January/February 2015

Accreditation
Matters !
Higher Education
Commission &
Accreditation
p-
6 Chairman HEC Calls on CM KPK
Councils Agree
p- Symposium on Curriculum to Enhance
7
Development in Higher Education
nd
Coordination
p- 2 NBEAC p-
9 Deans & Directors Conference 4
 Table of Contents
Prize distribution

2 for National Essay

Competition
4
Accreditation Councils and HEC Agree to
Enhance Coordination

6 Chairman HEC Calls on CM KPK

Turnitin Usage in Pakistan's Universities

6
Results in Phenomenal Decrease
Symposium on

7 Curriculum
Development in
Higher Education
8 HEC & IST Sign MoU for Promoting
Entrepreneurship among Youth

9 2nd NBEAC Deans & Directors Conference

2015

ORICs Managers attend Training in Australia

HEC, British 12
and Thailand
Council to Increase

11 Investment in
Research for
Higher Education
16 Promotion of Social Sciences Research
among HEC's Top Priorities: Chairman HEC

18 Lecture on American Education System

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the publisher. 20
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The views expressed by authors in 11th Graduation Ceremony at National

22
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would like to thank all the 26 UoK Symposium on Molecular Medicine and
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contributed information and
photographs for this Magazine. DUHS Scientists Receive Training on
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Publisher:
Reporter Higher Education
Waseem Khaliqdad Commission, Pakistan
 News & Views
Prize distribution for National Essay Competition
Youth has an important role in eradicating
extremism from society: Irfan Siddiqui
Mr. Irfan Siddiqui, Special Assistant to the Prime
Minister on National Affairs has advised the youth
to become a productive member of the society
and contribute in the development of their
homeland. He stressed on the significance of
education for eradicating extremist and negative
attitudes prevalent in our society.
He was speaking as chief guest at the prize
distribution ceremony for the National Essay
Competition held in connection with the
Independence Day Celebrations. Prof. Dr. Mukhtar
Ahmed, Chairman, Higher Education Commission
(HEC) and Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Acting
Executive Director HEC were also present at the
ceremony held at HEC Secretariat, Islamabad.
On the directive of the Prime Minister, while
celebrating 67th Independence Day, HEC organized
the National Essay Competition in five Regions i.e
Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab
and Federal Area. The programme was advertised
with the theme Celebrate the Freedom with
Words.
2
As many as 458 essays were received from all over
the country, which were evaluated by the
experts/judges and 60 position holders in the
category of Urdu and English were given
certificates and cash prizes in the five regions at
college and university level.
The Essays of position holders from all the regions
were further evaluated in HEC at national level.
After evaluation by the judges, six students were
selected from all over the country for 1st, 2nd and
3rd position in the Category of Urdu and English.
Their essays were evaluated keeping in view the,
creativity, structure, grammar, length and
expression. For recognition, appreciation and
encouragement of the student they were given
cash prizes of Rs. 100000, 75000, and 50000 at
national level in both the categories.
Mr. Siddiqui underlined the need to root out the
menace of extremism from the society, adding
that education is the only tool that can eradicate
extremist attitudes. Congratulating the winners
and participants of the nationwide competition,

he urged them to continue writing and use their
pen to bring the much desired change in the
Pakistani society.
He appreciated the role of Higher Education
Commission for undertaking initiatives and
providing excellent platform to youth for
enhancing their skills and developing a strong
human resource in the country. He reiterated the
Government's resolve to develop the education
sector and make quality education available
across the country.
Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said that such
competitions are helpful not only for enhancing
the writing skills, language proficiency and
Prize Distribution Ceremonies held
at Provincial Level
Position holders of National Essay Competition 2014 along
with Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, Provincial Minister for
Education & Literacy, and Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi,
Executive Director HEC.
Mr. Ghulam Muhamamd Sabir, Secretary,
Higher and Technical Education, Government
of Balochsitan, was chief guest in the prize
distribution ceremony held at Quetta.
News & Views
analytical ability of the students but it also
inculcates deeper knowledge of the socio-
economic and political issues of the country. You
also need to show to the world that our nation
especially youth is full of potential and is united to
face challenges faced by this country.
He elaborated different initiatives of HEC for
human resource development as well as
strengthening physical and technological
infrastructure of the higher learning institutions.
He shared with the audience how successfully
HEC, with the support of the Government, has
been executing two important components of the
Prime Minister Youth Scheme including Laptop
Scheme and the Fee Reimbursement Scheme.
Mrs. Farah Hamid, Secretary ST&IT,
Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
distributed prizes among winners at a
ceremony held in Peshawar.
Dr. Faizullah
Abbasi, Vice
Chancellor,
Dawood University
of Engineering and
Technology
(DUET), Karachi
was chief guest at
prize distribution ceremony held in Karachi. Dr. Jaffar
Ahmad, Director, Pakistan Study Centre, University of
Karachi was the guest of honor at the occasion.
3
 News & Views

Ensuring Quality of Higher Education

Accreditation Councils and HEC Agree to

Enhance Coordination

The two-day activity was aimed at gathering all the accreditation

councils of the country under one roof and discuss challenges faced by
HEC and these councils as well as formulate a joint strategy to ensure
accreditation process in a more effective manner, and align their
objectives with the Government's Vision 2025
The fifth meeting of country's The Councils whose Chairmen, Accreditation Council (NAEAC),
Accreditation Councils was Presidents and Registrars National Computing Education
held at Higher Education attended the meeting included Accreditation Council (NCEAC),
Commission (HEC) Islamabad Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), and National Business
to discuss how the process of Pakistan Council for Architects Education Accreditation
accreditation could be and Town Planners (PCATP), Council (NBEAC).
revamped and strengthened Pakistan Engineering Council
keeping in view the expansion (PEC), Pakistan Medical and Accreditation Councils are
of higher education sector, and Dental Council (PMDC), responsible for Programme
learning from international Pakistan Nursing Council (PNC), Accreditation at undergraduate
best practices in the Pharmacy Council of Pakistan level across the country in the
accreditation process. (PCP), Pakistan Veterinary respective subjects with
Medical Council (PVMC), complete autonomy in terms of
Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, National Council for implementation under policy
Chairman HEC chaired and Homoeopathy (NCH), National guidelines of HEC, whereas HEC
inaugurated the meeting, Accreditation Council for is responsible for Institutional
organized by the Quality Teachers Education (NACTE), Accreditation as per its Act.
Assurance Agency (QAA) HEC. National Agricultural Education The two-day activity was aimed

4
 News & Views

at gathering all the conferences, publishing the impact of zero visits upon
accreditation councils of the programme accreditation institutional and programme
country under one roof and reports on Councils' websites, accreditation.
discuss challenges faced by publicity of QAA's and Councils'
HEC and these councils as well policies for parents/students It was emphasized that zero
as formulate a joint strategy to alerts. visits should not be taken as a
ensure accreditation process in go-ahead signal for launching
a more effective manner, and All the accreditation councils any Programme but will be
align their objectives with the showed full confidence in the considered as Gap Analysis
Government's Vision 2025, policies of HEC for ensuring visit.
which has put special emphasis quality at all levels in the
on ensuring quality of higher higher education sector. It was
Any University/Degree
education through Programme decided that meeting of heads
Awarding Institution will be
as well as Institutional of all accreditation councils will
allowed to launch a
accreditation. be held at least once a year
Programme only after meeting
while the Sub-Committee will
all the requirements. HEC will
Speaking to the extend full support
participants, the to all Councils in
Chairman HEC Accreditation Councils are developing their
appreciated role of responsible for Programme Programme
all the accreditation Evaluators capacity
councils for their Accreditation at undergraduate level by providing them
efforts to streamline across the country in the respective relevant trainings
programmes in the and capacity
respective fields. He subjects with complete autonomy in building workshops
hoped that close terms of implementation under policy on a regular basis.
coordination among
these councils and guidelines of HEC, whereas HEC is It was also agreed
HEC will ensure responsible for Institutional that each
quality at all levels accreditation council
of the higher Accreditation as per its Act. will hold national as
education sector. well as international
meet twice a year to discuss conferences in their respective
On first day of the meeting, progress on the agreed issues areas to bring stakeholders on
each Council presented its and further strengthen one platform as well as learn
functions and future plans and coordination between HEC and from international practices.
shared their good practices. the accreditation councils.
Another important decision
The second day focused on Most of these accreditation was holding of national
agenda items like councils have already signed conference by HEC to be
standardization of MoUs with HEC for revamping attended by all the
accreditation process, and strengthening process of accreditation councils and
implementation of effective accreditation of programmes in Quality Enhancement Cells
communication strategy the respective disciplines, (QECs) of the country, bring all
between HEC, Councils and while the remaining councils stakeholders, responsible for
universities/ Degree Awarding agreed to sign MoUs on quality of higher education, on
Institutions (DAIs), significance priority. one platform so that they align
of MoU, training for evaluators their objectives and work in
of the Councils, organization of Another important issue close coordination.
national and international discussed in the meeting was

5
 News & Views
Chairman HEC Calls on CM KPK
Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed,
Chairman Higher education
Commission (HEC) of Pakistan
recently called on Mr. Pervaiz
Khattak, Chief Minister, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and apprised him
of various HEC's initiatives for
development of higher
education sector of the
country.
Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi,
Executive Director, HEC,
Secretary, Technical Education
KPK, Additional Secretary,
Higher Education KPK, Mr.
Awais Ahmed, DG (A&C) HEC
and Mr. Zaheer Ahmed Awan,
Turnitin Usage in Pakistan's Universities
Results in Phenomenal Decrease
A recent report issued by the
iParadigms, a leading
international provider of cloud-
based educational technologies
to prevent plagiarism, verify
content, and evaluate written
work, shows that increase in
usage of Turnitin has
considerably decreased the
level of plagiarized research in
Pakistan's higher education
institutions.
Turnitin software was created
and launched by iParadigms in
1997. It is an Internet-based
plagiarism-prevention service
to check the unoriginal work.
The Higher Education
Commission (HEC) of Pakistan
Director, HEC Regional Centre,
Peshawar were also present.
The Chief Minister
appreciated the achievements
of HEC during the last decade
and assured complete support
Plagiarism Cases
bought the Turnitin License in
June 2009. HEC has been making
effort to prevent plagiarism
through Implementation of
Plagiarism Policy and use of
Turnitin at universities. Initially,
60 public sector universities
were given access in 2009 while
at present 112 higher education
institutions are availing this
facility.
In 2009-10, the level of
unoriginal writing in Pakistani
universities was 34.5 % among
42,000 documents including
research papers, thesis,
assignments at undergraduate,
graduate as well as doctoral level
while in 2013-14, the number of
6
of his Government for
retaining HEC as a Federal
body. The Chairman HEC also
shared HEC's plans to
establish a university or its
campus in every district of the
country.
documents checked for
originality went up to over
6,00,000 while level of
unoriginal writing has
decreased to 18. 7 %, which is
a phenomenal decline.
Using Turnitin for originality
checking is a proven method
for reducing unoriginal
research work. A recent study
shows that institutions
worldwide, using Turnitin for
originality, reduce unoriginal
writing by 33 per cent with
some institutions seeing
reduction of up to 85 per cent.
The more broadly the Turnitin
is used, the greater the
reduction.

