCU) Nano-

Chemistry Laboratory made an unprecedented

achievement by getting another US patent on

“Drug Entrapment Efficiency and Sustained Drug

Release of Chloramphenicol Loaded Polymeric-iron

Nanoparticles” in the field of applied research.

The patent in the field of nano-technology is the

result of research done by the group of scientists

under the supervision of Dr. Muhammad Akhyar

Farrukh.

Chloramphenicol is an antibiotic useful for the

treatment of a number of bacterial infections. It is a

bacter iostat ic . The original indicat ion of

chloramphenicol was in the treatment of typhoid

fever, treatment of tetracycline-resistant cholera.

The formulation of chloramphenicol loaded

polymeric-iron composite with the nanosize

increases its activity for the treatment of infections.

This research work yields nanocomposite which

enable targeted delivery of antibiotic. Antibacterial

activity of chloramphenicol loaded polymeric-iron

nanocomposite was found more extensive than the

GCU Lab Wins US Patent in Nano-technologyc o m m e r c i a l l y a v a i l a b l e

chloramphenicol eye drops and

showed a maximum of drug

entrapment efficiency (DEE) in 48 h

exhibiting sustained release of

drug. This research work harvests

nanocomposite which enable

sustained release and targeted delivery of

antibiotics as well as to cover deficiency of iron.

Iron nanoparticles of magnetic nature are suitable

candidates for sustained and/or prolonged drug

delivery. Iron magnetic nanoparticles loaded with

drug enhances the effect of drug tremendously in

drug delivery. Chloramphenicol is used for

treatment of eye and ear infections and typhoid

fever, but this drug has poor bioavailability when

given orally due to its poor solubility in the

gastrointestinal tract and its early degradation.

T h e s e i s s u e s c a n b e s o l v e d b y g i v i n g

Chloramphenicol loaded polymeric-iron drug orally

which is produced by the scientists of Nano-

Chemistry Lab, GC University Lahore.

The Centre of Excellence in Art & Design (CEAD),

Mehran University of Engineering & Technology st(MUET), Jamshoro organized the 1 International

Watercolour Biennale “Pearls of Peace” in

collaboration with the International Watercolor

Society (IWS), Pakistan and IWS-Globe.

The Biennale, which included an exhibition, award

ceremony, visits of historical places, preparation of a

20-meter long painting, and music with several

other segments, was inaugurated by Prof. Dr.

Muhammad Aslam Uqaili, Vice Chancellor MUET.

The Biennale included the paintings of 189

renowned artists of the world from 38 different

countries such as USA, Canada, Argentine, Brazil,

Mexico, Peru, UK, Russia, Sweden, Italy, Greece,

Spain, Belgium, Brussels, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Turkey,

India, Egypt, Ghana, China, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq,

Malaysia, Poland and others, whereas the artists

from Canada, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, Iran, Iraq,

CEAD MUET holds Biennale ‘Pearls of Peace’

Bulgaria and Pakistan personally witnessed the

Biennale.

In the award ceremony the “Life Time Achievement

Awards”, “Hardship Awards”, “Honourable Awards”

and “Pioneers Awards” were given away to the

participants.

23

The prototype-showcasing session and closing

award ceremony of Finding Innovative & Creative

Solutions for Society (FICS-NUST 2016), a platform

to foster social entrepreneurship, was held at

National University of Sciences & Technology

(NUST).

Dr. Shahid Mahmud, CEO Interactive Group of

Companies (IAG), was the chief guest on the

occasion. During the course of technology-based

event, the hard working and erudite young minds,

who had previously passed the first two stages of

this challenging competition, presented the

prototypes of their projects to the panel of

esteemed Industry judges. The jury, after a

thorough evaluation of entries, announced the

winners of the competition.

A team from SEECS-NUST won the competition for

their project ‘TAME’ in the category of ‘Biomedical

Engineering’. They were awarded a cash prize of Rs.

150,000 sponsored by Rastgar Engineering. The

special prize of Rs. 150,000 went to the talented

students from National Textile University (NTU) for

their project in the special category of ‘Counter

Terrorism’ named ‘STOP BULLET’. The 1st runner-up

team was from SEECS for their project ‘GAPS’ in the

category of ‘Healthcare’ and was awarded a cash ndprize of Rs. 100,000, sponsored by PlumGrid. The 2

runner-up was also a team from SEECS for their

project ‘sIONser’ in the category of ‘Environment’

which was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 75,000. The

consolation prize of Rs. 50,000, jointly sponsored by

IAG and Alfoze Technologies, was awarded to the

project MDVPL in the category of ‘Education’ to the

team from MCS-NUST.

Extending felicitations to the winners and runner-

ups of FICS 2016, the chief guest appreciated

students into playing their part in presenting

innovative ideas. He said that academia as well as

industry should focus their research on areas

pertinent to the needs and requirements of the

communities around. He termed FICS 2016 a great

success for generating around 250 new ideas.

All the participating teams were also given a

prototype development fund sponsored by

Industry partners like; Crescent Steel & Allied

Products (Pvt.) Ltd & Telenor Velocity.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Arshad Ali, Executive

Director HEC, congratulated the participants who

were able to materialize their useful ideas. He

maintained that he wanted FICS NUST to become a

countrywide event.

IAG also announced commercialization of the idea

‘Antibiotic Intelligence’ presented by the students of

ASAB NUST.

Winners of FICS NUST 2016 Announced

Entrepreneurial Challenge Generates 250 Innovative Ideas

24

Over the past few years, energy crisis has cost

Pakistan up to four per cent of GDP downfall.

Closure of hundreds of factories, paralyzed

production and increased unemployment are the

worst effects of the energy crisis and these factors

have made energy one the most critical challenges

for Pakistan.

The launch of U.S.-Pakistan Centre for Advanced

Studies in Energy at National University of Sciences

and Technology (USPCAS-E) project by USAID in

collaboration with Higher Education Commission

(HEC) and Arizona State University (ASU), is an effort

to fulfil this national need.

