March/April 2015

Awards Conferred on Outstanding Researchers

rd3 Social Sciences Conference

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Vice Chancellors from Islamic Countries

Vow to Share Resources

Vice Chancellors from Islamic Countries

Vow to Share Resources

Vice Chancellors from Islamic Countries

Vow to Share Resources

Higher Education Commission, Pakistan

Table of Contents

Graphic Designer

Raja Ahmad Nadeem

Reporter

Waseem Khaliqdad

Editor

Aayesha Ikram

Publisher:

Higher EducationCommission, Pakistan

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News & Views is published every month. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the publisher.

The views expressed by authors in the articles is their sole responsibility and not of HEC. The Commission would like to thank all the institutions and individuals who contributed information and photographs for this Magazine.

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rd3 VCs Forum of Muslim Countries

HEC Confers Awards on Outstanding Researchers

537 HEC Scholars Graduate as Medical Doctors from Cuba

rdHEC, University of Peshawar to hold 3

Social Sciences Conference

HEC holds Workshops for Controllers of

Examination

Pakistan-US University Partnerships

Boosting Social Sciences and Humanities:

Chairman HEC

HEC, Microsoft Launch National Event

Management System

New Campus of University of Loralai

Inaugurated

HEC Launches Degree Attestation Service

in Quetta

HEC to Refer Fake Degrees for Legal

Investigation

Training of Finance, Audit & Account

Departments

WB Mission Visits Pakistan to Review TESP

Implementation Status

Workshop for College Principals of Sindh

th24 Faculty Development Programme

Concludes

Chairman HEC Inaugurates Agri Exhibition

at UAF

stUET Lahore holds 21 Convocation

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and convening the meeting of this Forum for mutually sharing the development and progress on a bi-annual basis. It stressed on providing facilities for scholarships for students to benefit from progress made in scientific and educational fields in various centres of excellence among the member countries.

The Vice Chancellors from all the Islamic countries were asked to be cognizant of the challenges of globalization, particularly in the areas of educational and scientific research, for devising strategies and mutual course of action for cooperation in addressing those challenges.

The Forum recommended establishment of Virtual Centres of Excellence enabling scholars and researchers of member countries for easy access in sharing the pool of knowledge, and to promote exchange of students and faculty among participating institutions of higher learning.

Mr. Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning and Development was the chief guest of the inaugural ceremony. Speaking at the occasion, he appreciated HEC and CIIT for organizing the event, and hoped that the participants of the Forum will come up with tangible solutions facing universities in the Islamic World. He said that Vice

VCs of Islamic Countries Vow to Share Resources rd

3 Vice Chancellors Forum of Muslim countries held at Islamabad

rdThe 3 Vice Chancellors Forum of Muslim countries entitled “Universities in the Islamic World: Facing Global Challenges” was recently held in Islamabad. The university heads of Muslim countries vowed to share resources and take joint steps for promotion of the higher education sector.

The Forum, attended by over 200 Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Presidents of universities and higher education institutions of the Islamic world, included participants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, Libya, Malaysia, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Yemen, Gambia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Ivory Coast, Pakistan and a few other Muslim Countries.

The event was jointly organized by the Higher Education Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, and Federation of Universities of Islamic World.

The Forum recommended a regular liaison among institutions of higher learning in the Islamic World

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Chancellors are the real Corps Commanders in any country, as future battles will not be fought in battlegrounds and that the brain power will supersede the muscle power. He underlined the significance of multi-disciplinary knowledge and urged vice chancellors of Islamic countries to deliberate how our institutions of higher learning can embrace this challenge.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad, Chairman HEC, said that education alone was the solution to problems the Muslim countries are facing. He also stressed the need to work in collaboration rather than isolation. He said, "this platform provides all of us an opportunity to share success stories with each other and take joint initiatives for development of our universities."

Dr. Aminah Obaid Ramadha Al Hijri, Deputy Director General, ISESCO emphasized that developing human resource was of utmost importance for the Islamic world. Muhammad Naeem Khan, Assistant Secretary General, Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said that the higher education is the key driver for socio-economic change in any country. He also shared different OIC initiatives for promotion of higher education in the Muslim countries. Dr. S. M. Junaid Zaidi, Rector CIIT also spoke on the occasion.

Sixty universities of Pakistan have offered 1000 scholarships to students of other Muslim countries from Sessions starting in Fall 2015.

