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 2016 Education Award 2016 P-11 3G Excellence in Higher Education Award 2016 HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION, PAKISTAN P-2
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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
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman, Higher Education
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