Request for Proposal (RFP)

for

Establishment of

Additional Huawei Information &

Communication technology (ICT)
Academy

at
Higher Education Institutes

HIGHER EDUCATION COMMSSION

H -9, ISLAMABAD
Websites: www.hec.gov.pk
Tele no. 051-90402221, email: smjshah@hec.gov.pk
RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

Table of Content
1. Introduction: ........................................................................................................3

2. Objectives: ...........................................................................................................3

3. Scope: ...................................................................................................................4

a. Constraints ..........................................................................................................4

b. Interface ...............................................................................................................4

c. Roles and Responsibilities ....................................................................................4

d. Reporting..............................................................................................................6

e. Deliverables..........................................................................................................6

4. ASSUMPTIONS .....................................................................................................6

5. Proposal Submission ............................................................................................6

I. Cover Page ...........................................................................................................8

II. Concept note of the proposed Training Academy (12 pages maximum) ............9

III. Short CVs of team (One page maximum per member): ......................................10

IV. Proposal Business Plan for the Operations and Management of the Training
Academy along with detailed financials (20 pages maximum): .....................................12

V. Evaluation Form & Guide for Self-assessment ....................................................14

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

1. Introduction:
The Higher Education Commission, Pakistan and Huawei Technologies are offering to
expand the ICT Academy (previously known HIANA) Program to universities in Pakistan
under which Huawei Information & Communication technology (ICT) Academies will be
established at the selected higher education institutes across Pakistan. The ICT ACADEMY
Committee meeting has therefore decided to give equal opportunity to all public and
private sector higher education institutes across Pakistan and AJ&K.

Moreover, it has been decided that the responsibility of execution of this program be
given to higher education institutes on competitive basis, so that the best institute(s)
may be chosen for the establishment of the proposed Huawei Information &
Communication technology (ICT) Academy.

Accordingly, this Request for Proposal (RFP) has been prepared to share with potential
higher education institutes across the country and seek proposal(s) as per the Terms
defined in this document and be evaluated as per the criteria as well as procedures as
defined herein.

The institution of higher learning so selected in response to this RFP shall be responsible
for the establishment as well as operations of Huawei Information & Communication
technology (ICT) Academy and all incurring expenses. The selected institute shall ensure
that the broad objectives and scope as envisaged and defined to an extent in this
document, and as proposed in the proposal submitted by the selected institution in
response to this RFP, are achieved in a short span of time.

2. Objectives:
The preliminary objectives of the program are defined as;

- Providing support to local ICT education, share knowledge, certification opportunities,

and build a better ICT talent eco-system.

- Providing Trainings/ workshops opportunities to students at both undergraduate and

graduate levels on technologies which are deployed or being deployed in Pakistan.

- To provide a facility across the country with strong technical support and advanced
technologies in which leading and emerging IT & Telecom companies can get their
professionals trained and certified on Huawei’s technologies.

- To help strengthening and providing highly demanded human resources for the IT &
Telecom industry of Pakistan and the region.

- To facilitate close interaction between academia and industry in the field of

Information & Communication Technologies both within Pakistan and abroad.

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

3. Scope:
The overall scope of the ICT Academy program is to have a Huawei Authorized Training
facility at selected universities in each province and across the country, which excels in
the field of Information & Communication Technologies. The Academy is envisioned to
proliferate the training as well as certification opportunities on cutting-edge technologies
with hands-on lab experience in the field of Information & Communication Technology.
The academy is expected to bring together innovating and passionate community of
professionals that drives the future of ICTs and harnesses its remarkable power.

The academy is expected to provide required facility for the young students both at the
undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as for the professionals from the respective
industry to excel their skills and acquire market driven certifications. The facility will
provide environment for the trainees to seek advanced level trainings on next generation
technologies both in IT and Telecom. In addition, the academy is expected to offer
training and certifications programs ranging from Routing & Switching, Network Security
and to Cloud Computing.