The agenda items for discussion in the Forum included Fostering Links within the Community, Sustainable Higher Education System, Sharing of Knowledge and Fostering Collaboration, Higher Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, International Landscape: Role of University Leadership, Higher Education: New Visions for Future, Role of Higher Education in Economic Vitalization, Mapping International Research Collaboration – Future Trends, Equality of Access and Role of Women in Higher Education and in Society, and Partnering with Industry.

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Lt. Gen. (R) Abdul Quadir Baloch, Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions has urged the researchers to relate their research with social and economic problems of the country and come up with tangible solutions whether they belong to sciences or arts and humanities. He also appreciated the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for encouraging and promoting university research.

thHe was speaking at the 4 Outstanding Research Awards ceremony for the year 2012 recently held at HEC Secretariat, Islamabad. As many as 27 outstanding researchers were given awards in four categories, including Best Research Paper, Best Young Research Scholar, Best Innovator and Best Book Publication. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC and Dr. Tariq Mahmood, Adviser (R&D) HEC were also present on the occasion.

Congratulating the award winners, the Minister said, "The role of academics and researchers is very important in any society. I hope you will be involved more energetically to boost research culture and relate your work with society's ground realities. I would request our researchers and scholars to pay attention to areas like energy, water, food security as well important social issues." The Minister further said that increasing access of higher education must be linked to quality.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said that HEC has been trying to give higher education institutions a focus, it has also encouraged faculty members in the shape of

HEC Confers Awards on Outstanding Researchers

scholarships, post-doc fellowships, travel grants as well as research awards to recognize their services. "Due to investment in the higher education sector, Pakistani universities and researchers are now recognized globally," said the Chairman. He, however, emphasized that after creating the research facilities and inducting qualified researchers in the universities, the next step is focus on the priority research areas and by creating solutions to problems that face our society.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said that HEC has been spearheading research in universities which has led to the creation and growth of the indigenous knowledge in all fields of sciences. He said that it is encouraging to see that the universities have responded passionately to all the initiatives taken by HEC for research and development and many projects have made their presence felt at national and international forums.

"The Commission has adopted a wholesome approach for development through research, ranging from personal development to strengthening of universities, development of research incubators, capacity development of human resource, exposure of faculty and researchers to international academia, establishing university-to-university linkages to name a few."

Awards for Best Research Paper went to Dr. Muhammad Atif, National Institute of Lasers and

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Optronics, Islamabad, Dr. Muhammad Hanif, Assistant COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad, Dr. Muhammad Sharif, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Dr. Muhammad Najam-ul-Haq, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Dr. Muhammad Ramzan Saeed Ashraf, Assistant Professor, University of Sargodha, Dr. Muhammad Nauman Ahmad, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Dr. Jamil Ahmad, BUITEMS Quetta, Dr. Azeem Khalid, Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Mr. Fiaz Ahmad, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Dr. Shah Ali Ul Qader, Dr. A.Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (KIBGE), University of Karachi, Dr. Naveed Arshad, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Dr. Muhammad Kashif Khan, DHA Suffa University, Karachi, Dr. Basit Raza, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), Islamabad, Dr. Muhammad Kamran, CIIT, Wah

Campus, Dr. Naveed Ahmad, UET Peshawar, Dr. Inayatullah Jan, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Dr. Tahira Jibeen, CIIT Lahore, Mr. Shoaib-ul-Haq, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Dr. Mohammad Zafar Iqbal, International Islamic University, Islamabad

Best Young Research Scholar Award were given to Dr. Khalid Mahmood Zia, Government College University, Faisalabad, Dr. Muhammad Farooq, The University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Dr. Junaid Zafar, Government College University, Lahore, Dr. Muhammad Abbas, Riphah International University. Best Innovator Award went to Dr. Riaz Ahmad Mufti, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad. Best Book Award were won by Dr. Arshad Mehmood Abbasi, CIIT Abbottabad, Dr. Shoaib Pervez, Lahore School of Economics, Lahore, Dr. Rabia Umar Ali, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

HEC, University of Peshawar to rdhold 3 Social Sciences Conference

distraught by weak democratic institutions, conservative socio-cultural ethos, exclusive and contending religious ideologies, increasing social stratification, infiltrating globalization, identity related contestations, exploitative economic structures and agencies, vulnerable security structures and competing global power interests.