Indigenous Research, Training to Uplift Power Sector

Mr. Akif Zia Khan, faculty member at USPCAS-E,

NUST visited Arizona State University (ASU) from

Jan – Mar 2016 for this purpose and held a series of

meetings on curriculum, lab equipment and applied

research projects with peer faculty and fellow

researchers in Power Systems Research Centre

(PSERC) at ASU.

During his stay at ASU, the collaborative work with

Dr. George Karaday of PSERC played an

instrumental role in the development of curriculum

and power hardware in the loop smart grids

laboratory for Electrical Energy Engineering

Programme at USPCAS-E at National University of

Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan. The

participation in different technical workshops and

events hosted by the IEEE PES Chapter at ASU

resulted in extraordinary capacity building of the

faculty under this exchange programme and

became a true reason of replication of teaching and

experimental facilities.

M e a n w h i l e , D r.

N a s e e m I q b a l ,

Assistant Professor

a t U S P C A S - E ,

NUST, specialized

in the area of fuel

cells technology; in

the area of catalysis

particularly visited

A S U u n d e r t h e

similar exchange

programme and

worked in the Fuel

Cell research group

at the Polytechnic

School, ASU. The

supervis ion was

provided by Prof. A. M. Kannan, a renowned expert

in Fuel Cell technology at ASU.

“The main bottle neck in the Fuel Cell development

is the Pt loading on catalyst which increases the

overall cost for this technology. I developed a

process to lower the Pt loading on electrocatalyst

for PEMFC. This contribution will help the industry

in lowering the cost of Fuel Cell”, stated Dr. Naseem

Iqbal. On the basis of these studies, a feasibility

analysis was conducted in collaboration with

Hyundai Motors Group for the development of

novel electrocatalyst with ultra-low Pt loading for

Fuel cell vehicles.

During the Exchange Programme with ASU, a

detailed research collaboration was formed which

helped the other faculty at USPCAS-E in building a

strong research collaboration with ASU faculty

working in different areas of Energy and executed

different research projects.

Some of the major projects to benefit energy

resources of Pakistan were PEM Fuel, hydrogen

storage materials, batteries fabrication and testing

for efficient energy storage and electrochemical

reduction of CO for improved environment and 2

converting CO into useful chemicals.2

25

The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences

(UVAS), Lahore in collaboration with the Higher

Education Commission (HEC) organized a meeting

on Academia-Stakeholders Linkages for Livestock

Sector Development to critically analyze the current

scenario and formulate a strategy for future

development.

Prof. Dr. Arshad Ali, Executive Director, HEC chaired

the meeting while Prof. Talat Naseer Pasha, Vice

Chancellor, UVAS, Prof. Dr. Fazal Ahmad Khalid, Vice

Chancellor, University of Engineering and

Technology, Mr. Nasim Sadiq, Secretary Livestock

and Dairy Development, Punjab, Rai Mansab Ali

Kharal, President, Pakistan Poultry Association

North Zone, representatives of FAST and Punjab IT

Board as well as people from livestock, dairy and

poultry industry were also present on the occasion.

The participants had a thorough discussion on

innovative ideas, need for investment in the

livestock sector, academic collaboration and

commercialisation of research for development of

dairy, livestock and poultry sectors.

Speaking on the occasion, the Executive Director,

HEC, said that HEC accords high priority to the

HEC, UVAS to hold Livestock Entrepreneurship Competition for Farmers

development of livestock sector in the country as it

is vital for food security. He announced that the HEC

and UVAS wi l l jo int ly launch a l ivestock

entrepreneurship competition. He said that the

Punjab IT Board in collaboration with the HEC, UVAS

and Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development

Department will also launch a mobile App for

education and awareness of farmers.

Dr. Arshad Ali also gave a presentation on “What

makes universities attractive as industry partners”

and threw light on the role of universities in national st

development in the 21 century, their role in

knowledge and economic growth and key lessons

for university-industry partnerships. He said the

HEC will promote university-industry partnerships

for socio-economic development of the country.

Vice Chancellor, UVAS, Prof. Talat Naseer Pasha said

that the UVAS in close collaboration with industry is

working for the development of livestock, dairy and

poultr y sectors through human resource

development, applied research, community

services and extension programmes. Dr. Abdul

Karim Bhatti and Mr. Faisal Fareed made

presentations on the current situation and

challenges in poultry and dairy sectors, respectively.

Dr. Nadia Agha resumed her job at Shah Abdul Latif

University, Khairpur after completing her PhD in

Women’s Studies from University of York, England.

She is associated with the Department of Sociology,

SALU and was awarded PhD scholarship under the

Faculty Development Programme by HEC.

During her stay in England, she presented her work

in four different conferences and attended a

residential course on teaching and learning. She

also worked as academic tutor under York

University’s Realising Opportunities and Widening

Participation Programme in

which she mentored college

students in their research

projects. Her disser tation

focused on the kinship system

in rural Pakistan and women’s

position in it.

Based on her findings, she has written several

newspaper articles. Recently, her research paper

titled ‘Kinship in rural Pakistan: consanguineous

marriages and their implications for women’ was

published in Women’s Studies International Forum.

HEC Scholar Completes PhD in Women’s Studies

26

The first convocation of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto

University (SBBU), Shaheed Benazirabad was

recently held in which 41 students were awarded

Bachelors and Masters degrees in different fields.


Commission, Mr. Arshad Saleem, Vice Chancellor,

Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University and other

renowned academicians congratulated the new

graduates on the occasion.

A large number of students, their parents and

teachers attended the event. Maheen Ali from

Business Department snatched a gold medal. Three

silver medals were awarded to position holders

including Muhammad Tahir Ali from English

Department, Summaira Qazi in Education, and Miss

stSBBU’s 1 ConvocationSaba, also in Education. Sanam Brohi won second

position in BBA, while Muhammad Ali, Rabail Niaz,

and Ghulam Murtaza also won second positions in

English, Education and B.Ed.

Merit certificates were awarded to the second

position holders. The third position was clinched by

four students including Aiman Israr in BBA, Waseem

Ahmed in English, Tooba Gul Khan in M.Ed) and Ms

Mehwish in B.Ed.