Symposium on Curriculum Development
in Higher Education
Two days long national symposium on
Curriculum Development in Higher Education
was held at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU),
Islamabad. The symposium, organized by the
Academics Division of Higher Education
Commission (HEC), was aimed at brainstorming
the most suitable procedure to be adopted as a
guideline for undertaking curriculum revision and
development at undergraduate and graduate
levels. Theme of the symposium was Today's
Curriculum Tomorrow's Nation.
Engr. Mian Muhammad Baligh ur Rehman,
Minister of State for Federal Education and
Professional Training was the chief guest in the
inauguration ceremony. Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed,
Chairman HEC, Dr. Shahid Siddiqui, Vice
Chancellor AIOU, Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi,
Executive Director HEC, Dr. Mahmood-ul-Hassan
Butt, former VC of AIOU as a keynote speaker as
well as Vice Chancellors of different local
universities were also present.
The experts, invited from relevant fields in
academia as well as industry, reviewed current
practices of curriculum development in higher
education and had focus group discussions to
recommend strategies for improving the current
practices of curriculum development. The
7
News & Views
symposium was aimed at placing higher education
in its local milieu from the international context
that is kept in view when transplanting
educational practices, identifying and filling the
gaps that currently exist in higher education
curriculum planning, responding to needs of the
society and related industries, fulfilling the
curriculum development needs with regards to
coordination and alignment, improving horizontal
and vertical relationship in curriculum, and
revising the curriculum on regular bases for
continuous improvement.
Speaking at the occasion, the Minister said that
curriculum is one of the most important
components of the education system and
appreciated the Higher Education Commission for
taking well-timed initiative to review the process
of curriculum development and revision. He said
that timely revision of curriculum was imperative
for assuring quality of education and setting high
standards for the education sector. He shared
with the audience the establishment of National
Curriculum Council, which has representation of
all regions of the country and is aimed at setting
minimum criteria for curricula from KG to Grade-
12. He also added that an Inter-Provincial
Education Ministers Conference was held recently
in Islamabad which was attended by education
 News & Views

ministers and secretaries from all provinces, FATA,
AJK and Gilgit Baltistan. "The response from all
regions of the country was very positive and the
participants discussed performance of the
education sector and discussed future plan of
action for the promotion of the education sector."
The Chairman HEC elaborated the role of
erstwhile University Grants Commission and HEC,
since its inception in 2002, for curriculum revision.
He said that though HEC's Curriculum Revision
Committees in different disciplines have been
meeting regularly to review curricula of respective
subjects but a need was felt to gather experts and
evaluate the review process itself. The basic
concept of holding this symposium is to revamp
the curriculum review process and seek guidance
from experts on how current practices of
curriculum review may be further improved and
ensure that curricula taught at higher learning
institutions fulfills the requirement of our society,
industry as well as government's policy making;
and to make national curricula at par with
international standards Dr. Mukhtar said.
In concluding session of the symposium, after
group presentations, Mr. Fida Hussain, Director
General Academics, HEC briefed the audience
about the group recommendations and said that a
comprehensive report comprising solid
recommendations of the groups, for revamping
the present curriculum development and review
process at HEC, will be finalized soon and
implemented at the national level. He also
appreciated the efforts made by group members,
group mediators and the officers/officials of
Curriculum/Academics Division in making the
event successful.

HEC & IST Sign MoU for Promoting Entrepreneurship

The Research and
Development Division, HEC and
Institute of Space Technology
(IST) have signed an MoU for
rolling out Start and Improve
Your Business Module in
Pakistan. Prof. Dr. Tariq
Mahmood, Adviser (R&D) HEC
and Dr. Zafar M. Khan, Director
General (ORIC) IST signed the
agreement at HEC Secretariat,
Islamabad. Fostering
entrepreneurship for men and
women is vital not only for
Pakistan's economic growth
but also for reaping utmost
benefits from our bulging
youth population that is
approximately 60 % of the total
population.
As an effort to enable the
universities to play their part
not just as degree awarding
institutions but for socio-
economic growth, HEC, in
collaboration with ILO is
conducting a series of capacity
building programmes for
Business Development Service
Provider staff of 10
universities. As per the MoU,
IST officers, after having been
trained as Master Trainers, will
cascade the training on
Generate Your business Idea,
Start Your Business and
Improve your Business
modules for graduates,
potential entrepreneurs and
nascent startups. It is expected
that each training cycle will
result in at least 10-12 doable
business plans and
establishment/strengthening
of 5-7 micro, small and
medium size enterprises.
Training of entrepreneurs will
be conducted in universities'
own training venues, with
technical guidance from ILO
and HEC.
Integrating business or
entrepreneurship education
with conventional discipline of
teaching will result into
cultivating a culture of
entrepreneurship in youth and
will enable the aspirant
entrepreneurs to launch
successful businesses.

8

Building Bridges and Fostering Collaborations in Business Education
nd
2 NBEAC DEANS & DIRECTORS
CONFERENCE 2015
The National Business
Education Accreditation
Council (NBEAC) and Institute
of Business Administration
(IBA), Karachi organized the
2nd Deans and Directors
Conference entitled Building
Bridges, Fostering
Collaborations in Business
Education.
The conference was a venue
for experience sharing, based
on discussions and
perspectives of business school
heads, industry professionals
and entrepreneurs.
NBEAC, which was established
by the Higher Education
Commission (HEC) of Pakistan
in 2007 to assure quality in
business education degree
programmes, is a national level
accrediting authority to
organize and carry out
comprehensive programme of
accreditation.
The strategic conference
provided a platform for the
participants to share their
experiences in establishing
linkages and fruitful
contributions made to the
development of business
education, industry and
economy.
Prominent speakers from
around the globe and country
shared stimulating ideas.
Challenges faced by business
institutions in establishing and
promoting linkages with other
universities, local and national
businesses, family and public
corporate and SMEs at both
national as well as
international level were also
addressed.
Eminent participants included
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman
HEC, Dr. Ishrat Husain, Director
IBA, Dr. Hasan Sohaib Murad,
Chairman NBEAC, Dr. Sadia
9
News & Views
Nadeem, Fast School of
Management, Dr. Syed Zahoor
Hassan, LUMS, Dr. Muhammad
Mohsin, Institute of
Management Sciences
Peshawar, Dr. Ehsan ul Haq,
Suleman Dawood School of
Business LUMS, Mr. Talib Karim,
IoBM, and Dr. Shaukat Brah, Ex-
Dean KSBL and many others.
Speaking at the inaugural
session, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed
appreciated the efforts of
NBEAC and IBA in organizing
the conference and bringing
industry and academia on one
platform and discussing
challenges faced by the
business education community
in Pakistan. He also launched
the first Business Education
Magazine of NBEAC
BizInsight.
Dr. Hasan Sohaib Murad said
that NBEAC is functioning as an
accrediting authority to
 News & Views
facilitate and enhance quality
of business education in the
country. He informed the
audience that this year 105
registered business schools are
participating in the NBEAC
Deans and Directors
Conference as compared to 86
participants in the previous
conference.
Dr. Ishrat Husain said that the
alliance between NBEAC and
IBA will play an important role
in enhancing quality of
business education in Pakistan.
It is said that in Pakistan
beautiful plans are made but
they are never executed but
IBA firmly believes in bringing
those plans to life and this
NBEAC incentive is a step to
ensuring that quality education
is being imparted to the
students of Pakistan, he said.
The session on Academia and
Corporate Linkages was
chaired by Dr. Sadia Nadeem.
She emphasized that to form
significant linkages between
academia and the corporate
world, more academics need to
go and venture into the
corporate world as just sending
out students is not enough to
ensure cooperation and
linkages between the two
diverse worlds.
Dr. Syed Zahoor Hassan stated
that key initiatives had been
taken by different institutions
to engage with the corporate
industry and it should be
noticed that every institution
had their own creative way to
engage with the industry.
The session entitled
Experience of International
Linkages was chaired by Dr.
Muhammad Mohsin. He said
that international linkages with
foreign institutions and bodies
were of greatest importance.
Dr. Ehsan ul Haq said that one
of the reasons LUMS has
excelled is because it had
foreign associations in form of
its curriculum and in terms of it
faculty. The speakers were
unanimous that international
linkages were crucial but
Pakistani institutions faced
problems getting foreign
students as exchange students
and foreign faculty to teach in
Pakistan as people were fearful
of the law and order situation.
Another session on
Developing Entrepreneurship
was chaired by Mr. Talib Karim,
who addressed the importance
of developing an
entrepreneurial mindset in
Pakistan. Speakers emphasized
that the spirit of
entrepreneurship was of
utmost importance for the
local scenario as it will help
provide jobs, which are dire
need for the country and the
economy.
10
The day two of the conference
focused on ways to promote
research collaborations and
commercialization.
Speaking on the topic of
Revamping Business
Programmes in Collaboration
with the Business Industry,
Dr. Shaukat Brah said, We
need visionary leaders, who
will act as effective agents of
change and are capable of
taking ownership of
organizations. We need to
teach our students curricula
that are attuned to local
business environment and
local economy.
The conference also touched
upon the Corporate Social
Responsibility and how
important it is for businesses
to give back to the society so
that the community benefits
and the country flourishes.
Closing the ceremony, Dr.
Mansoor Akbar Kundi,
Executive Director, HEC
congratulated NBEAC and IBA
for holding the conference,
adding it was so important to
dilate on these issues as the
nations are built and
destroyed in the classroom.