The objectives of the conference are developing and promoting a multidisciplinary approach to study the society in Pakistan, forging a common research agenda to meet contemporary social, economic, political, cultural and environmental challenges and identify solutions, examining latest

methodological tools, conceptual paradigms and techniques to address the challenging research issues facing Pakistan.

The conference will also focus on building capacity of young faculty members and PhD/MPhil scholars to conduct qualitative and quantitative social science research, providing an opportunity for academicians and professionals from different field of the social sciences to come together and generate an academic discourse, facilitate networking among scholars working in various institutions of Pakistan and suggest policy measures to the government for a sound research based policy foundation.

The Higher Education

Commission's Committee for

Development of Social Sciences

and Humanities in Pakistan

(CDSSHP) in collaboration with

the University of Peshawar is rdorganizing the 3 Conference

on Promotion of Social Science

Research in Pakistani

Universities involving social

scientists from within and

outside the country.

Theme of the conference, to be held in May this year, is “State and Society of Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities.”

The theme is influenced by an understanding that the socio-economic and political conditions of Pakistan are precarious, and the State is

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The second batch of 537 Pakistani medical students has graduated from the Cuban Universities of Medical Sciences of Sancti Spiritus and Cienfuegos.

The graduation ceremonies of students, held at Sancti Spiritus and Cienfuegos, were dedicated to the Cuban leader Fidel Castro Ruz, who had promptly sent Henry Reeve Brigade, comprising 2464 medical personnel, to Pakistan in the aftermath of 2005 earthquake and subsequently offered 1000 fully funded scholarships for Pakistani students.

Representatives of provincial governments of Cuba and country's Communist Party of Sancti Spiritus and Cienfuegos were present on the occasion.

Mr. Tahir Abbas Zaidi, Project Director represented Higher Education Commission (HEC) in the convocation ceremonies, which was also attended by Charge d' Affaires of Pakistan to Cuba Mr. Naeemullah Khan.

Speaking at the graduation ceremonies, the Rectors of respective universities appreciated Pakistani students for quickly adapting to the multi-cultural environment, and wholeheartedly participating in activities organized during their stay at the campus and outstanding academic performance.

537 HEC Scholars Graduate as Medical Doctors from Cuba

According to Universities authorities, 165 students of the second batch qualified for receiving a “Golden Stamp” on their degrees, which is a significant achievement for Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Zaidi conveyed profound gratitude, on behalf of the people and Government of Pakistan, to the people and

Government of Cuba for their hospitality extended and kindness shown to Pakistani students during their seven-year long stay in Cuba. He hoped that the graduating doctors would render their services in Pakistan with same spirit of selflessness as Cuban doctors did in the aftermath of 2005 earthquake.

The graduation ceremonies, held at Sancti Spiritus and Cienfuegos, were dedicated to the Cuban

leader Fidel Castro Ruz, who had promptly sent Henry Reeve Brigade, comprising 2464 medical personnel, to Pakistan in the aftermath of 2005

earthquake and subsequently offered 1000 scholarships for Pakistani students.

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As many as 142 Controllers of Examination from all over Pakistan and Azad Kashmir attended HEC organized workshops entitled “Way Forward to address Challenges and Issues faced by HEC while Attesting/Equating Educational Credentials of Pakistani

stInstitutions in 21 Century” to discuss ways for further strengthening the process of degree attestation, standard of examination and award of degrees to the students. The workshops were held at Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar while participants from Balochistan attended the session in Karachi.

Mr. Farman Ullah Anjum, Director General (Accreditation Attestation) HEC was resource person for all these workshops. The main objective was to create awareness among Controllers of Examination about degree attestation and equivalence problems faced by HEC and the students, the primary stakeholder of HEC, as well as the Institutions.

The first workshop was held in Karachi in which 52 Controllers as well as Deputy Controllers of Examination participated from public and private higher education institutions (HEIs) of Sindh and Balochistan. The second session was held for Punjab's Controllers in Lahore in which over 30 HEIs

Improving Process of Degree Issuance and Attestation

HEC holds Workshops for Controllers of Examination

participated. Different issues like duplicate/revised degrees, re-verification and re-attestation, lack of proper coordination and dissemination of information to the controllers, etc were discussed.