As many as 19 students of the School of Bachelors in

Business Administration, four students of BS

English, four students of Bachelors in Education,

four students of Masters in Education, and 10

students of Masters in Business Education were

awarded degrees in the first convocation.

thBahria University holds 15 Convocation

27

As many as 406 students were awarded degrees in

various disciplines at the fifteenth convocation of

Bahria University, Islamabad held recently.

President Mamnoon Hussain, Admiral Muhammad

Zakaullah, Chief of Naval Staff, and Tanveer Faiz,

Rector, BU graced the occasion with their presence

and conferred degrees upon the graduating

students. Students were also honoured with gold

and s i lver medals for the i r outstanding

achievements in their academic career.

Mr. Mamnoon Hussain awarded 20 gold medals

and 18 silver medals to students, who won top

positions in their respective departments.

Speaking on the occasion, President Mamnoon

Hussain congratulated the students and their

parents on their splendid success and said that

universities and institutions have gained significant

importance by imparting education and fostering

competencies to make productive citizens of

Pakistan. He said Bahria University is taking

necessary initiatives required to enhance

educational research activities.

Scholarly research work and other forms of creative

endeavours are essential for sustained intellectual

growth of any higher education institution. He said

it is a matter of satisfaction and encouragement for

all that universities are effectively contributing to

building human resource of the country.

Earlier in his welcome address, Tanveer Faiz, Rector,

Bahria University, wished the students a prosperous

future. He said that higher education has now

become a tool of economic growth and universities

have great responsibility of producing quality

graduates who could contribute to various fields

and to economic growth of the country.

thThe 7 Convocation of Virtual University of Pakistan

was held in different cities of the country including

Sialkot, Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Faisalabad and

Islamabad in order to facilitate students. A total of

1500 students were conferred degrees on their

successful completion of various graduate degree

programmes. Nine gold medals and 24 merit

certificates were also awarded to outstanding

graduates.

President Mamnoon Hussain graced the occasion

as chief guest while the audience included parents,

members of faculty, and eminent personalities from

academia, corporate and public sector.

thVU 7 Convocation Ceremonies

held across PakistanDr. Mukhtar Ahmed Chairman, HEC and Mr. Rizwan

Bashir Khan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of

Information Technology were also present on the

occasion. Addressing the audience on this

auspicious occasion, Dr. Naveed A. Malik, Rector, VU

highlighted the achievements of VU, its role to

impart education online even to the remotest areas

of the country.

Addressing the participants, President Mamnoon

Hussain stressed the need for working honestly and

with dedication to make the country a true

realization of the vision of Quaid-e-Azam and

Allama Iqbal.

Sindh Agriculture University (SAU), Tandojam

conferred degrees upon 598 candidates in addition

to award of 45 medals to top scoring students

during its ninth convocation.

Mr. Nisar Khuhro, Senior Minister for Education and

Literacy presided over the event and praised the

SAU VC and his team for working on research

development mainly in environment, water and

nutrition. The Minister said that environmental

safety in present time is a must to avoid disastrous

SAU Confers 598 Degrees impacts on agriculture, human health and other

resources. He said the Sindh is immensely

contributing to food production through

agriculture. He said these graduates are a ray of

hope for the nation facing a number of challenges.

Dr. Mujeebuddin Sehrai, VC, SAU shared the

contribution of SAU in agriculture, banking,

financial institutes, livestock, corporate sector and

other relevant fields. He said over one dozen

projects are in the pipeline.

1500 SSUET Students Awarded DegreesSir Syed University of Engineering and Technology

th(SSUET) organized its 19 convocation, which was

attended by a large number of educationists,

scholars and dignitaries including faculty and

students.

On this auspicious occasion, more than 1500

degrees were distributed among the graduates of

BS and MS programmes.

In his address, Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman,

Higher Education Commission (HEC), who was the

chief guest on this occasion, advised the students

that “graduation is the beginning of your

professional life. While you prepare to enter

practical phase of your career, never forget that a

large segment of our society is deprived of the basic

amenities of life and facing hardship. Do try to help

mankind. Do further strengthen the name and

image of your university and bring honour to the

nation.”

Mr. Jawaid Anwar, Chancellor, SSUET, Prof. Dr. Syed

Jawaid Hasan Rizvi, Vice Chancellor, SSUET, Syed

Sarfraz Ali, Registrar, SSUET and other notables also

spoke on this occasion.

28

The Foundation University Medical College

organised Convocation 2016 in which as many as

115 MBBS graduates were awarded degrees.

President, Foundation University, Islamabad (FUI),

Khalid Nawaz Khan was the chief guest while Rector,

FUI, Khadim Hussain and Director, FUI, Dr. Akhtar

Waheed, were also present on the occasion. The

chief guest also awarded six gold medals, five silver

medals, 11 distinction certificates and 43 merit

certificates. The award for best graduating student

was clinched by Ramlah Ghazanfar. Cash prize was

also awarded to the best graduating student.

In his welcome address, the Rector, FUI, highlighted

the progress and academic excellence FUI has

achieved in the past years. Regarding the 750-bed

Fauji Foundation Hospital, a teaching hospital of

FUMC, with state-of-the-art facilities can be

compared with any other modern hospital of

international repute.

FU Convocation for Medical College Graduates

The chief guest said that since its inception, the FUI

has been making progress at a remarkable pace. He

said the rapid progress made in undergraduate and

post graduate studies in health sciences by the FUI

is commendable. “We as individuals must focus on

the national goals of eliminating diseases and

poverty. A positive attitude creates positive

energies leading to high productivity, team work,

passion and optimism. We all must strive to be

innovative and dynamic citizens,” he concluded.

257 FUI Students Receive Degrees in Various Disciplines

Director FU, Rawalpindi campus, were also present

on the occasion.

The MD FFBL conferred degrees upon the

graduates. He awarded eight gold medals, sever

silver medals, six distinction certificates and 15

merit certificates. The award for best graduating

student was clinched by Salman Farooq, who was

also given a cash prize.

In his welcome address, Rector FUI said that he

expects the FUI graduates to possess high

professional competence coupled with humanistic

and moral qualities.