Accordingly, ICT Academy program offers training and certification paths as Huawei
Certified Internetwork Associate/ Professionals (HCIA/P). The online courses which will
be made available to the Academy cover product lines relating to Enterprise Network,
Unified Communication and IT.

a. Benefits of ICT ACADEMY

 Free of charge authorization to the latest Huawei ICT certification courses based on
Industry leading ICT technologies
 Practical knowledge sharing from global ICT project practices
 Students are given a sharp and industry-compliant career guideline
 Access to an abundance of Huawei E-learning resources
 Supported by Huawei with extensive instructor training and certification
 Students receive special discounts on Huawei certification exam vouchers.

b. Roles and Responsibilities

In order to ensure the success of this program and long term progressive outcome of
Huawei ICT Academy, selected institute needs to undertake and comply with respective
responsibilities as enlisted below, but not limited to. These defined and assigned
responsibilities will also help ensuring rapid and smooth management of the academy.

Institute’s Responsibilities:

 Provision of a furnished Classroom having capacity of at least 25 persons and not

more than 40 persons, in an appropriate building within campus for the

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RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

establishment of Huawei Information & Communication technology (ICT)

Academy
 Computer terminals with high speed internet access, within the classroom as per
the seating capacity.
 Multimedia projector with screen within the classroom.
 Appropriate space for the Laboratory Equipment, preferably within the Classroom
or next door.
 At least two (02) Teaching Professionals for Training and Certification.
 Civil Work and all the other parts (utilities etc).
 Submission of ICT ACADEMY Application Form to Huawei through HEC.
 Huawei and HEC will not provide any funding to HUAWEI ICT ACADEMYs for the
operational activities of HUAWEI ICT ACADEMYs.
 All ICT Academy Awardees make sure to organize an inauguration ceremony for the
public level announcement for the successful establishment of HUAWEI ICT
ACADEMY at their respective HEI/University, once lab establishment process is
done.
 ICT Academy Awarded HEIs will advertise the ICT Academies and Certification for
public awareness and to increase number of certifications.
 Record and report Huawei ICT Academy performance to Huawei and HEC via online
portal www.huaweiacad.com or HEC event Portal on monthly basis
 HEC Events https://events.hec.gov.pk portal maybe used as a front end for the ICT
Academy tracks advertisement and registration of ongoing and upcoming Trainings
and Certifications
 Huawei may define a model for KPIs evaluation and set a cut off time or soft targets
based quarterly evaluations standards (i.e. there may be 200 certified individuals
per year and 50 per quarter).
 Ref. to the incentive policy (Attached Annex. I) Huawei Technologies may targets
based incentive policies regarding Free Vouchers, trainings,
conferences/workshops and competition based awards.
 All HUAWEI ICT ACADEMY Awardees are required to make a business plan to run
the respective academy under available resources otherwise the award may be
revoked from that awardee and allocated to other HEI/University.

Huawei’s Responsibilities:

 Provision of required hardware Equipment for Huawei’s selected courses as offered

under ICT ACADEMY Program.
 Installation and configuration of hardware equipment as per the courses’
requirements.
 Provide support including, but not limited to, maintenance and repair of hardware
equipment for the duration of agreement.

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

 Provide Certified Trainers on various technologies as to conduct Train-the-Trainer

program for the respective Institute.

c. Reporting
Selected Institute will be required to submit program implementation and progress
report on monthly basis to the Higher Education Commission for the complete duration
of agreement. In addition, the Selected Institute will be required to carry out both
Student Satisfaction Survey and Instructor’s feedback report at the end of each course.

 Huawei and HEC shall jointly monitor the teaching quality + quantity of trainings &
certification held by each Huawei ICT Academy.
 All Huawei ICT Academies are required to upload and share the training activities,
number of students attending Huawei class and certification progress at Huawei
ICT Academy or HEC event portal on quarterly basis.
 All performance evaluation shall be conducted based on system extracted data on
quarterly basis.

d. Deliverables
The program is expected to produce skilled human resources, professionals and
postgraduate workforce in the field of ICT as to meet the demand within the country and
in the region.