Many Controllers raised points on MS/MPhil criteria of HEC which were adequately addressed by Dr. Muhammad Rafiq Baloch, Director General (Quality Assurance Agency) HEC. Many issues were resolved via face to face interaction as well as attestation and equivalence mechanism of HEC was shared with the participants in order to spread this information to the passing out graduates. HEIs agreed to cooperate with HEC in various aspects like provision

of gazettes, acting as HEC coordinator in their Universities and to keep their transcripts updated with the HEC semester guidelines.

Similarly, the third session in Peshawar was attended by Controllers of Examinations.

Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Executive Director HEC presided over the workshop and stressed on the participants to share their experiences and work in coordination with HEC to streamline the whole system of examination and award of degrees. Around 30 HEIs attended the workshop.

Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed Khan, Adviser (Quality Assurance) HEC elaborated different issues

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regarding credit hours transfer and exemption, GAT issues and related complications. The KPK Controllers showed commitment towards following HEC prescribed guidelines in future too.

The fourth and the final session was held at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Islamabad comprising 32 eminent Controllers of Examinations of all Federal Universities along with AJK HEIs.

Speaking to the audience, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC urged the Controllers to

actively participate in finalizing the criteria requirements and key essential features for any qualitative transcript to be taken at par with the international standards. He asked participants to make processes easier for students by getting themselves synchronized with HEC mechanisms and procedure.

Dr. Shahid Siddiqui, Vice Chancellor, AIOU also addressed the participants. Mr. Farman Ullah Anjum discussed different issues related to transcript samples, degree aspects and attestation

criteria. Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed provided his input in issues regarding standardization of grades, MS/MPhil policies, uniform grading systems, quality assurance criteria and GAT issues.

All these sessions provided an interactive forum to HEC and Controllers of Examination to discuss various issues and come up with solutions for benefitting different stakeholders in general and students in particular. Eventually, it will help in bringing our examination system at par with international standards.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan in collaboration with the British Council of Pakistan organized a two-day workshop on Strategic Management for Deans and HoDs from universities of Sindh and Balochistan. The workshop was held at HEC Regional Centre, Karachi.

The workshop will help participants to work on the strategic development of their own institutions. Mr. Sulaiman Ahmad, Director, HEC Karachi gave an introduction of workshop and welcomed the trainer Ms. Jo Chaffer who works internationally as a Development Trainer, Coach and Consultant with individuals and organisations. She has

HEC, British Council hold Strategic Management Workshop

worked to support leading universities in India, France, Switzerland, Pakistan, China, Kazakhstan, UAE, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Qatar, Brazil and the UK.

Mr. Robin Davies, Director (Sindh & Balochistan) British

Council, Pakistan was chief guest in the closing ceremony. He appreciated efforts of HEC for uplift of higher education in Pakistan. He said that British Council and HEC will explore possibilities for improvement of higher education sector in Sindh.

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US government and provided to American universities to establish a three-year partnership with a Pakistani university in Social Sciences and Humanities fields in order to assist universities with professional development for faculty, curriculum reform, joint research, as well as increasing mutual understanding between Pakistan and the United States through sustainable, peer-to-peer relationships.

The two-day workshop reviewed the on-going projects under these partnerships. It involved sessions on Sustainability of Partnerships, Academic Linkages and Network, DVC Session with US Partners, University Partnerships – Success and Challenges.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said, “Let's review what we have achieved through these partnerships and

Pakistan-US University Partnerships Boosting Social Sciences and Humanities: Chairman HEC

celebrate our success. I will request all of you to share success with people in your institution and also with other institutions in your surrounding community.” The Chairman thanked the US Government, particularly US Embassy, for their continuous support for development of Pakistan's higher education sector.

Thomas Leary, Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs at the US Embassy said, “Cooperation with Pakistan in higher education is a priority for the United States. The partnerships between Pakistani and American universities are enhancing curricula and research quality.”

All the University Partnerships are for three-year duration. The projects which started in 2012 will end this year after completing their three years. This include partnership between National University of

“The university partnerships in Social Sciences and Humanities between the higher learning institutions of Pakistan and the United States are instrumental in providing a boost to the waning interest among academics and researchers in these fields." This was stated by Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC while addressing the recently held Follow-up Workshop for Pakistan-US University Partnerships in Social Sciences and Humanities.