The chief guest said that the new graduates are

blessed to have an opportunity to utilize their

knowledge to serve the country. He lauded the

concerted efforts of the Rector, Deans, Faculty and

the entire management of FUI to improve the

quality of education, teaching and learning.

Foundation University Islamabad (FUI) organized

Convocation 2016 for the graduates of Humanities

and Liberal Arts, Engineering and IT disciplines,

wherein as many as 257 students were awarded

degrees.

Mr. Muhammad Haroon Aslam, Chief Executive and

Managing Director, Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim

Limited (FFBL) was the chief guest, while Mr. Khadim

Hussain, Rector FUI and Dr. Akhtar Nawaz Malik,

29

A large number of students were awarded degrees th in different disciplines during the 8 convocation of

Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU), Khairpur

recently held at the university.

The students included six PhDs, 40 MS and MPhil

students, 110 LLB graduates, 10 ADEs, 561 BA, BSc,

B. Com, BS, BBA and B. Ed students along with 373

MA, MSc, M. Com and M. Ed graduates. Eleven gold

and 115 silver medals were also given away to the

students.

Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Chief Minister Sindh was the

chief guest on this occasion, while Prof. Dr. Mukhtar

Ahmed, Chairman, Higher Education Commission,

Islamabad was the guest of honour.

Speaking on this occasion as chief guest Syed Qaim

Ali Shah congratulated the graduating students and

appreciated the university’s achievements. He also

admired the international entities like USAID for

their support to development of higher education

sector in the country.

Mr. Shah announced that each district will have a

university during the next two years. He said the

government is paying due attention to the

promotion of higher education in the province. He

urged the degree recipients to prepare themselves

for challenges prevailing in the society and serve

th 8 SALU Convocation

CM Sindh Urges Youth to Fight against Social Ills

the country’s people. He said Sindh is rich in

resources which need to be explored and utilized

for the country’s well-being.

In his address, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said that the

Higher Education Commission, Islamabad is playing

vital role for promotion of higher education and

research. He said ensuring quality and good

governance in the country’s higher education

institutions is the top priority of HEC, adding that it

is also concentrating on equitable access to

education for the students of far-flung areas.

Dr. Mukhtar said that 178 public and private sector

universities are providing higher education and

research facilities to students countrywide. He

elaborated that more than 1200 publications are

included in Gold Star Category. He said that the

welfare of society lies in provision of quality higher

education and research opportunities, and this

should be the main objective of universities.

Institute of Business Management, Karachi is thplanning to hold 10 Mathematics, Computer

Science, Statistics (MCS-10) Conference on Data th thScience on 29 and 30 October 2016.

The conference will be held for two days as per the

requirement of Higher Education Commission. The

IoBM has so far organised a series of nine colloquia

in Mathematics on Optimisation (2007), Simulation

(2008), Financial Mathematics (2009), Risk

Management (2010), Forecasting (2011), Risk

Forecasting (2012), Stochastic Modeling and Data

Analysis (2013), BIG Data Innovation (2014) and Big

Data Analytics and Business Intelligence ( 2015) .

The conferences were largely attended by experts

from various academic institutions and industry.

IoBM to hold MCS-10 in October

30

Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied

Sciences (PIEAS) organized its ninth convocation in

which as many as 561 students were awarded

degrees in various disciplines.

Mr. Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning,

Development and Reforms was the chief guest on

the occasion. He conferred degrees upon the

successful candidates of PhD, MS, and BS in the

disciplines of Nuclear Engineering, Systems

Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical

Engineering, Nuclear Medicine, Radiation and

Medical Oncology, Medical Physics, Physics,

Materials Engineering and Process Engineering. The

outstanding graduates who received degrees and

awards included 27 PhDs, 437 Masters and 97 BS.

Around 11 gold medals, 34 merit certificates and 32

certificates of appreciation were also awarded.

Speaking to the gathering of scholars, intellectuals

and scientists, the minister lauded the research

output and quality of education at PIEAS. He urged

the graduating scholars to look around for positivity

and try to strengthen the scientific knowledge base

of the country. He urged them to materialize all their

energies for the development of Pakistan. He

emphasized the importance of applied research in

the country and said the world has identified the

key areas of development in the fields of IT &

Te lecom, robot ics , man-made mater ia ls ,

biotechnology, chemical processing, and

sustainable energy. By adopting modern

techniques in research, universities can play a major

role to develop a modern society.

In his welcome address, Muhammad Naeem,

Chairman, PAEC thanked the Federal Minister for his

presence and briefed the audience about the

culture of merit that is the hallmark of PAEC.

Earlier, Rector PIEAS told the audience that PIEAS

acquired degree awarding status in year 2000 and

within a short period of six years it was ranked high

as engineering institution of Pakistan.

thPIEAS Awards 561 Degrees in 9 Convocation

thThe 13 convocation ceremony of Pakistan Air

Force-Karachi Institute of Economics & Technology

[PAF-KEIT] was recently held at PAF Base Faisal,

Karachi.

A total of 569 graduates were conferred degrees in

the disciplines of Management Sciences, Computer

Sciences and Engineering. The College of

Management Sciences awarded 41 degrees in BBA,

seven in BS-AF, 171 in MBA and seven in MS-MS

degree programmes.

The College of Computing and Information

Sciences awarded 60 degrees in BSCS, 18 in BS-ERP,

569 Degrees Awarded thin 13 PAF-KEIT Convocation

28 in MCS, 5 in MBA-MIS, 16 in MS-CS, 7 in MS-EE,

19 degrees were awarded to BCA and 7 to MCA

graduates. Furthermore, the College of Engineering

awarded 183 degrees to the graduates of BE

Electronics degree programme.

Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan, Governor, Sindh was the

chief guest on the occasion. He awarded gold and

silver medals to distinguished students. He

emphasized the importance of higher education

and the significance of research and development

in the progress of a country. Chief of the Air Staff, Air

Chief Marshal Sohail Aman was also present on the

occasion as the guest of honour.

31

The European Union is providing considerable

funds to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for

uplift projects in education, especially construction

of schools destroyed due to terrorist acts.