4. ASSUMPTIONS
The following are some assumption considered before the program execution.

 Selected institute will submit a proposal/Business plan for the successful

Operations and Management of the ICT Academy, in accordance to the terms of
this document and the timelines thereof.
 Required facilities are available within the Institute’s premises for the Academy as
per the requirements at the time of submission of proposal.
 Selected institute must possess minimum resources both infrastructure and
training, required for the ICT ACADEMY program.
 Selected institute must ensure the secure environment for workers inside the
premises with access to the space allotted for this establishment.
 Selected institute will design a competitive fee structure for various professional
and certification courses which are offered under ICT ACADEMY program, for long
term sustainability of the Academy.

5. Proposal Submission
Potential higher education institutes are advised to strictly follow the guidelines given in
the document in order to submit their Proposal(s) in compliance to this RFP. Proposal
Submission Forms have been defined as to provide necessary guidelines and instructions

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RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

for the potential contenders to submit their proposal(s) for consideration of further
evaluation.

The overall proposal (Part I, II, III, IV, V and CVs) should not exceed 25 pages (Arial, Font
size 12, single space). Proposals exceeding the page limit or missing any part of the
application or not following this template likely to be discarded and deemed ineligible.

Parts written in Italics are for guidance and should not be included in the proposal. Please
note that Part II is dedicated to the Training Academy and Part IV is dedicated to the
Proposed Research Projects which will be conducted by the Training Academy.

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

6. Proposal Submission Form(s)

I. Cover Page
Title of the Proposal

Establishment of Huawei ICT Academy at [University Name]

Full name of the applicant: Position/Title:

Organization:

Provide List of all Ongoing and/ or Completed Trainings/ Certification(s) in past five (05) years
conducted by/ at the Institute? (use a separate sheet if needed)

Program ID Title of the Program Product(s) and Product(s) Principals Your role

Contact Information: Office phone:

E-mail: Fax:

Mobile phone: Web address:

Date of submission:

Approved By:

Name of Head of Institute: Date and Signature: Seal:

*VC or Registrar

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

II.Concept note of the proposed Training Academy (1000 words

maximum; However, Business plan/financials may be separately
attached with the proposal as annex.)
1. Abstract:
Please provide summaries in English, of the overall goals of the proposed Academy and based
on the proposed business plan for the successful operations and management of the proposed
ICT Academy at your HEI, how it will be effectively work for the benefits of the academia, industry
and students. The abstract should not exceed 200 words. This information will provide members
of the evaluation panel with their first overview of your proposal.

2. Training goals
Please explore the training areas/ topics and describe the training goals to be achieved by the
proposed Academy. Specify the value of establishing this kind of academy to the country. Note
that these explanations are the main focus of the proposal.

3. Promotion of young professionals

Please describe strategy of the academy for promoting early-stage professionals and graduate
students.

4. Implementation of academy objectives and sustainability

Please describe measures which will be undertaken by the academy to achieve its objectives and
your plan for ensuring long-term sustainability.

5. Organization, management and infrastructure

Please describe the internal (inter-disciplinary) cooperation and network structures as well as
the training, administrative and infrastructure aspects of the proposed academy. If the
institution plans to submit a joint proposal, you must demonstrate the synergy and structural
added value the cooperation will generate, as well as the institutional long-term effect the
strategic cooperation is expected to have.

