Day: February 11, 2023

Islamabad, February 11, 2023 (PPI-OT):On February 10, 2023, the Russian Embassy in Islamabad hosted the grand opening of the photo exhibition “Prominent Representatives of Russian Diplomacy” and a concert dedicated to the celebration of the Diplomatic Worker’s Day. The events were attended by the Ambassador of Russia to Pakistan DV Ganich, the staff of the Embassy and members of their families.

In turn, the staff of the Russian Embassy in Islamabad sincerely congratulates colleagues on the Diplomat’s Day and wishes health, prosperity and success in their work for the benefit of our Motherland!

For more information, contact:
Embassy of the Russian Federation in Pakistan
Diplomatic enclave, G-4, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-2600811
Fax: +92-51-2600814
Email: pakistan@mid.ru
Website: https://pakistan.mid.ru/web/pakistan_en/home

Islamabad, February 11, 2023 (PPI-OT):The Vice Chancellors of all public sector universities of Pakistan have urged the Government to revive the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Ordinance 2002 in its original form and strengthen HEC. During the 48th Vice Chancellors Committee meeting chaired by Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan online, the university heads emphasised that the development of higher education sector made in the past two decades can be consolidated only by strengthening HEC.

The forum unanimously opposed the proposed amendments to HEC Ordinance and demanded the Government to ensure HEC’s autonomy if it wants the higher education sector to continue playing its part in economic stability and growth. The amendments, if materialised, will cause a severe dent to the higher education sector and will be tantamount to undoing the progress made so far, they underlined.

The university heads also discussed, in detail, the financial, governance and administrative issues of the higher education institutions. They demanded of the provincial governments to share the burden of the federal government and contribute to the universities funding.

Chairman HEC Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed also joined the online session and briefed the Vice Chancellors on the recent developments pertaining to the TTS and BPS models, HEC’s quality assurance measures, and the repercussions of amendments to the HEC Ordinance.

He emphasised the need for strengthening national institutions and underlined different countries are now setting up higher education entities on the HEC model. Referring to financial crisis, the Chairman asserted that no new universities or campuses should be established unless there is economic stability in the country. He urged the Vice Chancellors to ensure good financial and administrative governance at the higher education institutions.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed underlined that the universities need to strengthen themselves in such a manner that they are approached by the quarters concerned to play the role of think tanks in policymaking at the state level.

“Our youth have a great potential, however we need to work on developing in them the skillset relevant to the national and global market,” he emphasised. He took a categorical stance on giving affiliations to colleges, saying that HEC will soon ban affiliations as they compromise quality due to anomalies. He also sought input from the Vice Chancellors on resolving the issues arising out of the TTS and BPS models.

He informed the university heads that HEC is planning to set up ‘Seerat Corners’ in the libraries of universities to promote the teachings of Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). The Vice Chancellors forum also discussed how the search committees constituted for selection of Vice Chancellors can be made effective.

They also shared views on the grant of private charters on private members bills under the University Acts, in addition to detailed deliberations on private affiliations, segregation of universities into three tiers, the concept of Professor of Practice, quality assurance through professional accreditation councils, and revival of student societies. They agreed to frequently hold the forum meetings for discussions and decisions on the issues of higher education sector.

For more information, contact:
Director (Media)
Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (HEC)
Sector H-9, Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-90402404, +92-51-90402412
Email: aikram@hec.gov.pk
Website: www.hec.gov.pk

Islamabad, February 11, 2023 (PPI-OT):On February 1, 2023, in honour of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography (MGAKh) and the 150th anniversary of the birth of S.V. theme of Paganini.

Schoolchildren and adults enjoyed the works of the great composer and a ballet performance performed by the famous ballet dancer, prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre, People’s Artist of the USSR, graduate of the Moscow State Academy of Arts – M.V. Kondratyeva.

For more information, contact:
Embassy of the Russian Federation in Pakistan
Diplomatic enclave, G-4, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-2600811
Fax: +92-51-2600814
Email: pakistan@mid.ru
Website: https://pakistan.mid.ru/web/pakistan_en/home

Islamabad, February 11, 2023 (PPI-OT):A group of 19 senior civil servants from Sri Lanka have arrived in Pakistan for a two-week executive training at the National Defense University (NDU), Islamabad under Pak-Sri Lanka Higher Education Cooperation Programme.

This is the third batch of Sri Lankan officials on training under the programme, being executed by Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan. HEC has already conducted two other cohorts of such executive training for senior civil servants of Sri Lanka with the collaboration of National School of Public Policy (NSPP), Lahore.

The group comprises senior delegates representing different departments of the Sri Lankan Government, including Public Administration, Provincial Councils, Home Affairs, Local Government, the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA), the Police, and the Prime Minister’s Office. The delegation comprises Additional Secretaries, Director Generals, CFOs, Consultants, and Directors.

During their stay in Pakistan, the Sri Lankan officials will be engaged in multiple interactive workshops on International Relations, Geopolitics, and Mechanisms for strengthening regional cooperation, Bureaucracy Frameworks, Artificial Intelligence, Planning, and Regional Integration. There will be numerous cultural visits in between the training sessions. Officials from HEC and National Defense University (NDU), Islamabad received the delegation at the airport.