This was stated by Mr. Jean-Francois Cautain,

Ambassador of European Union to Pakistan in the

one day seminar on the relations between EU and

Pakistan at the University of Peshawar.

Vice Chancellor UoP Prof. Dr. Muhammad Rasul Jan

Pakistan-EU Relations Creating Opportunities for Youth

and Dean Faculty of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Adnan

Sarwar Khan also spoke on the topic. The

Ambassador said that 28 countries are actively

donating funds for development in the world. He

added that 100 scholarships are being offered to

the Pakistani students in various EU countries.

Responding to a question, the Ambassador said

that the EU was willing to play its role in resolving

the Kashmir issue.

Dr. Sonia Tariq, faculty of Marine Sciences, Lasbela

University of Agriculture, Water and Marine

Sciences (LUAWMS), Uthal, Balochistan has

successfully completed her PhD from the University

of East Anglia, London.

She developed optical PH sensors for Marine

Sediments during her PhD. Her research work

included PH vs depth profiles of Marine sediments.

She has rejoined LUAWMS.

Dr. Jalal Faiz, faculty of Education, LUAWMS has

completed his PhD from the University of

Westminster, London in the field of the International

Development, Education Policies, Textbooks and

Curriculum. Mr. Jalal Faiz rejoined Lasbela University

after completion of his PhD. Dr. Ghulam Khaliq,

faculty of Agriculture, LUAWMS, has successfully

HEC Scholars Complete PhD, Rejoin LUAWMScompleted his PhD from the University of Putra,

Malaysia in agriculture with specialization in

horticulture. He has rejoined the university a few

months back.

Dr. Khalid Khan has recently rejoined Lasbela

University of Agriculture, Water and Marine

Sciences (LUAWMS) after successful completion of

his PhD in Quantitative Economics (Econometrics)

from Huazhong University of Sciences and

Technology (HUST), Wuhan, P. R. China under the

Faculty Development Programme. The main focus

of his research was Macroeconomics Modeling with

his thesis entitled “Essays on Consumption

Hypotheses”. During his PhD studies, he published

three research papers in international peer

reviewed journals. Presently, he is working as

Assistant Professor at LUAWMS.

32

Lack of professionalism, downfall of ethical values in

the society and malpractices are leading causes of

deteriorating circumstances of the nation.

Speakers said this at a seminar on professionalism

organized by Faculty of Agriculture Engineering and

Technology at the University of Agriculture,

Faisalabad. The session was co-chaired by

Chairman, Higher Education Commission, Dr.

Mukhtar Ahmed and Chairman, Pakistan

Engineering Council, Engr. Jawed Salim Qureshi.

Engr. Jawed Salim Qureshi said that excellence,

honesty, humanity, and accountability are the

integral parts of professionalism. In the past,

teachers used to train students about the social

aspects and humanity after the classes timing also.

Now, the segment has gone missing from our

educational institutions paving the way for a serious

threat of manpower sans moral values.

He also stressed upon the need to change the

mindset of students to make them hardworking,

loyal and target-oriented to achieve the goals in life.

He was of the view that the social aspect was

missing from the professional educations. He said

that the PEC was introducing credit hours courses in

the syllabus of engineering. He said that Korea in

the 1960s adopted Pakistan's five year development

plan and now it has emerged as one of leading

nations in the world.

Promoting Professionalism and MoralityDr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman, HEC urged teachers

and religious leaders to play their role in inculcating

ethics and morality in the country's youth. He said

that teachers can refurbish the skills of students and

illuminate their heart with the light of humanism.

He said that Islam is a complete code of conduct

which guides in all fields of life. He said that the west

adopted our golden principles and made

remarkable progress.

He said that Muslim constitutes need to work hard

to keep pace with the world in sciences and

technology. He said that the Muslims need to recall

their history as some centuries ago, the Muslim

states were the hubs of knowledge. He said the HEC

is making all-out efforts to provide quality

education and research opportunities. "But we care

if a research does not address the problems of the

society or industry, it is useless", he stressed.

Prof. Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Vice Chancellor, UAF,

said it is a matter of concern that the hefty public

money is spent on the education of doctors,

engineers and science students, but they prefer to

settle abroad rather than serving Pakistan.

He observed that the country is blessed with

immense talent which needs to be put on the right

track for the development and prosperity of the

country.

33

The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences

(UVAS), Lahore and Tetra Pak, Pakistan signed a

Memorandum of Understanding to jointly conduct

a milk adulteration survey.

Executive Director, HEC, Prof. Dr. Arshad Ali was

also present during the MoU-signing ceremony.

Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr Talat Naseer Pasha and

Marketing Director, Tetra Pak, Assad Abbas signed

the MoU. Speaking on the occasion, the Vice

Milk Adulteration SurveyChancellor said that milk adulteration survey will

be a step forward towards ensuring supply of pure

milk to consumers.

He said that under the MoU, the university will

depute its research students and scholars through

its Centre for Applied Policy and Research in

Livestock (CAPRIL) and will provide adulterant kits

and refills, pipettes, test tubes, test tube stands

and tongs for the survey. The Tetra Pak will

arrange the field visits of the appointed team.

The first Syndicate meeting of the Khawaja Fareed

Univers i ty of Engineer ing & Information

Technology, Rahim Yar Khan was held at the Board

of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Lahore.

The meeting was chaired by Mrs. Zakia Shahnawaz,

Pro-Chancellor and Minister for Higher Education.

The agenda items of meeting included the Annual

Report of Vice Chancellor and the approval of the

university budget for 2016-17. Mr. Irfan Ali,

Secretary HED, Dr. Umar Saif, Vice Chancellor, ITU,

MPAs Umar Jaffar, Mehwish Sultana and Fozia

Qureshi also attended the meeting.

Engr. Prof. Dr. Athar Mahboob briefed the media

representatives that the university is instilling the

First Syndicate Meeting of Khawaja Fareed University

values of tolerance, service to others and innovation

in its students. He said that soon more engineering

and information technology related programmes

will be launched for the youth of Southern Punjab

so that they could acquire quality higher education

near their doorstep. The Syndicate assured the

university of its full cooperation and support.