6. Statement of host Institution

By signing this declaration, ……………………………………………………………, (host institution of the
Academy) is committed to provide Huawei ICT Academy, jointly sponsored by HEC and Huawei,
with all the needed facilities, administrative support, infrastructure and accessibility to all
central core facilities available at the host institution, and whenever possible monetary support,
to enable the academy to implement its unique role as a leading national or regional academy
in the field. The ………………. (host institution of the Academy) is also committed to make the
central core training facilities of this academy accessible to all Pakistani in general and students
of all education institution in particular for free or with minimal costs, as needed for
maintenance and keeping the facility in good operating conditions. By signing this declaration,
the legal representative of …………..… (Host institution of the Academy) declares that he/ she has
carefully read Proposal and regulations and agrees to and accepts the terms and conditions.

Name:
Title:
Signature:
Date and Place:

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

7. List of available major relevant equipment/facilities (i.e. room, access network,

switches, systems, civil work, and electrical work etc., if any already at the premises)
accessible to the proposed academy:
For training purpose

Current condition of the equipment Current uses

Date of
No. Equipment
purchase
Excellent V. Good Good

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8. Other facilities

Please state other facilities and funds (if any) which will be provided by host institution to
support the proposed Training Academy (if applicable).

9. Business Plan ( May be attached separately as Annex. To the Proposal herewith)

A detailed Business plan or financial proposal, which may include the budget
requirement for the successful operations and management of the proposed ICT
Academy and how this budget will be met by the awarded institute after the
establishment of the ICT Academy. So, the business plan will be a brief summary about
the financials for the sustainable operations of the proposed ICT Academy if your
institute is awarded with Huawei ICT Academy status and established.
(Note: Huawei Authorized ICT Academy Centre status, Huawei proposed Lab equipment
(Router/Switches etc. for trainings only), its installation, technical assistance and Master
Trainer(s) training/certification vouchers and discounted student voucher(s) based on
the performance, may be provided through this incentive program. While the Lab
environment and Academy operations & maintenance and respective finances will be
the sole responsibility of the awarded HEI/University itself. No further grant or funding
will be committed either from HEC or Huawei Technologies).

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

III. Short CVs of Training team (Two members: One page maximum per
member):
A: Basic Information:
Full name in English (as written in Institution records):

Date of Birth National ID:

(Day/month/year):

Last University Degree Faculty, University, Country Graduation Date

Position/Title: Organization:

Main Field: Specialization:

Contact Information:

Mobile Phone: Fax: E-mail:

B: Scientific Achievements (Research publications relevant to IT & Telecom)

Five most recent international publications in the field of CSE: Impact Factor
Authors (underline your name), year, title, Journal, vol. and pages

C. Certifications
Enlist all Certifications along with Awarding Organization Name of Awardee and Year

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

IV. Training Plan (1500 to 2000 words maximum):

The proposed activities should include conducting training within goals of the proposed
Training Academy. The proposed training plan should provide a clear and concise plan as
to conduct trainings all year long, certification track(s), development of full-fledge career
certifications, a general description of the method or approach that will be followed to
reach those objectives, and the expected measurable outcomes of the proposed
program(s)*. This section of the application should include the following:

1. Title of the Training Path: English informative titles of the project.

2. English abstract: The English abstract should contain a brief description of the proposed
objectives, methodology, expected outcomes and commercial potentials.
3. Problem Statement: Describe briefly the problem(s) you are going to address through the
training, and most importantly, place the proposed training track in context of a focused and
current research area and/ or industry needs, so as to reveal its importance and the need for
training.
4. State-of-the-Art: Describe the state-of-the-art in the program subject areas, and explain how
the proposal meets the up-to-date requirements for performing the functions of the
institution. Also, describe any previous achievements or similar academy which have been
conducted by you (your team) within the program subject area. It is worth to mention your
relevant training experience(s), certifications and former research in the program subject
areas in this section of the training plan.
5. Added-Value Resulting from the Project: Describe how the program will result in an upgrade
of the academy’s training capabilities, its national and/or international significance in the
subject area, as well as the training capabilities of the team. Describe the program's
contribution to the fulfillment of the academy's long-term training plan, and to achieving its
objectives. Also, explain how the program will help in addressing the relevant research
priorities that are stated in the concept note of the proposed training academy (Part II)".
6. Objectives: Briefly and succinctly state your program’s main and specific objectives.
7. Method/Approach: Describe how your program will be implemented, including your general
approach, activities, methods, and program inputs. Specify experiential treatments or other
methods only to the extent needed to give a clear idea of the trainings to be conducted and
the success it will yield. More specific information is needed.
8. Program outcomes and impact: List your proposed program’s outputs, typically tangible
outcomes, such as number of trainings in a year, number of students/ professionals trained,
number of certified professionals, or any other specific, clear and measurable outputs. Avoid
general benefits and focus on specific, measurable benefits only.
9. Quality Objectives: List the Quality Objectives that you determine to achieve for the Academy
and your approaches towards achieving them.