These partnerships, a joint initiative of Higher Education Commission and the US Embassy in Pakistan, are an on-going activity since 2012 and aim to establish long-term, ongoing relationships between Pakistani institutions of higher learning with those in the United States, in the fields of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Under this programme, $1 million grant is funded by the

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Modern Languages, Islamabad and University of North Texas in English Linguistics in Literature, and English Language Teaching; Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad and Ball State University in American Studies; Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad and San José State University in Distance Education, Computer Science; Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi and University of Texas at Austin in Behavioral Sciences; Gender Studies, Mass Communications; University of Gujrat and University of Oklahoma in Mass Communication and Media Studies; Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, Peshawar and Southern Methodist University in Psychology; Isra University, Hyderabad and Ball State University in Business Administration; Consortium of Five Pakistani Universities in KPK and the University of Kentucky in Business Administration. KPK universities include Abdul Wali

Khan University, Mardan, Kohat University of Science and Technology, University of Peshawar, Bannu University of Science and Technology, and IMSciences, Peshawar.

The partnerships, which started in 2013 and will be completed next year, include that of National College of Arts, Rawalpindi and Boston Architectural College in Architecture and Cultural Preservation; Azad Jammu and Kashmir University, Muzaffarabad and San José State University in Linguistics and English Education; Karakoram International University, Gilgit and University of Oregon in Business Management and Environment Sciences; Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore and Arizona State University in American Literature; Lahore College for Women University and George Washington University in Gender Studies; University of Karachi and George Mason University in Public Administration; National

Academy of Performing Arts, Karachi and University of Texas at Austin in Composition, Instrumental and Vocal Music; and Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi and Southern Polytechnic State University in Communication Design. Similarly, the partnerships started in 2014 include International Islamic University, Islamabad and University of North Carolina Wilmington in Politics and International Relations and English; Lahore University of Management Sciences and American University in the field of Leadership Training and Entrepreneurship for Pakistani Females (for one year duration only).

Two more partnerships will be formed between National College of Arts, Lahore and a US University in Film and Television Arts, and University of the Punjab, Lahore and a US Institution in Sociology and Development Studies.

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Workshop for College Principals of SindhThe Higher Education Commission (HEC) organized a six-day workshop for capacity building of principals, vice principals and senior faculty members of Government Degree Colleges of Sindh province at Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU), Khairpur.

The workshop, held in collaboration with World Bank's Tertiary Education

Support Programme, was aimed to provide baseline knowledge about governance, preparation of PC-I, mission statement and vision. Fifty seven participants from different colleges of the province attended the workshop. Mr. Saleemullah Sohoo, Director (Academics) HEC thanked the World Bank and Dr. Parveen Shah, Vice Chancellor SALU, for

providing facilities for organizing the workshop. He said that it is high time to initiate reforms in the colleges of Pakistan for improvement of academic standards and curriculum design. Dr. Ghulam Ali Mallah, Focal Person of the workshop briefed the participants about administrative hierarchy, facilities and infrastructure of the University.

The Higher Education Commission and Microsoft have collaborated to create an online portal “National Event Management System (NEMS)”, developed by Xelleration Pakistan. The purpose-built and enriched online portal will enable HEC to effectively manage over 3000 events, organized by universities and HEC.

A launching ceremony was held at HEC Secretariat, Islamabad in which Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC launched the portal http://pern-public.sharepoint .com. Mr. Harb Bou-Harb, Public Sector Director of Microsoft- NEPA region was also present on the occasion. The event was also attended by Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Executive Director HEC, and Mr. Anwar Amjad, Director General (IT) HEC. The pioneering facility will be

National Event Management System Launched

offered to more than 157 universities and campuses, facilitating over one million students, faculty members and staff across the country. The portal offers user registration, attendance, and self-service scheduling of various activities for diversified events. The administration teams at universities can use this comprehensive facility to manage events, manage facilities/ resources and reserve rooms for the events. A special feature will enable them to invite attendees for an

event, or help them in self-enrolment. The portal also offers publishing and sharing the events on Social Media. Post-event feedback collection from users through an automated mechanism and subsequently extracted from the portal.

One click view of graphs and charts, representing the number of events, are amongst the main features of this portal, which can be compiled according to various disciplines or subjects, e.g. Engineering events, Medical events, etc.