HEC, British Council to Increase Investment in
Research for Higher Education
Mr. Ciarn Devane, the new
Chief Executive Officer of the
British Council visited Higher
Education Commission (HEC),
Pakistan recently to participate
in the orientation event The
UK and Pakistan: Increasing
Investment in Research for
Higher Education. The
programme aimed to provide
an opportunity to beneficiaries
of the HEC-British Council
collaborative education and
research initiatives to meet the
new CEO and benefit from his
international experience and
proficiency.
Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed,
Chairman HEC, Mr. Peter
Upton, Country Director, British
Council Pakistan and Dr.
Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Acting
Executive Director were also
present, besides senior and
junior level researchers from
Pakistan's higher education
sector. British Council has been
working with HEC Pakistan
since 2004 with the launch of
joint Higher Education Links
programme and later on with
Phase II of the same
programme in 2006.
The programme has been
funded by the HEC and
managed by the British Council
in Pakistan. To date, the British
Council has built 50 research
and capacity-building links
between higher education
instituions of Pakistani and UK.
So far, over 160 partnerships
under various schemes have
been funded in Pakistani
universities. Some of the
programmes in which HEC and
British Council have
cooperated include Research
Partnerships, Leadership,
Knowledge Exchange, Capacity
Building of Senior
Management of Higher
Education Sector in Strategic
Management, Transnational
Education, Quality Assurance
for Pakistani HEIs, Scholarships,
Policy Dialogues, Talented
Research Exchange, Split-site
PhDs, and Transforming English
Language Skills for Higher
Education.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr.
Devane said, I am delighted to
meet the academic and
researcher community of
Pakistan. I am grateful to HEC
for inviting me to speak and to
meet so many partners doing
such good work together to
strengthen research and higher
education in Pakistan. Its really
impressive to see the great
work presented by senior
researchers which shows how
you are bringing together some
most important sectors of the
society, including academics,
industry, students, media, and
civil society.
11
News & Views
He said that the universities
can play a very important role
in stimulating and contributing
to innovation and social and
economic growth of any
country.
This role is in addition to core
missions of teaching and
research, complimenting and
enhancing these. It is very
promising to see that the
Government of Pakistan has
expanding access to higher
education and has worked
substantially at policy level to
improve scientific research
activities in Pakistan. It is not
simply about
commercialization of science
through creation of spin offs,
licenses etc. It is so
encouraging to see how British
Council Pakistan and HEC have
worked together to make the
Pakistani universities as 21st
century universities.
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said that
the HEC and British Council
relationship has helped to
strengthen Pakistan and UK
links, raise the profile of the
Pakistan-UK partnerships as
innovative and high-quality
through demonstrating how
 News & Views
researchers and academicians
can collaborate effectively,
significantly contribute to the
internationalisation of the
institutions, contribute to
capacity building in HEIs,
facilitate and build effective
and sustainable partnerships
based on research and/or
teaching agendas, and
Strengthening ORICs in Universities
ORICs Managers attend Training in
Australia and Thailand
A 12-day training cum
exposure visit programme at
Australia and Thailand was
organized by the Higher
Education Commission, under
Tertiary Education Support
Programme on Managing and
Facilitating Research in HEIs
for Managers of the Offices of
Research Innovation and
Commercialization (ORICs). The
training was conducted by the
AIT Extension Bangkok as
facilitating body. Twenty one
participants from different
universities across the country
participated.
The key objectives of the tour
were to strengthen capacity of
ORICs by enabling ORICs'
Managers to successfully
administer different activities
covering a variety of areas of
research promotion,
administration and
commercialization so as to
effectively provide strategic
and operational support to the
research activities and
programmes in their respective
institutions.
encourage multi-disciplinary
research, teaching
collaboration and/or
knowledge transfer. It is
pertinent to mention here that
98% of all university vice-
chancellors in Pakistan have
attended leadership training
programmes in the UK, 76% of
all current vice-chancellors
The training provided an
opportunity of international
exposure to the participants
who visited seven advanced
universities of Australia
including University of
Queensland, University of New
South Wales, Griffith University
and University of Sydney in
order to see their research
culture and to understand
latest practices to manage
research and development
activities.
The main focus of interests
were understanding working of
their research offices, to see
their research policies,
understanding procedure and
requirements for funding
research projects, transfer of IP
rights and royalties, and
12
contributed to policy
dialogues/ global education
dialogues that have been held
across the South Asia region,
78550 researchers and 97767
students were involved in
partnerships, in addition to 688
exchange visits from UK to
Pakistan and vice-versa took
place.
selection of innovation for IP
and commercialization.
At the concluding event of
certificate distribution,
Pakistan's High Commissioner
to Australia in Canberra, Ms.
Naela Chohan appreciated the
role and initiatives of HEC not
only for establishing ORICs in
universities but also for
strengthening capacity of
ORICs by extending
international exposure of the
advanced practices to
participants and broadening
their horizon. She emphasized
the need to cascade learning in
respective universities, and
urged the participants to play
an effective role in the progress
and socio-economic
development of the country.
 News & Views

Chairman HEC Visits LUMHS

Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman, Higher
Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan along
with Dr. Raza Bhatti, Member (HRD) HEC and Mr.
Naveed Hussain Shah Tirmazi Director
(Monitoring and Evaluation) HEC visited Liaquat
University of Medical and Health Sciences
(LUMHS), Jamshoro.

Prof. Dr. Noshad A. Shaikh, Vice Chancellor

LUMHS, briefed the Chairman about various HEC
funded and university owned projects which were
highly acknowledged.

Prof. Dr. Aneela Atta Ur Rahman, Dean, Faculty of

Community Medicine and Public Health Sciences,
LUMHS presented a concept of establishing
Institute of Community Health Sciences at
LUMHS, the project was thoroughly discussed and
it was agreed in principle that the PC-1 in this
regard will be submitted to HEC.
The Chairman HEC granted five million rupees to
the Faculty of Community Medicine and Public
Health Sciences for establishing Health
Management Information System (HMIS) Centre.
Later on, Dr. Mukhtar inaugurated LUMHS
Community Health FM Radio established by the
Faculty of Community Medicine and Public Health
Sciences. He appreciated efforts for raising
general health awareness. The HEC delegation
also paid a visit to Minimal Invasive Surgery Unit
and state-of-the-art Skill labs of LUMHS.

Evaluation Committee of ISP Meets at HEC

The 9th Meeting of the Technical Evaluation
Committee of Institutional Strengthening
Programme (ISP) was held at HEC Islamabad
recently. Dr. Mansoor Akbar Khan Kundi, Executive
Director HEC, chaired the meeting, which was
attended by Ch. Muhammad Nazir, Director
General, Department of Libraries, Dr. Aysha
Khalique, Head, School of Physics, National
University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Mr.
Fida Hussain, Director General, Academics HEC,
Mr. Ejaz Hussain, Director General, Finance &
Planning HEC, Mr. Liaqat Hussain, Director Audit
HEC and Dr. Muhammad Tahir Ali Shah, Deputy
Director Academics HEC.
Mr. Fida Hussain apprised the members about the
previous meetings of the Committee. He informed
them that the basic function of TEC-ISP is
evaluation/scrutiny of proposals for strengthening
and up-gradation of laboratories and libraries
received from public sector universities and
degree awarding institutions for grant of funding
up to Rs. 2 Million by the Higher Education
Commission.
A total of 43 proposals were received for funding
from various public sector universities, campuses
and degree awarding institutions. The Committee
evaluated all proposals thoroughly and
recommended 24 proposal for funding up to 40
million under the scheme.
Furthermore, it was decided that physical
verification will be done by HEC from time to
time, of those institutions to whom the grant has
been released under the Institutional
Strengthening Programme.

13
 News & Views
MUET holds IMTIC 2015
The Mehran University of
Engineering and Technology
(MUET), Jamshoro recently
organized 4th International
Multi Topic Conference (IMTIC
'15) with the support of Higher
Education Commission (HEC),
Pakistan, Technical
Collaboration of European
Union Erasmus Mundus INTACT
and LEADERS, Centre for
Telecommunication
Infrastructure (CTIF), Alborg
University, Denmark, and
University of Umm Al- Qura,
Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Prof. Dr.
Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman,
Higher Education Commission
(HEC) was the chief guest on
the occasion.
In his opening overview, Prof.
B. S. Chowdhry, chief organizer
of event and Dean FEECE,
MUET mentioned that IMTIC
provides a forum for technical
exchange among researchers
from academia and industries
in various emerging fields of
Computing, Wireless
Communication, Signal
Processing, Speech and Pattern
Recognition, Computer
Systems and Networks,
Wireless Sensor Networks,
Neural Networks and Control
Systems, Power Electronics,
Energy Management,
Nanotechnology, spanning
across seven tracks.
Prof. Dr. M. A. Uqaili, Vice
Chancellor MUET in his
welcome address thanked
Chairman HEC for his support
and inaugurating the ICT
Flagship event. He said that
IMTIC'15 brings together a
wide spectrum of international
experts to facilitate promotion
of knowledge transfer. and
collaboration.
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed in his
address said it is a golden era
of the country that 163
universities are imparting
higher education in the public
and private sectors and the
number is still increasing. He
said that the conference will
help in disseminating latest
developments, research and
market trends to students,
professionals, practitioners and
academicians. Earlier, the
Chairman inaugurated the
Mehran University Teachers
and Students Centre. He was
accompanied by Dr. Ghulam
Raza Bhatti, Member (HRD)
HEC.
Prof. Hermann de Meer, Chair
of Computer Networks and
Computer Communications,
University of Passau, Germany,
gave his keynote on IT
Challenges of an Intelligent
Management of Energy
Systems. Prof. Dr. Seshadri,
Department of Systems
Engineering, University of
Arkansas, USA talked about
how Social Networks Meet
Mobile Multimedia Internet. Dr
Ian Grout of the Department of
Electronic and Computer
Engineering at the University of
14
Limerick, Ireland discussed the
role of assistive technology (AT)
to support students accessing
and participating in education.
A Perspective of the Networks
of Future and Smart Cities
were presented by the Prof. Dr.
Luis Manuel Correia, of
Department of
Telecommunication
Engineering, INOV-INESC
Institute, Portugal. Dr. Florin
Popentiu Vldicescu,
Department of Software
Engineering/ UNESCO Chair at
University "Politehnica" of
Bucharest, Romania, presented
several aspects of software
design methodologies in order
to produce high quality
software.
In the second day of
conference, Poster session was
inaugurated by the IEEEP
President Engr Mohsin M Syed.
He praised the efforts of
students for creating excellent
ideas in their poster session in
the diversified areas of Energy
Management, Internet of
Things, Wireless Sensor
Networks, smart cities, and so
on. Also, he attended several
Guest speakers presentations
on Characterization and
Influence of Titanium Dioxide
Via Ultrasonic Process for Dye
Sensitized Photovoltaic Solar
Cell, Global Trends in ROV'S
Development and
 News & Views

Applications, Internet of
Things: From R&D to Startups,
Operational Excellence in
Clean Power Generation at
Minimum Cost and Utmost
Reliable Through Fuel Cell
System at Small Foot Print of
Installation and so on. Dr.
Faisal Karim Shaikh, Chair TPC
informed that all the IMTIC
steering committee members
are from Tech developed
countries. Initially there were
more than 400 submissions
through EasyChair Conference
system.
On the occasion of concluding
ceremony on the third day of
the conference, Chairman
SUPARCO Maj. Gen (R) Ahmed
Bilal was the Chief Guest. In
his address, he highlighted the
significance of University-
Industry interaction by
fostering a problem-solving
approach that encourages
researchers to work together
across departments, fields, and
industries.