Water experts team from University of Utah have

culminated their five-day boot camp aimed at

enhancing learning and research capacity

development of the faculty and students of US-

Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Water

(USPCAS-W) at Mehran University of Engineering &

Technology (MUET), Jamshoro.

American professors including Prof. Patrick Shea,

Prof. Dr. Tariq Banuri, Dr. Jim VanDerslice, Dr.

Mohammad Aslam Chaudhry, and Dr. Sajjad Ahmed

had brainstorming meetings, graduate seminars

and workshops at USPCAS-W. The Utah mission has

formed paral lel research group on water

governance and sustainable development, clean

water infrastructure and technologies, water

informatics and decision support, sustainable

agriculture water management.

The water experts delivered lectures on water data

issues and challenges in Pakistan, tracking water

SDG’s through Pakistan Data Portal (PDP), Pakistan

Water Gateway and other topics. In the curriculum

reforms perspective, the mission discussed

University of Utah Concludes Research Boot Camp at MUET

different subjects of all programmes offered by

USPCAS-W and specially the newly introduced two-

year Master of Science (MS) programme on Water,

Sanitation and Health Sciences and Engineering.

The mission also conducted workshop on MUET

Clean Water Project and also had meeting on 'Water

Sustainable Development Goals (SGG) in Pakistan:

Challenges and Opportunities'. The mission also

discussed two flagship projects i.e., Pakistan Water

Development Repor t (PWDR) and Water

Management in the Indus Basin. In this connection,

a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) was set up at

USPCAS-W to steer the process of projects.

On this occasion, Prof. Dr. Tariq Banuri, Associate

Director USPCAS-W University of Utah, USA, who

led the mission said that Pakistan is facing various

development challenges as far as water is

concerned. The country is facing sever conditions

either of the scarcity most of the time or floods

some times. He said that due to water quality,

access to safe drinking water is one of the major

challenges in the country.

34

Virtual University of Pakistan (VU) and WWF-

Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) to promote environmental education

amongst the youth of Pakistan.

Through this MoU, signed by Dr. Naveed A. Malik,

Rector, VU and Mr. Hamid Naqi Khan, Director

General WWF-Pakistan, both the organisations will

establish formal relationship to raise environmental

awareness and tackle the environmental challenges

through innovative research. Moreover, the two

organizations will collaborate to develop joint

research proposals.

The ceremony started with the welcome speech of

Dr. Naveed A Malik, Rector Virtual University of

Pakistan. Mr. Hamid Naqi Khan, Director General

WWF-Pakistan briefed the participants about

WWF-Pakistan and the scope of MoU and its future

prospects . The VUTV wi l l a lso broadcast

documentaries of WWF. Both the organizations

a g re e d to e n g a g e s t u d e n t s i n va r i o u s

environmental awareness initiatives of WWF-

Pakistan including the Eco-internship Programme,

volunteer engagement initiative, Earth Hour and

Nature Carnival. VU and WWF will also organize

joint workshops to mark environmentally important

days at the VU campuses along with capacity

building for the VU students and faculty.

The ceremony was also attended by the top officials,

faculty and staff of VU and WWF-Pakistan. It ended

with a positive note that the agreement would

deliver significant mutual benefits to both the

organizations and that all possible efforts would be

made to make the MoU as much productive as

possible.

Dr. Muhammad Rafique has completed his post-

doctoral research in Nuclear Engineering and

Radiological Sciences from University of Michigan,

USA. He did his PhD from Pakistan Institute of

Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS).

Dr. Rafique has 16 years of teaching and research

experience with more than 60 research publications

to his credit. He was funded by the Higher Education

Commission (HEC) of Pakistan to pursue a Post-

Doctoral Fellowship at the Department of “Nuclear

Engineering and Radiological Sciences (NERS)”,

University of Michigan Ann Arbor, USA.

The graduate programme in the Nuclear

Engineering and Radiological Sciences at U-M is

one of the most highly regarded nuclear

engineering programmes in the USA, regularly

ranked in the top two by US News and World Report.

HEC Scholar Completes Post-Doc FellowshipCurrently the Department of NERS is sharing Rank 1

with Nuclear Engineering Depar tment of

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The major field of interest for Dr. Rafique was

radiation dosimetry and earthquake detection,

while monitoring seismic activities with the help of

radon stations. Radiation dosimetry in radiotherapy

is essential to realise its main aim i.e., to eradicate a

cancer whilst minimising the risk of severe side

effects due to the unavoidable irradiation of healthy

tissues and organs.

In industrial irradiators for sterilization of medical

equipment and pharmaceuticals, the need for

accurate dosimetry is also governed by two

opposing requirements: achieving legal tolerance

levels for microbiological contamination whilst

minimising the economic cost.

Virtual University Signs MoU with WWF-Pakistan

35

Pakistan Study Centre University of Peshawar

arranged a Seminar on “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa:

Political and Administrative History”. Miss Nadia

Bashir, Head Department of Pakistan Studies

Edwardes College Peshawar was guest speaker. Prof.

Dr. Fakhr-ul-Islam, Director Pakistan Study Centre

presided over the seminar.

In her detailed presentation, Miss. Nadia gave an

historical background of the province, ranging from

Durrani Dynasty till creation of Pakistan. She gave

reasons for separation of the area from Punjab and

creation of a new province in 1901.

She also discussed the struggle of Pakhtuns against

the British imperialism and role played by people of

Seminar Highlights KPK Political, Administrative History

the province in the freedom struggle. She also threw

light on administrative history and gave a

comparative review of the reigns of two chief

ministers i.e. Dr. Khan Sahib and Khan Abdul Qayum

Khan.

The presentation was followed by question answer

session. In his concluding remarks, Prof. Dr. Fakhr-ul-

Islam, Director Pakistan Study Centre said that the

young generation is unaware of the history the

province. He said Pakistan Study Centre has done a

lot to raise awareness about the history and culture

of the province. Besides offering it as a subject, the

Centre held an international conference, a national

conference, seminars and produced scores of theses

on its history and culture.