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A ceremony was held at Greenwich University, Karachi to pay tributes to Prof. Dr. A. Q. Mughal for his academic and research activities, and felicitate him on receiving Sitara-e-Imtiaz.

Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC was the Chief Guest of the ceremony. Ms. Seema Mughal, Vice Chancellor, Greenwich University, Dr. Qasim Raza Pirzada Vice Chancellor, Ziauddin University, Dr. Masood Hameed Khan, Vice Chancellor,

News in Picture

Dow University, Dr. M. Afzal Haque, Vice Chancellor, NED University, Dr. Neelofer Shaikh, Vice Chancellor, Preston University, Dr. Mujeebuddin Sehrai, Vice Chancellor, SAU Tandojam, Mr. Aftab Ahmed

Lodhi, Former Adviser to Governor Sindh on Higher Education also spoke on the occasion and praised the contribution of Dr. Mughal for promotion of higher education and reserach in the country.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan will refer all the fake degrees, confiscated during the attestation process, for legal investigation to the relevant authority. HEC has taken the decision to eliminate the menace of counterfeit educational documents, which is one of the major causes of corruption in the society. HEC, on average, attests 600 documents daily at its Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar offices. The step will help deter corrupt elements in the society, as verification of educational documents is now mandatory for higher studies, employment within the country and abroad, visa processing, etc.

News Flash

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has launched the process of degree attestation at its Regional Centre in Quetta from March 24, 2015.

As part of its effort to facilitate the university graduates, HEC has already started degree

HEC Launches Degree Attestation Service in Quetta attestation facility at its Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar Centres.

The opening of degree attestation service at HEC Regional Centre, located at House 61-A, Chaman Housing Scheme Quetta, will facilitate graduates from

Balochistan to get their degrees/testimonials verified from their own province rather than going to Karachi or Islamabad. It may be mentioned here that HEC has been endeavoring to extend access of quality higher education to every region of the country.

HEC to Refer Fake Degrees for Legal Investigation

Mr. Muhammad Khan Achakzai, Governor Balochistan, laid foundation stone of the new campus of the University of Loralai on April 8, 2015. The University started its academic activities in 2009 as sub campus of University of Balochistan.

Later on, it was declared a full-fledged University with promulgation of the University of Loralai Act passed by the Balochistan Provincial Assembly on September 24, 2012 and assented to by Governor Balochistan on September 27, 2012. Dr. Abdullah Khan Kakar

New Campus of University of Loralai Inaugurated

was appointed as first Vice Chancellor of the University on December 19, 2014.

The Provincial Government has allotted 500 acres of land at Quetta Road, Loralai, some 12 kilometers away from Loralai city. HEC will provide Rs. 1518.751 million for the

infrastructure development and other allied facilities. PhD scholarships will also be provided for faculty development of the University. The University is offering BS Computer Science, MCS, BBA, MBA, BCom, MCom, MEd degree programmes in temporary buildings in Sibi city.

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A meeting to review Urdu research journals published in the country and suggest steps for their up-gradation and assess status of recognition of different journals was recently held at Higher Education Commission (HEC) Islamabad.

Dr. Anwaar Ahmed, Director General, University of Gujrat chaired meeting of the Sub-committee in Urdu, which was organized by HEC's Social Sciences Section. The Sub-committee thoroughly evaluated various national journals in Urdu and recommended different cases for recognition and up-gradation. The Committee also evaluated over 50 books in Urdu for equivalence.

The Committee appreciated efforts of Dr. Najeeba Arif, Assistant Professor, Department of Urdu, International Islamic University for launching Pakistan's first Abstracting/Indexing agency in Urdu.

Dr. Anwaar Ahmed appreciated the efforts of HEC for improvement of quality of research journals in Urdu and providing required academic and financial support. Earlier, Dr. Muhammad Tahir Ali

The Asian Council of Science Editors in collaboration with HEC organized a workshop for Journal Editors at a local hotel in Islamabad. Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Executive Director HEC was the chief guest in the inauguration ceremony accompanied by Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed Khan, Adviser (Quality Assurance) HEC.

Dr. Elizabeth Wager from USA was the resource person. All areas relevant to the journals were covered by the resource person. She focused on developing and maintaining effective journal policies and commercial and business ethics for research journals. Editors of HEC recognized journals of X and W categories attended the workshop.