Public Sector Universities, Institutions and Centres of Interior Sindh

Training of Treasurers and Employees of

Audit & Accounts Departments

HEC is making continuous efforts to develop As many as 37 participants from different

Financial Management and Accounting Systems
across the higher education sector. To further this
objective, Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman
HEC has directed to provide funds to all the public
sector universities to impart trainings to its
officers and staff.
Under this programme, Mehran University of
Engineering and Technology, (MUET) Jamshoro
organized a training cum workshop for capacity
building and enhancing the skills of the Treasurers
and employees of Audit and Accounts
Departments of the universities of Sindh
particularly those universities located in interior
Sindh not having such opportunities in the past.
In his inaugural speech, Dr. Mohammad Aslam
Uqaili, Vice Chancellor MUET welcomed the
participants and the resource persons. He thanked
HEC for providing an opportunity to the
universities to build capacity of their employees.
Accounts, Audit and Finance departments
attended the workshop which was arranged by
Mr. Munir Ahmed Shaikh, Director Finance MUET
in coordination with Khawaja Zahid Hussain,
Financial Management Specialist, HEC.
Speakers and specialists shared their experiences
and contributed thought provoking ideas on
topics as Good Governance, Revenue
Diversification, New Accounting Model (NAM),
Automation, ERP, Taxation, Procurement Process
Internal Control and Financial Management.
The participants termed the training valuable for
the capacity building of the university employees.
They recognized the efforts of HEC and MUET in
conducting an important workshop on FM
Reforms. The Pre- and Post-Training tests showed
marked improvement in the understanding and
skills of the participants.

15
 News & Views
Phase-III of Thematic Research Grants Programme Launched
Promotion of Social Sciences Research among
HEC's Top Priorities: Chairman HEC
Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed,
Chairman, Higher Education
Commission, has said that HEC
has been endeavoring to
promote and intensify research
in Social Sciences. We have
setup a dedicated social
sciences section at HEC to
identify realities of diverse
social and human issues which
Pakistan is facing. Thematic
Research Grants Programme,
whose third phase has been
launched, is specifically
designed to address
contemporary issues of the
country.
Further, the Chairman said that
the scholars and researchers of
Social Sciences and Humanities,
who have theoretical,
conceptual, methodological and
policy orientation background,
have been invited for grants.
Their research projects may
belong to any Social Sciences
and Humanities discipline or
may be interdisciplinary as well
as multidisciplinary in nature.
Groups or individual
researchers/scholars from
public as well as private sector
universities and degree
awarding institutions can
submit their proposals, he
said.
Research themes, on which
proposals will be submitted,
include Security Challenges in
Pakistan; Pakistani Society:
Tradition and Change;
Balancing Global and Local
Needs: Geo-political Economy;
Education Policy, Leadership
and Management for the 21st
Century; and Governance and
Development.
The Chairman further said that
the Committee for
Development of Social
Sciences and Humanities in
Pakistan (CDSSHP), established
by HEC, has been tasked to
deliberate upon and identify
the problems, and recommend
immediate, short-term as well
as long-term measures to
make Social Sciences
education vibrant, dynamic
and attuned to the present and
future needs of Pakistan.
The primary objective of this
Committee is to develop
existing level of faculty and to
create an environment
conducive to research and
development activities in
Social Sciences and
Humanities.
Besides, the Committee also
focuses on institutional and
infrastructure development,
and reviewing quality
assurance standards. There are
14 Subcommittees in different
disciplines falling under Social
Sciences, Arts, Humanities and
Business Education, and each
is chaired by individual
member of CDSSHP, he said.
16
The Chairman revealed that
Pakistan had gained
membership of the Asian
Social Sciences Association
(ASSA) and Pakistan will host
the Association's first meeting
in October this year.
Moreover, he said that HEC, in
collaboration with the
University of Peshawar, is
holding the 3rd Social Sciences
Conference in May 2015.
He also highlighted HEC's plan
to establish Social Sciences
Research Council, Pakistan.
The aim of all these initiatives
is to identify indigenous needs
and priorities to address issues
of national importance,
enhance interdisciplinary and
multidisciplinary research and
link Social Sciences for
providing solutions to issues
that face us. The ultimate aim
would be to advice the
Government on National
Social Policy for more
concerted work in the field.
Dr. Mukhtar said that HEC is
also promoting societal
research through publications
of research journals falling
under the disciplines of Social
Sciences, Arts, Humanities and
Business Education.
Evaluation, recognition,
categorization, funding and up
gradation of journals of Social
Sciences and Humanities is
being special attention.

HEC to Strengthen Inter-University
Consortium for Social Sciences
The Higher Education
Commission is stepping up
efforts for advancement of
Social Sciences research with
special focus on impact on
society. This was discussed in
detail during a meeting of Dr.
Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman,
Higher Education Commission
(HEC) with members of the
Inter University Consortium on
Social Sciences.
Heads of universities from
members of the Consortium
who attended the meeting
include, Dr. Shahid Siddiqui,
Vice Chancellor Allama Iqbal
Open University, Dr.
Mohammad Ali, Vice
Chancellor Government
College University Faisalabad,
Dr. Qaiser Mushtaq, Vice
Chancellor, Islamia University,
Bahahwalpur, Dr. Javed Iqbal,
Vice Chancellor, University of
Balochistan, Dr. Zia Qayyum,
Vice Chancellor, University of
Gujrat, Dr. Mohsin Khan,
Director, Institute of
Management Sciences
Peshawar and Dr. Aliya Khan,
Dean, Faculty of Social
Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam
University.
It was agreed that the
Consortium would share
resources, exchange students
and scholars, conduct joint
research projects and develop
and enhance faculty strength
through exchange as adjunct
faculty.
It will also help develop
linkages with national and
international organizations and
host joint seminars and
conferences. There was
consensus on the dire need to
revitalize Social Sciences
research and end duplication
of work that was visible in
working of various committees.
A national conference on Social
Sciences is planned for May by
University of Peshawar in a link
to revive waning interest in the
sector.
Chairman HEC revealed that
Pakistan had gained
membership of the Asian Social
Sciences Association (ASSA) in
November 2014 and Pakistan
would host the Association's
first meeting in October this
year. A Social Sciences
conference will also be held at
the same time. He further
17
News & Views
shared with the participants
the plan to establish Social
Sciences Research Council,
Pakistan and preparations
were afoot to promote and
achieve excellence by
encouraging scholarly
cooperation and collaboration
in the Social Sciences sector.
The aim would include to
identify indigenous needs and
priorities to address issues of
national importance, enhance
interdisciplinary research and
link social sciences for
providing solutions to issues
that face us. Its ultimate aim
would be to advice the
Government on National
Social Policy for more
concerted work in the field.
The member vice chancellors
expressed their resolve to
work for the renaissance of
the Social Science discipline
and agreed to apply involving
students in community work
for the uplift of the adjoining
as suggest by Chairman HEC.
The next meeting will be held
at Allama Iqbal Open
University at the end of the
month.
News & Views
43 universities connected via video conferencing
Lecture on American Education System
The Higher Education
Commission hosted a lecture
to 43 university sites via its
video conference facility which
was also attended by vice
chancellors and their
representatives of Rawalpindi
and Islamabad. HEC senior
management also attended.
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman
HEC presided over the session.
He introduced the guest
speaker Prof. Rodger A. Randel,
who is two time Mayor, and
former President of University
of Oklahoma. He is Director,
OU Centre for Studies in
Democracy and Culture and a
Professor at Department of
Human Relations.
Prof. Randel presented a
comprehensive overview of
the American higher education
system. Outlining the evolution
of the higher education he
defined the development and
later creations of community
colleges, teaching colleges and
research universities. He also
shared in detail the most
important component of a
successful system, being
quality and various check and
balances that have been
created to uphold the quality
of teaching.
He highlighted the importance
of the President/Rector of a
university which in the US
system is executive driven. He
stressed that the head of the
university is answerable to the
Board of Governors and also
responsible for guidance and
being responsible for providing
the leadership and the ability
to guide through transitions.
Prof. Randel also mentioned
the need to maintain academic
freedom and ways that could
18
be protect and the importance
of respecting the other's point
of view and hence the need to
be politically correct.
He praised the progress
Pakistan has made in the last
decade and encouraged the
university leaders to have faith
in themselves and experiment
with new solutions. He said his
observations were based on
multiple visits to Pakistan and
study of the system.
He said Pakistan possesses
great skill and potential for
new possibilities and
innovations. He said he
witnessed exceptional
commitment and quality in
Pakistan which can steer the
country to success. He said if
this skill was honed effectively,
he foresaw Pakistan as a global
leader in the field of higher
education.
 News & Views

Dr. Sophiya Umar has completed PhD in Fine Arts

HEC Scholar holds Solo Painting Exhibition in France
Dr. Sophiya Umar has
completed her PhD degree in
the field of Fine Arts from
Universite Jean Monnet-Saint-
Etienne, France under HEC
scholarship programme
entitled Overseas scholarships
for MS/MPhil leading to PhD in
Selected Fields (Phase-II).
She organized a solo painting
exhibition in Saint-Etienne,
France. She is an exceptional
Pakistani woman who has done
her PhD from France, where
she learned a new language
and even completed her PhD
thesis in French language.
She organized her first solo
painting exhibition in France.
For the University Jean Monnet
it was for the first time that a
painting exhibition by any
Pakistani artist was organized
in the Hall named L'Atrium,
which made the event even
more special for everyone
around. The topic of the
exhibition Vers Le Ciel
towards the sky speaks for
itself. Paintings related to sky,
galaxies and the world beyond
imagination were the part of
this event. At the same time
mix cultural effects and
impacts were clearly evident
from Dr. Sophiya's work.
Paintings at the same time Vandecasteele, Director and
represented local indigenous responsible for International
elements like kites, topic of Relations Fine-Arts
Basant, Balloons, etc. whereas department. They highly
there was depth and profound appreciated the efforts and
abstraction in the background welcomed future collaboration
with subtle and sober colours. among the various universities
of France and Pakistan.
The opening speech was
delivered by Mr. Serge Riffard Dr. Sophiya Umar informed the
the Vice President of audience about Pakistani art,
University, followed by culture and food. The
speeches of Madam Brigitte knowledge of Pakistani culture
Renouf, delegate for imparted by her paintings was
International Relations and highly appreciated by the
Director for Common Services audience and visitors who
of Documentation and Mr. Eric came from all over France.