The Spor ts Divis ion of Higher Education

Commission (HEC), Islamabad in collaboration with

the University of Karachi (KU) organised three

sports events -- Judo (Boys), Swimming and

Taekwondo (Girls) -- during the Sports Gala 2015-

2016 at the KU.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of Sports

Gala, Director, Physical Education, Mrs. Anjum Aziz

appreciated the support of Higher Education

Commission (HEC), Islamabad and the Vice

Chancellor, KU, in organising this event.

She said that such activities play an important role

in the physical and mental growth of students,

adding that they help students focus on their

studies and keeps them away from harmful

activities. Such activities are essential for building

healthy and productive societies, he concluded.

Director General Sports, HEC, Mr. Fida Hussain

highlighted the initiatives and programmes of HEC

for the development of sports in the country’s

universities of the country.

HEC, KU Organise Sports Gala 2015-2016In the taekwondo event, out of 11 universities,

Karachi University Taekwondo (Girls) team got first

position with 157 points while Punjab University

secured second position with 152 points and Iqra

University clinched third position with 77 points. In

swimming event, out of seven universities, Punjab

University (Girls) swimming team got first position

with 225 points in the All Pakistan Inter-University

Swimming Championship-2016 while Agha Khan

University got second position with 157 points and

Karachi University clinched third position with 131

points. Among eight universities, the Karachi

University secured first position with 131 points in

Al l Pakistan Inter-Univers i ty Judo (Boys)

Championship-2016 while Agriculture University,

Tandojam got second position with 58 points and

Bahauddin Zakariya University was ranked third

with 53 points.

In the closing ceremony, Prof. Dr. Nusrat Idrees from

the Department of Political Science and Mr. Arman

from the Department of Examination distributed

prizes and shields among all the winner and runner-

up teams.

36

Institute of Space Technology (IST), Islamabad

organised the fifth NASA International Space Apps

Challenge in Pakistan.

NASA and other space agencies around the world

organized the annual International Space Apps

Challenge at more than 135 locations worldwide,

including New York, the host of the event’s global

main stage. IST, Islamabad was the sponsor and

host of this international event in which more than

20 teams from all over Pakistan participated.

Mr. Shakeel Shafiq, Space Apps Curator opened the

session. The keynote remarks were delivered by the

event head, Dr. Najam Abbas, Assistant Professor,

th5 NASA Int'l Space Apps Challenge Organised at IST

Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and

Dr. Qamar-ul-Islam, Head of Electrical Engineering

Department. NASA International Space Apps

Challenge was an intense 48-hours global weekend

code-a-thon for developers, designers, engineers,

entrepreneurs, and astronomers to develop mobile

applications, software, hardware, data visualization

and platform solutions that could contribute to

space exploration missions and help improving life.

The challenges focused on real-world design

problems and on making our planet and universe

accessible, visual and fun to explore. This year, many

challenges represented NASA mission priorities in

six areas include Technology, Aeronautics, Space

Station, Solar System, Earth and Journey to Mars.

A seminar was recently held at the Pakistan Study

Centre, University of Peshawar, to mark the death

anniversary of Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

Speakers including Mr. Aftab Khan, Assistant

Professor, Government College of Management

Sciences, Peshawar and Dr. Fakhr-ul-Islam, Director

Pakistan Study Centre, University of Peshawar, shed

light on various dimensions of Allama Iqbal’s

personality as well as his services to the nation.

Mr. Aftab Khan said that Allama Iqbal was fervent

supporter of united India in the beginning but later

on he changed his mind due to the negative

attitude of Indian National Congress. He said that

Allama Iqbal’s Death Anniversary MarkedAllama Iqbal had cordial relations with Quaid-e-

Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and it was he who

persuaded Jinnah to come back to India after he

had decided to settle in Britain.

He said that Iqbal contributed a lot to the

independence movement in the capacity of a

political leader and member of Punjab Legislative

Assembly, adding that his Allahabad Address in

1930 had put the Indian Muslims on the right tract.

In his address, Dr. Fakhr-ul-Islam paid rich tributes

to Allama Iqbal and said that Allama’s personality

had many dimensions. He was a philosopher, an

educationist, a poet and, also, a politician.

37

Curriculum is the backbone of a nation and services

of academia and professionals working to develop

curricula are commendable.

This was stated by Mr. Sulaiman Ahmed, Director

HEC Regional Centre, Karachi, while welcoming the

participants of HEC National Curriculum Revision

Committee (NCRC) for the discipline of Marine

Science final meeting at HEC RC Karachi. The

curriculum of Marine Science was previously revised

and circulated by HEC in the year 2011 and its

periodic revision was due under HEC mandate.

The committee thoroughly reviewed and updated

the Marine Science curriculum by including

knowledge about latest developments and

innovations in the field of Marine Sciences. New

Modules of Port Operations & Ship Management

and Integrated Coastal Zone Management were

introduced as field of specialisation for students

who intend to serve indigenously or abroad. Utmost

effort was made to keep the curriculum at par with

HEC and international standards. It was also

emphasized that for various courses requiring

Periodical Revamping of Marine Sciences Curriculum Finalised

hands-on experience, the students will be required

to go through regroups internship to get their

degree. It was recommended that HEC should

provide ample funds for the establishment of state-

of-the-art laboratories and libraries in the

Universities.

Prof. Dr. Rashida Qari, Director, Institute of Marine

Science, University of Karachi, Karachi, Convener &

Mr. Muhammad Tahir, Lecturer, Faculty of Marine

Science, Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water &

Marine Science, Uthal, Balochistan contributed as

Secretary of the meeting while Mr. Riaz-ul-Haque,

Assistant Director, Curriculum HEC was the

coordinator of the meeting.

Dr. KhuramShahzad has won the honour of

becoming the first PhD HEC Indigenous scholar of

the University of Haripur (UoH).