For more information, contact:
Director (Media)
Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (HEC)
Sector H-9, Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-90402404, +92-51-90402412
Email: aikram@hec.gov.pk
Website: www.hec.gov.pk

Islamabad, February 11, 2023 (PPI-OT):The National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE), an academic wing of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), has launched the Cohort-II of National Faculty Development Programme (NDFP) for the newly inducted faculty members of public sector higher education institutions (HEIs). Twenty-eight faculty members are taking part in the capacity building programme.

Chairman HEC Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed graced the opening ceremony with his presence as chief guest. He congratulated the participants for being chosen for the noble profession of teaching. He stated that, “being an educator is one of the most rewarding professions, as you can make a difference in the life of people and it is one of the greatest acts of charity one can perform as a Muslim and as a human being.”

The Chairman urged the participants to actively contribute to resolution of the social issues by enabling their students to become skilful, valuable, and effective member of the society. He asserted that HEC will keep performing its role for the capacity building of HEIs. In his welcome address earlier, Advisor (Academics, Curriculum and NAHE) Engr. Muhammad Raza Chohan briefed the participants about the initiatives taken by NAHE for the capacity building of faculty.

For more information, contact:
Director (Media)
Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (HEC)
Sector H-9, Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-90402404, +92-51-90402412
Email: aikram@hec.gov.pk
Website: www.hec.gov.pk

Islamabad, February 11, 2023 (PPI-OT):The Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan and Hult Prize Foundation, an international entity empowering youth to solve the world’s most pressing issues through social entrepreneurship, have expressed a desire to jointly work for promotion of entrepreneurship in Pakistan.

In this connection, the two sides held a virtual meeting to discuss potential of bilateral collaboration for strengthen a startup culture in the country. They agreed to formally sign a Letter of Intent and extend support to the Pakistani youth and entrepreneurs.

Chairman HEC Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed addressed the participants and shed light on the HEC efforts and initiatives to support academia-industry linkages and finance the Pakistani youth in their entrepreneurial endeavours. He assured that HEC will extend all-out support to Hult Prize Foundation in its intent to exploit the potential of Pakistani youth.

Director Research and Innovation Division, HEC, Noshaba Awais said that Pakistan’s population comprises over 60% of youth and HEC is committed to utilising the youth bulge in supporting the country’s economy. Promoting entrepreneurship is the major step forward towards utilising the youth bulge, she affirmed.

She highlighted HEC programmes, including establishment of Offices of Research, Innovation and Commercialisation (ORICs), establishment of Business Incubation Centres (BICs), and Innovator Seed Fund (ISF), meant to develop a startup ecosystem in Pakistan.

She said Pakistani higher education institutions have 38 BICs which have so far incubated more than 800 startups. “This is the right time to promote collaboration with Hult Prize,” she noted. Sharing the objectives of Hult Prize Foundation, Senior Director of Programs at the Hult Prize Mr. Hamdi Ben Elmi and Director of Human Resource at the Hult Prize Ms. Carla Osnaya said that the Foundation has been engaged in promoting social entrepreneurship and empowerment of youth across a large number of countries.

They said that Hult Prize challenges young people to solve the world’s most pressing issues through Social Entreprise and, every year, one team receives $1M USD in funding to make their idea a reality.

They underlined that the Foundation has a great impact in Pakistan as it has been engaged with over 100 universities, more than 9000 student entrepreneurs, 10,000+ student volunteers and over 1000 experts.

Muhammad Osama from Bfreeze, a Pakistani company which won Hult Prize in 2020, expressed his views about the role of Hult Prize Foundation in the success of his company’s products.

For more information, contact:
Director (Media)
Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (HEC)
Sector H-9, Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-90402404, +92-51-90402412
Email: aikram@hec.gov.pk
Website: www.hec.gov.pk

Islamabad, February 11, 2023 (PPI-OT):The baseball team of the State of Palestine, currently in Pakistan for the 15th West Asia Baseball Cup, visited the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and held a meeting with Chairman HEC Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed. The visiting team was accompanied by First Secretary Embassy of the State of Palestine in Islamabad Mr. Nader al-Turk, while Executive Director HEC Dr. Shaista Sohail and other senior HEC officers were also present in the meeting.

Addressing the team, the Chairman HEC referred to the 15th West Asia Baseball Cup final between Pakistan and Palestine and underlined the importance of sports activities for youth. He said that HEC/Pakistan University Sports Board is committed to providing all possible sports facilities to student players.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed informed the dignitaries that an international Vice Chancellors conference of the Islamic world universities will be held in the near future. He added that the Islamic countries are considering launching a fully-funded scholarship programme for the Muslim youth. He said, “We feel the pain of Palestinian brethren and our leadership always does whatever possible for the Palestinians.”

In his remarks on this occasion, Mr. Nader al-Turk appreciated the Pakistani nation for extending support to the Palestinian cause. “We acknowledge Pakistan’s continuous support to the State of Palestine,” he underscored. He stated that the Palestinians in Pakistan do not feel themselves to be foreigners, rather they feel at home owing to the affection and respect they receive from Pakistanis. He appreciated the Palestinian team for qualifying for the final.

It is pertinent to mention here that seven teams, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Palestine, Sri Lanka, and Nepal took part in the West Asia Cup held in Islamabad. Pakistan sealed the victory over Sri Lanka by 16-1, whereas Palestine defeated Bangladesh by 14-3 in the semi-finals.

For more information, contact:
Director (Media)
Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (HEC)
Sector H-9, Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-90402404, +92-51-90402412
Email: aikram@hec.gov.pk
Website: www.hec.gov.pk