Honour for CEMB's PhD Scholar

Mr. Azeem Mehmood Butt, a research scholar at
the National Centre of Excellence in Molecular
Biology (CEMB), University of the Punjab Lahore,
is working on Hepatitis C Viruses under the
supervision of Dr. Muhammad Idrees Khan.
His research project is on genome-wide
expression profiling of small non-coding RNAs in
Hepatitis C patients. Mr. Butt has been selected
for a six-month IRSIP fellowship and is currently at
the Imperial College, London where he is
performing next generation sequencing data
analysis under the supervision of Dr. Leandro
Castellano at the Hammersmith Hospital campus.
He recently presented an abstract of his PhD
research work entitled, "Identification and
Expression Profiling of microRNAs in Hepatitis C
Patients by Using Next Generation Sequencing"
for poster presentation in the Viral Hepatitis
Congress held in Frankfurt, Germany.
His abstract was selected for presentation and
awarded a fellowship of free registration in the
conference. It was published in the supplement
issue of the Journal of Viral Hepatitis (impact
factor 3.37) and he was awarded a Certificate of
Excellence.

19
 News & Views

NCRC Reviews Curricula of

Agricultural Chemistry & Plant Protection
A meeting of the National
Committee for Curriculum
Revision was recently held at
HEC Regional Centre, Karachi
to review and upgrade syllabus
for BS and MS in Agricultural
Chemistry.

Mr. Fida Hussain, Director

General (Academics) HEC
briefed the participants about
objectives of the meeting
through video link from HEC
Islamabad. Ms. Ghayyur
Fatima, Director (Academics)
HEC coordinated the meeting.
The Committee unanimously
selected Dr. Anwar Ali Shad as
Convener and Dr. Rashid
Mahmood as Secretary.
The Committee thoroughly
reviewed existing scheme of
studies and course contents for
BS Agricultural Chemistry.
After in-depth deliberations
the course contents were
revised to make them in-line
with modern trends and
international standards so that
graduates are more
competitive in the global
scenario.
The scheme of studies for MS
in Agricultural Chemistry was
also revised. Several new
courses were included. The
Committee recommended that
laboratory facilities in
Agricultural Chemistry should
be upgraded and strengthened
so that students get
acquainted with modern
analytical techniques and
equipment.
Another meeting of National
Curriculum Revision
Committee of Plant Protection
was organized at HEC Regional
Centre, Lahore. Professors and
scientists from various
universities, degree awarding
institutions and research
organizations across the
country attended the meeting.
The curriculum of Plant
Protection subject was
thoroughly reviewed and
updated by including latest
developments and innovations.
Some new courses, as needed
in future, were also coined and
incorporated in undergraduate
and graduate curricula. To
implement practical
knowledge, it was
recommended that HEC should
provide ample funds for
establishment of state-of-the-
art Plant Protection
laboratories and libraries in
the universities.
To avoid brain-drain, the
young scientists should be
encouraged to stay in
Pakistan. It was also
recommended that full
semester hands on training or
internship of undergraduate
students at research institutes
or agro based industrial
organizations should be
introduced. For this purpose,
appropriate financial support
to universities was also
recommended. The startup
research grant for MSc/PhD
student was also emphasized.
Prof. Dr. Ghulam Jilani, Dean,
Faculty of Agriculture, Lasbela
University convened the
meeting and Prof. Dr. Ahmad-
Ur-Rahman Saljoqi was
Secretary of the meeting.

20
 News & Views

TESP Activities
2nd Steering Committee Meeting held at HEC
The second steering committee
meeting of Tertiary Education
Support Programme (TESP) was
held at Higher Education
Commission (HEC) Islamabad. The
meeting was chaired by Dr.
Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Executive
Director HEC.

In his welcome note he

commended the role of TESP in
supporting the implementation of
the MTDF HE-II. He briefed the participants on the role played by HEC in serving the cause of higher
education in Pakistan, and the role of the TESP secretariat in supporting HEC in attaining its goals and
objectives. The Programme Coordinator TESP presented the progress on DLIs, legal covenants, trainings
and procurement. The Committee expressed its satisfaction from the implementation progress and
appreciated the role of the incumbent TESP team in improving the status of TESP from moderately
unsatisfactory to moderately satisfactory, as rated by the Review Mission of the World Bank.

TESP Steering Committee strongly proposed that the case for reallocation of the cancelled amount of
US$77.82 million may be taken up with the World Bank and the HEC, for extension of the Project beyond
December 31, 2015.

Workshop on Environmental and Social Management Plan

HEC has conducted environmental
assessment and prepared an
Environmental and Social
Management Plan (ESMP) for the
purpose of monitoring and
reporting on the issues faced during
construction work in the
universities. Under TESP, HEC
organized a training workshop for
the stakeholders of public sector
universities on December 11, 2014.

In the opening session Mr. Asad Khan, Programme Coordinator TESP, presented the progress on DLIs, legal
covenants, trainings and procurement. Mr. Irfan Ullah, Deputy Director (M&E) briefed about the
Environmental and Social Management Plan. He said that ESMP defines the role and responsibilities of
stakeholders and presents a set of environmental mitigation measures, which focus at avoiding and
preventing the adverse environmental and social impacts of the projects. He said that ESMP also suggests
institutional setup for ensuring smooth implementation, compliance and monitoring and reporting of the
stakeholders. Mr. Saadat Ali consultant ESMP briefed the participants about role and responsibilities
regarding ESMP. He also sensitized the participants on the environmental and social impacts associated
with the ESMP.

21
 News & Views
11th Graduation Ceremony at
National Defence University
The 11th graduation ceremony
was recently held at National
Defence University, Islamabad.
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman,
Higher Education Commission
(HEC) graced the occasion as
chief guest.
The ceremony was attended by
graduates, faculty, dignitaries
and senior military and
government officials.
In total, 228 students of PhD,
MPhil and MSc were awarded
degrees from the Faculty of
Contemporary Studies. Eight
students were honored gold
medals for their outstanding
achievements in their
academic career. Two minutes
Symposium on WW1 and its Impact on South Asia
The year 2014 marks the
centenary of the First World
War, which is such a
devastating period in the
history that it needs
remembering. To observe the
centenary commemorations of
World War I, National
silence was also observed to
display solidarity with the
Shuhada of APS Peshawar.
Lt. Gen. Javaid Iqbal, President
NDU, congratulated the
graduating batch and stated
that a nation's character is
shaped by its educational
institutions.
He added that our leadership is
groomed in centres of
excellence that train the
leaders in interpreting
pragmatically the events that
unfold at national and
international level.
Thus, civilian scholars and
graduates have been trained
Defence University (NDU)
Islamabad in collaboration
with the High Commission of
United Kingdom organized an
international symposium on
World War I and its Impact
on South Asia at NDU
Islamabad.
22
along these lines during their
studies here at NDU.
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed conferred
degrees to the graduating
students of PhD, MPhil, and
MSc programmes. He said that
NDU presents a fine blend of
military and civilian students,
besides a sizeable number of
foreign military officers.
The alumni of NDU feels proud
to be part of NDU as they find
ample opportunities and
extensive exposure through
interaction with intellectuals,
think tanks and national and
international institutions. He
further congratulated NDU for
its pivotal role in promoting
research while creating a
single platform for all
politicians, military and civil
society.
Dr. Mukhtar stressed the
importance of education and
training which would further
lead to nation building. He
said it is the hour of need for
Pakistan to unite under the
banner of education and
promote the sentiments of
nationalism while leaving our
cocoons by joining hands and
resolving our internal issues.
Sahibzada Yaqoob Khan,
former Foreign Minister of
Pakistan, graced the occasion
as the chief guest. British High
Commissioner to Pakistan Mr.
Philip Barton delivered a
keynote speech in the opening
session. The event was largely
 News & Views

attended by the services

officers, academicians,
historians,students and policy
makers.

Extending warm welcome to

the guests, President NDU,
Lieutenant General Javed Iqbal,
HI (M) highlighted that First
World War had an indelible
extensive bearing on the then
evolving environment of
South Asia. The Symposium
featured discussions and
presentations from leading
academics, international
speakers and First World War
experts from Australia, the UK
and Pakistan.
The event highlighted
awareness of the contribution
made by the Commonwealth
and in particular South Asia in
the First World War, especially
the role played by a very
sizable Muslim contingent
within the then British Indian
Army. The topics discussed at
the Symposium ranged from the
overall context of South Asia
before and during the War, the
impact of the War on the region
and the personal experiences of
soldiers and 'sepoys'.
Experts and analysts including
Dr. Hassan Askari, Mr. Jehangir
Ashraf Qazi and Dr. Razia
Sultana said that the largest
portion of the Indian budget in
1914 went to defence and a vast
majority of troops was
enlisted from Punjab which
included today's Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
Prof. Daniel Marston of
Australian National University
said that one of the reasons
was that the military was the
only organised and intact
institution at the time of
independence in 1947. The
Symposium also highlighted
political and geographical
scenario of the region, as the
World War ensued.

