| Senior Women in Higher Education Come Together for a Virtual Workshop | Senior Women in Higher Education Come Together for a Virtual Workshop | <div style="text-align:justify;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Islamabad, April 7, 2021: As
many as 22 women Vice Chancellors, Provosts, Executive Directors and Deans from
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across Pakistan logged in to participate
in a workshop entitled “Collaboration for Excellence – Women Leadership in the
Higher Education Sector” organized by the National Academy of Higher Education
(NAHE). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">All participants had one goal
in mind – to work together and find a way to enable women in leadership roles
in universities as well as those on the cusp of leadership positions.
Participants from all four provinces and Islamabad were part of this
groundbreaking conversation chaired by Dr. Shaheen Sardar Ali, Rector NAHE. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Reflecting on personal and
professional experiences, women at the forefront of higher education in
Pakistan talked through challenges confronted in their professional life, how
they overcame them and opportunities that helped them. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Dr. Rukhsana Kausar, Vice
Chancellor, Government College Women University (GCWU) Sialkot touched upon the
unique challenges of women working without support structures and financial
cushions in place. Dr. Farhat Haq, Provost, Lahore University of Management
Sciences (LUMS) spoke about the edge that Pakistani women hold in the shape of
strength and resilience.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Dr. Saima Hamid, Vice
Chancellor, Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) reiterated how women leaders
in higher education have had to fight to be heard and to have their
contributions seen. Dr. Parveen Munshi, Vice Chancellor, University of Sufism
and Modern Sciences spoke of the administrative and financial competencies that
need to be learned on the job, because most institutions lack preparatory
capacity building opportunities. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Dr Tashmin Khamis, Vice
Provost, Aga Khan University (AKU) touched a chord with all participants when
she spoke of the further justifications women have to give when making changes
or suggestions and the constant ‘guilt’ trip women employees find themselves
taking. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Themes that became clear
through the course of the discussion and which will form part of the ‘Women
leadership Program’, included women’s perception of self, social structures
that may work for or against women, the need for networking and reiterating
ideas, and the crucial role of good mentorship. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Becoming part of the ‘power
circle’ or ‘decision-makers circle’ within universities can be challenging for
women; information sharing, and decision making can happen in social settings
which may not be accessible to women. In the time ahead, participants hoped to
collaborate and work together to address these challenges, create
opportunities, and provide women at the cusp of leadership with the resources
they need. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Going forward, NAHE intends
to draw upon the ideas generated by this incredible group of women leaders to
design and implement excellence and leadership courses across Pakistan, both
centrally and through regional hubs of learning. This virtual engagement is one
of several and on-going workshops NAHE intends to hold with women working in
HEIs to support and widen the pool of women in leadership positions. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">NAHE is established as a
stand-alone, autonomous institution operating under the auspices of HEC to
improve the quality of teaching, research, and governance in Higher Education
Institutions (HEIs) across Pakistan. It is envisioned as the premier
institution for quality research and teaching related to all aspects of higher
education in Pakistan. This series of trainings is one of multiple ongoing NAHE
endeavors at HEC. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span style="color:#1f497d;">===============</span></p> | 08-04-2021 07:05:30 | <img alt="" src="/english/PublishingImages/ThematicImages/HEC%20ICON-15.png" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | https://hec.gov.pk/english/news/news/Pages/Virtual-Workshop.aspx |
| HEC clarifies misconceptions circulating in social media around HEDP | HEC clarifies misconceptions circulating in social media around HEDP |
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span>March 31, 2021-Islamabad – “<em>The audit reports are part of regular
oversight and tend to improve processes. All the concerns of audit about the
Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) Project have been replied to.
HEDP/HEC is well equipped to take up project challenges and the team is committed
to make this project a success, despite all odds</em>,” said HEC spokesperson,
in a statement issued here on Tuesday. <span> </span>HEDP
is assisting HEC in its various key higher education initiatives. It is a<em> five-year</em>
project (2019/20 – 2023/24) being implemented by HEC with support from the
World Bank. It aims to support research excellence in strategic sectors of the
economy, improve teaching and learning, and strengthen governance in higher
education. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span>During the last FY 19-20 audit, a few observations were raised. HEC
has successfully replied to all observations. In foreign funded projects, donor
rules apply and HEDP project is running successfully complying with the World
Bank procedures. All consultants of HEDP were hired in compliance with the applicable
regulations. <span style="background:yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span>HEDP comprises of some key initiatives to uplift the higher education
in Pakistan. The research component includes variety of research grants to
promote high quality research in public/private sector universities and affiliated
colleges across the country. So far, three major grants have been launched with
10 Rapid Research Grants related to COVID-19 already awarded. Evaluation of
proposals for three more grants – Grand Challenge Fund (GCF), Technology Transfer
Support Fund (TTSF) and Local Challenge Fund (LCF) is already under way. The
project also aims to uplift the Offices of Research, Innovation &
Commercialization (ORIC) and Business Incubation Centers (BIC) to bridge gap
between academia and industry and generate/encourage significant economic activity.
These grants will help contribute towards knowledge economy of the nation and
uplift the research eco-system. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span>In addition, the project has contributed significantly towards
building excellence in teaching and learning through enhancement of quality
assurance cells and revamping of undergraduate curriculum. <span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span>To ensure the efficiency and transparency in the public sector
universities and affiliated colleges, a major component of project focuses on
the use of Information Technology (IT governance) in higher education sector. HEDP
will implement new QA policy to monitor online education and provide latest
Learning Management solution to all participating institutions to facilitate
distance learning. Verification of degrees and other credentials is a worldwide
issue. HEDP is deploying latest Blockchain technology to address the challenges
of fake degrees and to smoothen the process of degree attestation /verification.
HEDP is deploying scalable world-class ERP, Student Lifecycle Solutions and expanding
the online research network. Interestingly, most of these initiatives have
already been kicked off and in the process of roll out. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;"><span>********************************</span></p> | 31-03-2021 08:21:31 | <img alt="" src="/english/PublishingImages/ThematicImages/HEC%20ICON-15.png" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | https://hec.gov.pk/english/news/news/Pages/HEDP-PR.aspx |
| Universities in Cities with High Positivity Rate of Covid-19 Shall Remain Online until April 11, 2021 | Universities in Cities with High Positivity Rate of Covid-19 Shall Remain Online until April 11, 2021 | <p style="text-align:justify;">Islamabad, March 24, 2021: Following announcement by the Government for extension in closure of academic institutions in the selected cities due to recent upsurge in Covid-19 cases, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has clarified that all universities shall continue to operate as per guidelines issued earlier except for the educational institutions, which were earlier closed due to the high positivity rate. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">All such universities and higher education institutions shall remain closed for physical attendance until April 11, 2021. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">However, academic activities will continue online during this period. Moreover, on-going and pre-scheduled exams can be conducted as planned with complete observance of Covid-19 health and safety protocols. </p><p style="text-align:justify;">Universities are advised to ensure strict observance of the Covid-19 minimum health and safety protocols i.e., thermal scanning, wearing facemasks, social distancing, availability and regular use of sanitizers and disinfection of buildings. In addition, Universities are advised to seek further guidance, if required from the Chair or the provincial/regional members of the Covid-19 Oversight Committee or email at <a href="mailto:mgbhatti@hec.gov.pk">mgbhatti@hec.gov.pk</a>.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">===============</p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p> | 24-03-2021 20:19:14 | <img alt="" src="/english/PublishingImages/ThematicImages/HEC%20ICON-15.png" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | https://hec.gov.pk/english/news/news/Pages/Universities-Remain-Online.aspx |