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

10. Training team (Signed and stamped: One page maximum)

Time Incentives
Title/ dedicated to
No. Full Name Affiliation Duties 1st 2nd 3rd
Position Academy
Year Year Year
(%)
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

11. Declaration

By signing this declaration, the applicant certifies that he/she has carefully read rules and
regulations, and agrees to and accepts the terms and conditions. The applicant also
certifies that all information given in this application is true on his/her own responsibility.

Applicant’s Full name:

National ID:

Signature:

(Note: signing authority of this document is the respected VC or Registrar of the applying
HEI, the submitted proposal should be stamped from worthy office before submission)

Date and Place:

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

V. Evaluation Form & Guide for Self-assessment

Following will be followed for the selection of potential Institute for the establishment of
Huawei Information & Communication technology (ICT) Academy. The institute will be
evaluated on the basis of the proposal submitted by the potential universities/ institutes
for this project.

1.1. Eligibility Criteria (Part-A)

 Universities or Degree Awarding Institutes recognized by the Higher Education
Commission of Pakistan.
 Must have sufficient academic facilities and faculty members for smooth
running of this project.
 Must already have course(s) and trainings offered in relevant ICT field(s).
 Must have registration from relevant Accreditation Council and other
respective bodies to offer courses.

1.2. Assessment Criteria

The proposals received to HEC in response to this RFP will be assessed on the following
criteria with the distribution of points defined against each indicator as below.

Evaluation Score on proposal(s) submitted (Part B+ Part C) = 50 points (25 for each part)

Max. Reference Page#

S. No. Score Wtg Criteria Documentary Proof
Attributes
Part A) Technical/Training Enviroment or facilities Evaluation

University Technical Profile

I. Track record Total Completed / Offered Document Proof,

and Trainings and Certification Training /
competence in past five (05) years Certification
in the field conducted by or at the Registration and
(Past 5 55 35 Institute [(1 completed Feedback
years) training batch = 5 point, up
to max. 25 points) + (10
certifications = 1 point, up to
max. 10 points)]

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

II. Total no. of certified training Document Proof,

staff (1 trainer = 5 point, up Valid Certificates
20
to max. 20 points)

III. Equipment/Facilities Document Proof,

already available for training Equipment List and
equipment owned by the Serial Number
HEIs and will be dedicatedly
provisioned for the ICT
15
Academy (classroom’s/Lab’s
Civil work i.e.
building/room, security
system, workstations
chair/tables etc.)

IV. Equipment/Facilities
already available for training
equipment owned by the
Available
HEIs and will be dedicatedly
equipment
provisioned for the ICT
and training 45
Academy (classroom’s/Lab’s
facilities in
Electrical work i.e.
the field 15
building/room lightening,
HVAC, security system etc.
and
workstations/systems/relat
ed IT Equipment for the
students to conduct the
labs.

V. Total dedicated Technical Document Proof,

Engineers / Lab Assistants in HR List of IT
the field for Training Technical Staff
15
facilities. Each Resource =5
point, up to max. 15 points
for scoring.