GIK Institute team leaves for Manila

A seven-member team of Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Institute (GIKI) of Engineering, Sciences and
Technology has left for Manila, Philippines to
participate in Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2015,
scheduled to be held from February 26 to March 1
and a total of 14 teams of different universities
from Pakistan would participate in the contest.

The prototype car made by GIK Institute team

after rigorous efforts has cost one million rupees.
The car made by them could play both with fuel
and electricity but its cost is nominal as compared
to consumption of other vehicles. Dr. Javed A.
Chattha, Pro-Rector Academic is Adviser of the
team. distance per kilowatt per hour but for the
upcoming marathon our car speed is enhanced to
The GIK Institute team stood 6th in the previous 300 kilometers distance per kilowatt per hours,
competition but now they had improved their car. said Kazi Sher Ahmad, who leads the seven-
Last year, our car covered 205 kilometers member team.

23
 News & Views

On-campus Training of Faculty at Punjab University

Dr. Mujahid Kamran, Vice Chancellor, University of
the Punjab, Lahore has said that teachers must
study unbiased and original history besides
mastering their subjects so that they have proper
understanding of national and international affairs.
He was addressing a session of Assistant Professors
of Punjab University who completed indigenous
on-campus training programme jointly organized
by HEC and University of the Punjab. The
Programme's Convener and Dean, Faculty of
Behavioral and Social Sciences, Dr. Zakria Zakir,
Registrar Dr. Liaqat Ali, and a large number of
Assistant Professors were present on the occasion.
The Vice Chancellor said that the great nations
were under the control of world's financial elite
because of concentration of wealth while around
1.5 billion Muslims of the world had almost no
share in creation of new knowledge. He advised
the faculty members to perform their duties in a
responsible manner and give maximum time to
the students.
Dr. Zakria Zakir said that the training provided an
opportunity to the teachers to interact with
teachers of the other disciplines. He said that
teachers had not only obtained knowledge of
various rules and regulations but their
administrative skills had also improved.
He said that teachers must make all-out efforts to
promote culture of research on campus and
respond to intellectual needs of the society.

Dr. Abida Taherani Assumes Charge of

VC University of Sindh
Newly-appointed Vice Chancellor, University of
Sindh Prof. Dr. Abida Taherani has took over the
charge of her new office.

Dr. Taherani was welcomed by deans of faculties,

office-bearers of Sindh University Officers Welfare
Association (SUOWA), as well as employees.

The acting Vice Chancellor Dr. Imdad Ali Ismaili

handed over the charge to Dr. Taheran. Speaking
at the occasion, the new Vice Chancellor said she
wanted to develop Sindh University so as to make
it a model university in the country. She said that
her priority was to provide quality education to
students in the varsity.
She said she had plans to train newly appointed
teaching and non-teaching staff in order to get
required goals, adding that opportunities will be
created for students to learn in a modern way
with fully equipped classrooms.

24
 News & Views

Faculty of Education building at SALU

The US Consul General in
Karachi, Mr. Brian Heath, along
with Sindh Education Minister
Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, Dr.
Parveen Shah, Vice Chancellor,
Shah Abdul Latif University
(SALU), Dr. Fazlullah Pechuho,
Secretary for Education and
Literacy, Government of Sindh
and Dr. Ghulam Raza Bhatti,
Member (HRD) HEC
inaugurated the USAID funded
(US$1.9 million) Faculty of
Education building at SALU
Khairpur.
We are committed to help
Pakistan develop strong
educational institutions, and
inauguration of this new
building is a symbol of our
resolve to promote education
in Pakistan, said Mr. Heath,
addressing a gathering of
students, faculty and members
of the SALU community.
Mr. Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said
that Shah Abdul Latif University
is imparting higher education
to the upper Sindh. He said
that Sindh Chief Minister is
committed to provide
education to people at their
doorstep.
Dr. Parveen Shah appreciated
USAID for selecting SALU as its
partner to promote teacher's
quality education in the Upper
Sindh region. Dr. Shah said
provision of such excellent
infrastructure in the shape of
Faculty of Education Building
offers world-class facility to
nurture teachers into great
teachers. Dr. Fazlullah Pechuho
and Dr. Ghulam Raza Bhatti
also spoke at the occasion.
Earlier, Dr. Ghulam Ali Mallah
briefed the Consul General
about the salient features and
available facilities at the
building. He said the SALU
Faculty of Education has a
covered area of 15,679 square
feet and comprises six
classrooms, three seminar
halls, a library and a laboratory,
one learning resource centre,
one multi-purpose hall and a
faculty lounge, and an elevator
for the handicapped. This is a
state-of-the-art, wifi-enabled
and environmental-friendly
building. It is one of the six
Faculties of Education buildings
constructed across Pakistan,
three of which are at
Universities in Sindh, including
Sindh University, Hyderabad
and University of Karachi."

Prof. Anwar-ul-Hassan
Awarded Dr. Z. A. Hashmi
R&D Gold Medal
Prof. Anwar-ul-Hassan Gilani, HEC Distinguished
National Professor and Director, Natural Products
Research Programme at the Aga Khan University has
been awarded Dr. Z. A. Hashmi R&D Gold Medal by
the Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) for being the
most outstanding and productive Principal Investigator The Medal was awarded in a ceremony held
of Pakistan Science Foundation funded projects in 10 at PSF Islamabad on the occasion of World
years (2001-2011). Science Day for Peace and Development.

25
 News & Views
Prof. Gilani, who holds multiple honours and
awards including two civil awards (Pride of
Performance and Sitara-i-Imtiaz), Salam Prize in
Biology by TWAS, Boehringer International
Research Award and Life-Time Academic
UoK Symposium on
Molecular Medicine and Drug Research
The four-day 5th International Symposium-Cum-
Training Course on Molecular Medicine and Drug
Research (MMDR-5) was recently held at the
International Centre for Chemical and Biological
Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi (UoK). Over
350 scientists, including 60 scientists from 28
countries attended the event, organised by Dr.
Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug
Research (PCMD), UoK.
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC was the chief
guest in the inaugural ceremony. Dr. Muhammad
Qaiser, Vice Chancellor UoK, Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman,
former Chairman HEC, Dr. Syed Abid Azhar, Dean
Faculty of Science and Dr. Muhammad Iqbal
Choudhary, Director ICCBS were also present.
Speaking at the occasion, the Chairman said that
Pakistani universities have made their mark at
international level and some of our universities
are among top 300 Asian universities. He said that
HEC is trying to improve quality of higher
education in the country and help institutions
improve their rankings.
Although Pakistan was passing through a crucial
time, scientific activities were continuing in the
country, adding that many international
delegates come to Pakistan with negative image
of the country but when they go back their
perspective is totally changed. He said that
26
Achievements Award by the HEC, has also been
conferred the prestigious Fellowship of TWAS-
The World Academy of Sciences for the
Advancement of Science in Developing
Countries.
increasing number of research papers annually,
quality of education and international ranking of
institutions reveal that the country owns
essentially positive activities.
Dr. Muhammad Qaiser said that PCMD was
playing a pivotal role in the field of molecular
medicine and drug research. This is highly
encouraging that a galaxy of scientists has come
to the University from abroad despite country's
bad law and order situation. This was an
extraordinary opportunity for young scientists to
learn from vast experience of these scientists, he
maintained.
Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman said that progress of any
country depended on positive polices and
priorities of the government. He reminded the
audience about the initiatives in the field of
higher education taken by HEC, adding that
Pakistan had only 57 universities in 2001, and
now this figure is 163. He said that about 0.25
million students were enrolled in the varsities
when HEC had started its journey but now that
numbers has crossed 1.3 million.
Senator Abul Haseeb Khan, Chancellor Hamdard
University, Ms. Sadia Rashid, Managing Trustee
Muhammad Hussain Panjwani Memorial Trust,
Ms. Nadira Punjwani, Dr. Asmat Saleem and other
dignitaries also attended the event.
 News & Views

QAU Trainings on Effective Management Skills

The Quaid-i-Azam University
(QAU) in collaboration, under
Higher Education Commission's
Modern University Governance
Programme, recently organized
a series of training programmes
on Effective Management
Skills. As many as 90 non-
teaching staff members of QAU,
affiliated ICT colleges and
surrounding universities and policy making, effective Higher Education Commission
attended three training communication and organized a five-day
programmes, which were aimed interpersonal skills, time international workshop on
to equip the university management, government Clinical Pharmacy.
management with latest financial rules, strategic
governance tools and to bridge management, change During the workshop,
the gap between management management, constitutional internationally renowned
and academia. and legal framework and experts in Clinical Pharmacy
effective decision making. from Malaysia shared their
The participants attended professional experience with
sessions on personal Workshop on Clinical Pharmacy students including a practical
effectiveness, developing team The Department of Pharmacy, orientation of students at
work, attitude management, QAU in collaboration with the Federal Government Services
stress management, procedure University of Sains Malaysia and Hospital.

Indigenous On-campus Training at QUEST

A five-day Indigenous On-Campus Training (IOT)
workshop was recently held at Quaid-e-Awam
University of Engineering, Science and Technology
(QUEST) Nawabshah. The capacity building workshop
was designed for non-teaching staff of BPS-16 and
above cadre from QUEST as well as from the
surrounding universities/colleges to promote good
governance on campus and to bridge distance between
all universities stakeholders. The comprehensive
workshop, comprising 15 sessions, covered diverse for enhancing professional skills of the
topics as good governance, leadership and administrative staff of higher education
administration skills, quality assurance, career institutions of Pakistan. The workshop
development, ethical behaviour, team work, finance, coordinator, Dr. Pradeep Kumar explained
auditing, reporting, IT/computer skills, technical writing, objective of the workshop. He said that the
management, intra-departmental communication, etc. focus of HEC, during the last decade, was to
produce highly-qualified teaching faculty at
Dr. Abdul Karim Baloch, Vice Chancellor, QUEST public sector universities. However, now HEC
Nawabshah was the chief guest in the opening is also targeting at the skill development of
ceremony. He appreciated the HEC training programmes administrative and management staff.

27
 News & Views

th
BNU holds 9 Convocation
The ninth convocation of
Beaconhouse National
University (BNU) was held
recently where 362 graduates
received their degrees of
undergraduate and
postgraduate programmes
offered at the University.