He has also successfully developed a new

spreadsheet version of Roth C Model and applied to

field data to simulate the impact of treatment of

different manures under different tillage systems on

future soil carbon sequestration for next 100 years

under present climatic data averaged of last 10

years, as well as for future different climatic

scenarios i .e. A1B (economic growth with

globalisation), A2 (economic growth with

regionalisation), B1(Environmental protection with

globalisation) and B2 (environmental protection

with regionalisation). He has also published four

HEC Scholar Completes PhD from University of Haripur

research papers from his PhD thesis in peer

reviewed impact factor journals. The scholar has

successfully developed research linkages between

UoH and the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.

Dr. Khurram got Indigenous Scholarship from HEC

for MSc (Hons.) leading to PhD and got admission in

MSc (Hons.) Agriculture at the University of

Agriculture, Faisalabad. Later, he got admission in

PhD in Hazara University, Haripur campus during

2010. The Haripur campus of the Hazara University

was meanwhile upgraded to the UoH. The title of his

PhD dissertation was “Improving Maize Productivity

and Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration through

Biogas Slurry and Poultry Manure under Different

Tillage Systems.”

38

Scientists from Institute of Agricultural Sciences

have discovered a novel thermo-acidophilic

enzyme which can efficiently hydrolyze starch into

glucose and maltose syrups in a single step and in a

simpler way, in the absence of any other enzyme.

The US Patent Office has issued also patent in the

names of scientists including Dr. Nasir Ahmad, Dr.

Muhammad Saleem Haider, Dr. Naeem Rashid, and

Dr. Muhammad Akhtar in this regard. It is pertinent

to mention here there this is the first international

patent of Pakistan in the field of industrial enzymes.

Since the last three decades, scientists around the

globe were in search of efficient enzymes that could

simplify the process of starch hydrolysis for glucose

and maltose production.

Wonderful features of the enzyme resulted in the

publication of US PATENT titled; “Single Step

Liquefaction and Saccharification of Corn Starch

Using an Acidophilic, Calcium Independent and

Hyperthermophilic Pullulanase” (United States

Patent Pub. No. US 2014/0227744 A1 published on

14/08/2014; Funded (US $ 11000) by Higher

Education Commission) Dr. Nasir Ahmad, the first

author of patent, is an experienced food

Pakistan’s First int'l Patent in Industrial Enzymes

PU Scientists Develop Thermo-acidophilic Enzyme for Food Industry

technologist. This marvelous job was done by Dr.

Ahmad during his PhD research at PU School of

Biological Sciences. During this period, Prof. Dr.

Muhammad Saleem Haider and Prof. Dr. Naeem

Rashid were his supervisors. All the work was

completed within Pakistan using own resources.

Dr. Nasir Ahmad started his PhD in 2005 under

HEC ’s Ind igenous 5000 PhD Fe l lowsh ip

Programme. Previously he served at various food

industries in quality assurance/production

departments. Since December 2011, he has been

serving as Assistant Professor Food Technology at

Institute of Agricultural Sciences, University of the

Punjab, Lahore. This effort will simplify the

industrial process of glucose production and in turn

greatly benefit our country’s economy.

It is worth mentioning that there is not even a single

unit of enzyme production in Pakistan. Hence there

is great potential in this field. With the support of

public and private organisations efficiency of this

excellent enzyme may be further improved. Mass

scale production of it will not only suffice our own

needs but can also help to earn a lot of foreign

exchange.

Prof. Dr. Altaf Mukati, Vice President, Academics,

Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science

and Technology (SZABIST) visited Istanbul

Medipol University recently and met with its

Rector Prof. Dr. Sabahattin Aydin.

The purpose of the visit was to pave the way for

building linkages between the two universities on

various academic and research grounds.

The Medipol University, established in 2009, has

more than 10 ,000 s tudents in va r ious

News in Picture

undergraduates, Masters and PhD programmes. Its

infrastructure is exceptionally well, having state-of-

the-art laboratories. Several Pakistani students are

studying on scholarships here.

39

External evaluation and accreditation is the single

most important function of the National

Agriculture Education Accreditation Council

(NAEAC) mandated by the Higher Education

Commission (HEC).

The Council organised four on-site visits of the

e x p e r t s / p r o g r a m m e e v a l u a t o r s o f t h e

Accreditation Inspection Committees (AICs).

The first on-site visit of the AIC to the degree

programme of Food Science was carried out at

Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Punjab University,

Lahore. While the second on-site visit to four

disciplines of Entomology, Agronomy, Horticulture,

and Food Science was organised at Faculty of

Agriculture, University of Poonch, Rawalakot.

The third external assessment and accreditation of

four degree programmes -- Agronomy, PBG, Food

Science and Entomology -- at University College of

Agriculture, Islamia Univeristy, Bahawalpur was

accomplished by four AICs.

The last on-site evaluation and accreditation visit of

five disciplines -- Entomology, Agronomy, PBG,

Horticulture, and Soil Science -- was organized at

Faculty of Agriculture, Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi

Khan. All the on-site AICs visits were carried out

NAEAC Accreditation Inspection Committees Visit Punjab, AJK Agri Institutions

with the mutual consent of the concerned Dean/

Principal and HoDs of the host institutions.

During on-site visits, the respective Deans and

Principals briefed the accreditation inspection team

members regarding the establishment of the

institution, programme objectives followed by a

detailed briefing by the concerned Head of the

Department focusing on quality and strength of

faculty, curriculum, infrastructure & learning

resources, teaching-learning practices, course files,

class rooms, laboratories, research farm areas, etc.

The committee members held separate meetings

with faculty members and students in detail to

know about their views regarding the teaching-

learning environment, facilities and resources, etc.

The AICs also conducted detailed visit of class

rooms, faculty offices, laboratories, library, and

research farm, etc. Exit meetings with Dean/

Principal were also held to share main findings and

outcomes of the visit.

The overall objective of the on-site evaluation and

accreditation visit to Institutions is to build the

capacity of human and physical resources of degree

programmes to enable to improve, maintain and

enhance the quality and standards of agriculture

higher education in Pakistan.

40

NEWS & NEWS & VIEWSVIEWS

Pakistan Wins 3G Excellence in Higher · sector in Pakistan have been recognised internationally....

Documents

Transcript of Pakistan Wins 3G Excellence in Higher · sector in Pakistan have been recognised internationally....