Subtotal – I 100

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

Weight of the Part (A) in 25

Evaluation Score is 25% (HEI
Score will be calculated
using following formula
HEI Score = Marks Obtained
by HEI in Part A / Total Max.
Marks of Part A * 25)

Part B) ICT Academy proposed Business plan and Objectives Evaluation

I. Training Total No. of student will be

Objectives benefited from the proposed
Total Enrolled
Huawei ICT Academy
student for
Trainings/ Maximum
20 proposed program
students benefit (Annually)
40 i.e. 25 students = 5 points

II. Total No. of Huawei Training Total Announced

batches offered / Maximum Training Batch
training batches record.

20 i.e. 1 batch= 5 points

III. Document Proof

Total No. of Training Hours /
(Detail of plan
Maximum teaching hours *
hours of Lectures,
20
20 Trainings, etc.)
Training
Methodol
IV. 40 Details of all
ogies
No. of Courseware will be Courseware
developed / Maximum planned for field
20 Courseware in HEI * 20 related training
material/modules

V. Proposed Teaching staff /

Host
No. of staff members in the
institution’
dedicated team Document Proof,
s 20 10
appointment for operations HR List of Staff
commitme
and management (1
nt
Resource = 5 Points)

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

VI. Marketing and business

development staff / No. of
staff members in the
Document Proof,
10 dedicated team
HR List of Staff
appointment for operations
and management (1
Resource = 5 Points)

Subtotal-II 100

Weight of the Part (B) in 25

Evaluation is 25% of the
Subtotal-II (University Score
will be calculated using
following formula
University Score = Marks
Obtained by University in
Part B (Academic) / Total
Max. Marks of Part B * 25)

Note: Only universities/ institutes meeting the eligibility criteria as defined above can
participate and shall be considered for further assessment.

Part-C: Presentation on Proposal(s) Submitted (50 points)

Short-listed Institutes will be invited for a presentation on Proposal(s) submitted before the
Evaluation Committee constituted for the purpose by HEC. Presentation will be evaluated
against 50 Scores towards overall ranking.

However, the award of project is subject to the decision of Evaluation Committee while
considering the high scorer of Part-B and Part-C combined.

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

Part-C: Presentation on Proposal(s) Submitted

Short-listed Institutes will be invited for a presentation on Proposal(s) submitted before
the Evaluation Committee constituted for the purpose by HEC.

Do not attach this table to the proposal. The table was included in the RFP to make you
familiar with the reviewing process which will be practiced in this call.

Evaluation Criteria
Item Points Panel Interview & Site visit and
Evaluation oral official
presentation meetings
1-Track record and competence in 5
the field
2-Other proven experiences in the 5
field
3-Available equipment and training 10
facilities in the field
4-Are the objectives of the 10
proposed training plan and
business proposal are clear and
achievable?
5-Are the proposed methodologies 10
appropriate for the training and will
help in achieving the objectives?
6-Is the provided host institution’s 10
commitment to maintain the
academy convincing and assure
sustainability?
Dedicated team appointment for
Huawei ICT Academy operations
and management

Total 50

Weight of the Part (C) in is

50% (HEI Score will be
calculated using following
formula: HEI Score = Marks
Obtained by HEI in Part C /
Total Max. Marks of Part C *
50)

Panel Evaluation, Interview & oral presentation, Site visit and official meetings scoring shall
be relative w.r.t. the applying HEIs and total avg. of the score against each section will be
considered for the final calculation of the Part C Scores.

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 RFP for Establishment of Huawei Authorized Information & Network Academy

Reviewers' solid and concise justification for acceptance or rejection (Use additional blank sheet(s)
if necessary):

Panel Evaluation Interview and Oral Site visit and official discussions
presentation

Date: Date: Date:

Signature: Signature: Signature:

Recommendations of Recommended Not Recommended Date:

Evaluation Committee

Final Decision by HEC Approved Not Approved Date:

_________________________________________________________________

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