This year, 20 graduates were

awarded gold medals of which
14 were girls. Another 23
students received certificates
of distinction on account of
their outstanding performance.
The ceremony was presided
over by renowned human
rights activist Ms. Asma Jilani
Jahangir. In her address, she
talked about women
empowerment and
congratulated the graduates on
successfully completing their
degrees. Mrs. Nasreen
Mahmud Kasuri, Chairperson,
BNU Board of Governors, said
that very few universities have
dared to venture into the realm
of liberal arts and BNU is proud
to be the first one in Pakistan
to do so.
Mr. Shahid Hafiz Kardar, Vice
Chancellor BNU, advised the
graduates to seek
opportunities present in the
world. The world is your arena
and you can responsibly play
your ambassadorial roles for
your country as global citizens,
he said, adding that BNU is
functioning as a national
university addressing the
academic needs of a diverse
student population from all
provinces of Pakistan besides
hosting students from all eight
SAARC countries.

Dr. Shahna Kazmi Joins DIHE as Rector

Prof. Dr. Shahana Urooj Kazmi has assumed the Over 50 MPhil and PhD
charge of Rector of Dadabhoy Institute of Higher scholars have completed
Education (DIHE). Dr Kazmi brings with her more their degrees under her
than 39 years of rich experience as an supervision. She is
academician, researcher and administrator. author/co-author of many
books and has completed her
She has formerly worked as Meritorious Professor post-doctoral studies from
of Microbiology and Immunology and as Advisor the University of Maryland, and another post-
to Chancellor on Academics at Jinnah University of doctoral fellowship from University of Tennessee,
Women, and as Pro Vice Chancellor, Dean Faculty USA. Dr. Kazmi is a recepient of Life Achievement
of Sciences and Chairperson, Department of Award for her contributions to Microbiology,
Microbiology at University of Karachi. Immunology and Biotechnology.

N
e
w
sF
la
s
h
The Department of Food Science and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), Multan is organizing
a two-day international conference on "Malnutrition in South Asia: The Peril Persists" from February 23-24,
2015. Detail of the conference are available at www.icmsa2015.foodsciencebzu.com/index.php

28

DUHS Scientists Receive Training on Biosafety
A team of scientists from the
Department of Molecular
Pathology, Dow University of
Health Sciences (DUHS) under
the supervision of Dr. Saeed
Khan attended the 9th Annual
Asia Pacific Biosafety
Association Conference and
training workshop entitled
Biosafety and Biosecurity
Collective Partnership towards
One World One Health at
Bangkok, Thailand.
The Department of Molecular
Pathology, DUHS has been
successfully providing high-
quality Molecular Diagnostic
services at a very low cost. The
Department is also actively
involved in quality research
Conference on Emerging Trends in
Engineering Management and Sciences
The City University of Science
and IT, Peshawar recently
organized a conference on
Emerging Trends in
Engineering, Management and
Sciences in partnership with
CDA Training Academy and
collaboration with East
Carolina University (ECU) and
Auburn University USA at
Islamabad. The inaugural
session was presided over by
Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi,
Acting Executive Director HEC
and Mr. Atif Khan, Minister of
Education KPK was the chief
guest at the occasion.
Academia, professionals and
researchers from various
academic and research
along with diagnostics. Dr.
Saeed Khan and his students
Maria Zahid and Fatin Zehra
received travel grant to
participate in the conference
and training workshop.
First day of the session started
with an impressive inaugural
ceremony that not only
comprised of welcoming note
by the organizers who
highlighted the importance of
biosafety and related safety
procedures and their strict
regulations in the laboratory.
Second day comprised of pre-
conference lectures. Poster
presentations also took place
on the second day in which
institutions, professional
bodies, representatives from
Government and private
sectors, participated in the
inaugural ceremony. Dr. Kundi
highlighted the importance of
conferences and workshop for
quality enhancement and
research in universities.
The concluding ceremony was
chaired by Mr. Zahoor Sethi,
29
News & Views
participants presented their
research through impressive
posters.
Third and fourth days were
packed with informative
workshops on topics covering
various important topics such
as BSL, ABSL-3 High
Containment Facility Design
and Containment Principles,
Working Safely with
Tuberculosis, The Global
Biotech Revolution Preserving
the good of powerful science in
a dangerous world' Biorisk
Assessment in Laboratory
Emergency and Animal, Staff,
and Operational Needs in a
Biocontainment Animal
Research Facility.
Chairman, Peshawar Model
Educational Institutions (PMEI)
and Mr. Mushtaq Ghani was
the chief guest at the occasion.
Dr. Attaullah Shah shared the
conference report with the
audience. Mr. Mushtaq Ghani
appreciated the City University
of Science and IT Peshawar for
arranging a conference of
international standards.
 News & Views
Indus University holds 5th Convocation
The fifth convocation of Indus
University, Karachi was held
recently.
The chief guest, Mr. Nisar
Ahmed Khuhro, Senior Minister
for Education and Literacy,
applauded the journey of Indus
University since its inception.
He said that that the role of
Indus University has been
instrumental in strengthening
the education sector of
Pakistan.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Conference on Power Generation &
Renewable Energy
The Department of
Mechanical Engineering,
International Islamic
University, Islamabad (IIUI)
will host its 2nd International
Conference on Power
Generation Systems and
Renewable Energy
Technologies from June 10-
Mr. Khalid Amin, Chancellor
Indus University emphasized
on developing entrepreneurial
skills among the students as it
is need of the hour.
Muhammad Ahmed Amin, Vice
Chancellor, Indus University
shed light on the milestones
achieved in the last two years.
The University awarded
degrees to undergraduates and
graduates in the Faculty of
11, 2015 at Quaid-e-Azam
Auditorium, Old Campus
(Shah Faisal Masjid)
Islamabad.
The experts and researchers
in the field of power
generation/renewable energy
will give their valuable
30
Engineering, Science and
Technology, Faculty of Business
Administration and Commerce,
Faculty of Art and Design and
Faculty of Social Sciences.
A documentary produced by
the founder of Indus University
Civil Society (IUCS), Huzaifa
Abbasi was also screened
reflecting memorable
moments of higher
management and faculty along
with the students.
opinions/solutions for
industrial and domestic
energy crisis. The conference
will also give an opportunity
to young engineers/
professionals to present their
research findings in the field
of power generation and
renewable energy.
 News & Views

International Conference on Space

Pakistan Space and Upper
Atmosphere Research
Commission (SUPARCO) in
collaboration with Institute of
Space Technology (IST)
recently organized the
International Conference on
Space (ICS-2014) at
COMSTECH Secretariat,
Islamabad.
The Inter-Islamic Network on
Space Sciences and
Technology (ISNET) co-
sponsored the Conference.
Sequel to the first Space
Conference held in September
2012, International
Conference on Space ICS-2014
is an initiative of SUPARCO to
connect various entities
related to Space for sharing
latest developments in space
science technologies and their
applications. This year,
SUPARCO took ICS one step
further by collaborating with
IST, Pakistan's premiere space
technology institute. The
Conference also helped
SUPARCO identify focus areas
for development of closer and
more meaningful
collaboration with the
academia.
The theme of ICS-2014 was
Space for Development. The
focus was on how emerging
space-faring nations can
effectively apply space-
derived techniques and
solutions to solve complex
development issues.
Papers were invited on five
thematic areas of the
Conference, including Space
Technology, Space
Applications, Space Sciences,
Space Law, Policy and
Regulatory Issues, and Space
and Youth.
The three-day conference
connected space
professionals, decision-
makers, academicians,
researchers and scientists as
well as students of space
sciences and technologies to
showcase their achievements,
and share latest development
in space technology and
applications.
During three days, the
Conference covered 18
parallel technical sessions on
different topics of five
thematic areas mentioned
above.
In addition, five panel
discussion sessions on
themes of the conference
were held. A total of 104
papers and posters were
presented, four tutorials were
held and a poster
competition was organized.

th
10 Convocation of MAJU Islamabad
The 10th Convocation of Mohammad Ali Jinnah
University (MAJU), Islamabad was held recently,
where over 550 graduates of different disciplines
were awarded degrees. Seven PhD scholars
received their doctoral degrees. Renowned
nuclear scientist Dr. Samar Mubarakmand graced
occasion as the Chief Guest while Main Amer
Mahmood, Chancellor MAJU, was also present.
Dr. M. Mansoor Ahmed, Executive Vice President
welcomed the guests and hoped that graduates
will contribute towards scientific and

31
 News & Views

technological development of the country with

determination and commitment.

Dr. Samar said that education does not end with

acquiring a degree, it is a lifelong affair exploring
new horizons, and broadening of the vision,
marching on a never-ending journey towards new
frontiers of knowledge.
different types and it is higher education which
The role of higher education becomes more plays a key role in determining the position of a
prominent and wide ranging. In the present times, nation in today's knowledge driven economy, he
we do not only need conventional types of said.
education, we are faced with challenges of

PhD Symposium for Scholars of Twin Cities

The Department of Computer
Science, Mohammad Ali
Jinnah University, Islamabad
recently organized a PhD
symposium, to help PhD
scholars working in a
specialized area to give them
feedback on their problem
statement, methodology, and
issues related to their
research.
There were 16 professors from
different universities of twin
cities who participated in the
expert panel. Students were
asked to submit their PhD
extended abstract.
The abstracts were received
from different universities of
twin cities. Among them nine
abstracts were shortlisted for
the one-day activity.
The session was chaired by Prof.
Dr. M. Abdul Qadir, Dean,
Faculty of Computing at
Mohammad Ali Jinnah
University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Students presented their
research work to the expert
panel, subsequently, the expert
panel provided guidance and
direction to their future work.
The review on the research
idea, its feasibility,
applications, significance,
methodology, and possible
future directions were
discussed.

32

th
PIDE hosts 30 AGM and Conference of PSDE
The 30th Annual General Meeting and Conference
of the Pakistan Society of Development
Economists (PSDE) was held at the Pak-China
Friendship Centre, Islamabad recently. The
conference, hosted by the Pakistan Institute of
Development Economics (PIDE) was the largest
AGM in many years with a broad based
participation from students, academia and
policymakers.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Asad Zaman, President
PSDE and Vice Chancellor, PIDE stressed that
poverty is a combination of thousands of small
problems and change in social norms is the key to
poverty alleviation. He asserted that new agenda
for poverty alleviation should focus on software
instead of hardware of development. Dr. Zaman
emphasized on the need for reversal of traditional
thinking about development process; improve the
lives of the poor, give them lives of dignity, and
they will actually create the development that we
desire.
The inaugural address was delivered by Mr. Sartaj
Aziz, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Security
Issues and Foreign Affairs. Mr. Aziz said that to
combat poverty skewed distribution of land
ownership needs to be addressed through land
reforms. Other factors, according to Mr. Aziz, that
will help alleviate poverty include sharing power
with poor, resolving tribal, ethnic, and religious
polarization in the country, providing budgetary
resource for the social sector and addressing the
bias of the macroeconomic policy in favour of
industry at the expense of agriculture.
Of special interest to the participants were the
two lectures, via video link, by the professors from
MIT and Harvard University. Prof. Daron Acemoglu
and Prof. James Robinson, the authors of the
bestseller 'Why Nations Fail', lectured on two
successive evenings from MIT and Harvard. The
crux of their talks was that inclusive institutions
hold the key to economic growth.
Other keynote speakers at the conference
included Dr. Sabina Alkire from Oxford, Dr. David
Gordon from Bristol University and Dr. Akmal
33
News & Views
Hussain from FC College University, Lahore. Dr.
Alkire argued in favour of using the
Multidimensional poverty index to replace
conventional measures of poverty, Dr. Gordon
talked about child poverty and Dr. Akmal Hussain
dilated upon how poor quality of institutions in
Pakistan is contributing to poverty.
One of the sessions at the conference was
devoted to the launch of World Bank's flagship
report on Inequality in South Asia. Dr. Martin
Rama, Chief Economist, South Asian Region World
Bank, the lead author of the report, delved upon
the salient features of the report. The session was
chaired by Dr. Rachid Benmessaoud, Country
Director of the World Bank in Pakistan.
The panel discussion on Political Economy of
Inequality, chaired by Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque,
former Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission
and Chancellor of PIDE, drew appreciation from
the participants, for his deft moderation that
brought out the best from the panelists. The
panelists included Mr. Shahid Kardar, Dr. Aasim
Sajjad Akhtar, Dr. Ali Cheema, Dr. Karamat Ali and
Dr. Imran Ali.
The panel discussion on Ending Extreme
Poverty:Results and Realities in Graduating the
Poorest was chaired by Mr. Richard Montgomery,
the country head of DFID Pakistan. The panelists
included Dr. Syed Hashemi and Dr. Mahaboob
Hossain from Brac Bangladesh, Mr. Qazi Isa, CEO,
Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund and Dr. Nuzhat
Ahmad, Senior Research Fellow at the
International Food Policy Research Institute. The
panel discussion on Issues in Measurement of
Poverty, chaired by Dr. G.M. Arif, Joint Director
PIDE, brought to fore the salient issues that
constrain the accurate measurement of poverty,
in Pakistan. The panelists included Dr. Sabina
Alkire, Dr. Sohail Jehangir Malik, Dr. Ghazala
Mansuri and Dr. Talat Anwar. The panel discussion
on Progressive Reform Agenda for Inclusive
Growth was chaired by Dr. Waqar Masood,
Secretary, Ministry of Finance. Panelists included
Dr. Pervaiz Tahir, Mr. Saqib Sherani and Dr. Idrees
Khawaja.
 News & Views

Though the conference was largely academic with
more focus on technical issues, one of the panel
discussions was organized solely to look at the
practical approaches for poverty alleviation being
followed in our country at non-governmental level
in education, health and labor sector. The panel
discussion on Alternate Strategies of Poverty
Alleviation was chaired by Dr. Asad Zaman, Vice
Chancellor PIDE and the Panelists included Dr.
Abdul Bari, Mr. Amjad Saqib, and Sayeda Ghulam
Fatima. The conference was organized by PIDE
and sponsored by the Higher Education
Commission (HEC), Friedrich-Eibert-Stiftung,
UNDP, BRAC, WWF-CCAP-EU, International
Growth Centre, PPAF, PSSP-USAID-IFPRI, and the
World Bank.

IoBM Students to Participate in Intl Contest

A team of Institute of Business
Management (IoBM)
students, comprising Taha
Afzal, Rauha Rafiq and Kiran
Khawaja, has been judged by
a panel of nine top executives
including the Chairman
Unilever as top team in
Pakistan with their
marketing/strategy case on
Blue Band.
This years competition
focused on the sustainability
agenda of six brands, including
Lifebuoy, Dove, Pureit, Walls,
Blue Band, and Surf Excel.
IoBM winning team will now
represent Pakistan at
Unilevers Future Leaders
League in London in March
2015. Their journey started
with initial participation of 300
teams from all over Pakistan
to 13 shortlisted ones to six
finalists and finally one
winner, the IoBM team.
The winners will also get
direct access to the Unilever
Future Leaders Programme
(UFLP) Assessment Centre,
which is a first step towards
employment as a
Management Trainee at
Unilever Pakistan.

Dr. Rasul Jan Elected as PAS Fellow

Dr. Muhammad Rasul Jan, Vice
Chancellor University of
Peshawar has been elected as
Fellow of the Pakistan
Academy of Sciences (PAS).

The Academy serves as a think

tank for policy making and
delivers scholarly documents
to those at helm of affairs for
betterment in important
sectors particularly energy,
biotechnology, engineering and
water management.
Dr. Jan is the 89th scientist
elected by the Academy on the
basis of his credentials as a
productive scientist in the field
of Analytical Chemistry in its
61-year history. Father of
biotechnology in Pakistan and
the newly elected President of
PAS Dr. Anwar Naseem Khan
along with Dr. Zabta Khan
Shinwari and Vice Chancellor
University of Karachi visited
Dr. Rasul Jan and
congratulated him on his
inclusion in the elite list. The
delegation offered joint fateha
for the departed souls of Army
Public school and showed their
resolve to work jointly for
promotion of education in the
homeland so as to defeat the
evil forces.

34
 News & Views

UHS Workshop for Pathologists

A two-day workshop on Practical Approach to better understanding of interpretation of mucosal

Diagnostic Gastrointestinal (GI) and Liver
Pathology was recently organized by the
Pathology Department of the University of Health
Sciences (UHS), Lahore.The workshop was
facilitated by senior Consultant Pathologist, Mayo
Clinic, Rochester, USA, Dr. Saba Yasir and was
attended by practicing pathologists and pathology
residents.
The workshop presented a practical overview for
pathologists who encounter gastrointestinal and
liver specimens in daily practice. Interpretation of
biopsies of the upper GI tract mucosa and the
liver was addressed, as well as recent advances in
pancreatic and biliary pathology.Case
presentations were featured to emphasize
presented concepts. The participants were given a
biopsies, liver biopsies, pancreatic/biliary
disorders, current concepts in staging, and the
application of modern techniques to
gastrointestinal disorders.
Prof. A. H. Nagi, Head of Pathology Department
said that born out of increasing awareness of
subspecialty gastrointestinal pathology services
and increased patient awareness of laboratory
errors, there was an increasing trend toward
referral of tissue specimens to surgical
pathologists with special interest in
gastrointestinal pathology.He maintained that
application of immunochemistry and molecular
pathology to conventional morphologic analysis in
establishing the correct diagnosis was mandatory
in all sub specializations of Pathology.

UMT holds Workshop on Counter Terrorism

Terrorism Research Initiative
(TRI), one of the largest
research organizations for
enhancing security through
collaborative research in the
field of Terrorism Studies, has
established its Pakistan
Chapter at the University of
Management and Technology
where UMT's School of
Governance and Society (SGS)
would be collaborating with TRI
in its projects.
Recently, a five-day
International workshop was
held at Lahore. The workshop
was attended by members of
armed forces, intelligence
organizations, university
schooling, civil society, think
tanks, academia and UMT
students.
Addressing the conference,
Dr. Hasan Sohaib Murad,
Rector UMT, said that
terrorism is a global issue
that besides politically and
militarily solutions, needs to
be tackled by theoretically,
academically, and
ideologically means. He said
that Pakistan has suffered
non-compostable loss in the
war on terror and now
educational institutions are
taking precautionary measures
and increasing their security.
The Rector applauded TRI for
opening up its Pakistan
chapter and anticipated that
researchers, scholars and
analysts together would make
contributions towards
studying and analyzing the
phenomena of terrorism and
present the best solution of
this problem through this
platform.

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 News & Views

National Consultation on
Livestock Development at UVAS
A two-day National
Consultation on Livestock
Development in Pakistan Way
Forward was recently
organised by the University of
Veterinary and Animal
Sciences (UVAS), Lahore in
collaboration with the Pasha, Animal Husbandry ways to exploit potential of
Ministry of National Food Commissioner, Dr. Qurban Ali livestock sector to meet
Security and Research, and a large number of domestic requirements,
Islamabad. stakeholders and experts from improve rural livelihood and
public and private sector were generate surplus for export.
Federal Secretary for National present on the occasion.
Food Security and Research Mr. Nasim Sadiq said that with
Mr. Seerat Asghar chaired the Mr. Seerat Asghar said that the help of local resources and
concluding session while many issues were being faced trained manpower and
Secretary Livestock and Dairy by livestock sector in meat, collective effort of Provincial
Development Department dairy and poultry sub sectors. and Federal Government
Punjab, Mr. Nasim Sadiq, Vice The national consultation is a Livestock sector is working
Chancellor Dr. Talat Naseer step forward in exploring the progressively.

th
SZABIST hosts 4 International Research Conference
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science
and Technology (SZABIST) hosted the 4th
International Research Conference at its Karachi
Campus. This year's conference theme was A step
in the future, in which 77 papers were presented.
The chief guest for the inaugural session was Dr.
Sajid Mirza, Member Space and Technology,
SUPARCO and the Session Chair was Dr. Altaf
Mukati, Dean of Computing and Engineering
Sciences, SZABIST. centres with proper research and technical
management offering the opportunity of
Dr. Mukati, in his welcome address elaborated on collaborative research.
how each revolution in human history adds to the
knowledge and development of mankind and how Ms. Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Acting President, SZABIST,
technology has changed communication. said that when Niel Armstrong took his first step
on the moon, mankind experienced a revolution
Dr. Sajid Mirza shared his views on how academics and that revolution has continued and added on
in Pakistan can take a step into the future. He said to improve the possibilities and opportunities
that Pakistani graduates are well educated and around us. She said that SZABIST provides a good
have been performing well nationally and opportunity for students and researchers, and
internationally. He suggested that universities accepted Dr. Mirza's suggestion on collaborative
should take the initiative of opening research research.

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NEWS & VIEWS