HEC to Upgrade Urdu Research Journals

Shah, Deputy Director (Academics) HEC briefed the participants about HEC policy for journals of social sciences and humanities.

The Committee members include Dr. Muhammad Yousuf Khushk, Chairman, Department of Urdu, Shah Abul Latif University Khairpur, Dr. Tubina Tareen, Chairperson Department of Urdu, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Dr. Nasir Abbas Nayyar, Assistant Professor, University of the Punjab Lahore, and Dr. Salman Ali, Department of Urdu, University of Peshawar. Dr. Najeeba Arif has also joined the committee as co-opted member.

Workshop of Editors of Science Journals

Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Executive Director, Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Dr. Zabta Khan, Head, Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-e-Azam University are being briefed in the museum of Institute of Science and Technology at Minsk, Belarus.

News in Picture

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HEC is making continuous efforts to enhance skills of the Finance, Audit and Accounts departments of higher education institutions throughout Pakistan particularly less privileged areas.

As part of this activity, the Chairman HEC has asked the participants of a recent overseas study tour to share their experiences with other universities by organizing workshops and trainings in all provinces. Accordingly, HEC planned a series of workshops under its Tertiary Education Support Programme (TESP) funded by the World Bank.

After successfully conducting trainings at Peshawar and Quetta, HEC organized another workshop for employees of Treasury and Audit Departments of public sector universities from the South Punjab. The event was

Public Sector Universities of Southern Punjab

Training of Finance, Audit & Account Departments

conducted at Islamia University, Bahawalpur (IUB).

Around 30 nominees from South Punjab as well as Faisalabad and Sargodha attended the workshop, which was inaugurated by Dr. Qaiser Mushtaq, Vice Chancellor, IUB. In his opening remarks, he appreciated HEC to build capacity of administrative staff of the universities which is vital for good governance.

Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Acting Executive Director HEC also addressed the participants through video conference. He

emphasized the need to keep oneself abreast with new technologies and latest techniques of the respective field.

Khawaja Zahid Hussain, Financial Management Specialist HEC coordinated the whole activity. The resource persons shared their experiences and contributed thought provoking ideas on topics like New Accounting Model, Enterprise Resource Planning, Budgeting, Financial Management, Revenue Diversification, and Strategic Visions.

The Higher Education Commission organized a one-day workshop for Editors of Recognized Journals in Social Sciences at HEC Islamabad. Mr. Fida Hussain, Director General (Academics) welcomed the participants and briefed them about HEC's policy on Social Sciences journals.

Editors of all HEC recognized journals in Social Sciences from Rawalpindi and Islamabad region attended the workshop and lauded efforts for improvement of quality in Social Sciences

Workshop for Editors of Social Sciences Journalsjournals. The main areas covered during the workshop included enhancing publication standard, knowledge about impact factor and its importance, ethics in publications and plagiarism.

Dr. Ahrar Khan, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad was the resource person in the workshop. He appreciated the efforts of HEC for improvement of quality in Social Sciences research journals and providing required academic and financial support.

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A ceremony was held at the Higher Education Commission to launch Business Process Automation System (BPAS).

Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Executive Director HEC, chaired the session which was also attended by Mrs. Shaheen Khan, Adviser (Learning Innovation and Sports), Mr. Ahmed Yahya Khan, Director General (Statistics), Mr. Anwar Amjad, DG (IT) and Mr. Ch. Abdullah Fayyaz Chattha, Director (PERN). Mr. Asif Abdul Aziz, Project Manager, System Ltd. briefed about the project and its timeline and Mr. Hammad Zafar, Senior BPM Consultant presented Soft Launch of application.

Mr. Anwar Amjad elaborated scope of the project. “HEC is aiming end-to-end automation of the processes, involving all of its users and stakeholders,” he said.

The project will cover automation process of HEC's programmes, projects and routine tasks which involve role and working of different types of users. Web enabled application interface with the process definition to facilitate the users to process their requisitions and perform their tasks, and also to get updated status for the follow-up of their tasks.

Business Process Management (BPM) is a means to study, identify, change, and monitor business processes. It encompasses the techniques,

Launch of Business Process Automation System structured methods, and means to streamline operations and increase efficiency. HEC has acquired IBM Business Process Manager after the tender process under the TA component of TESP. IBM BPM is a comprehensive and consumable BPM platform that provides complete visibility and management of an organization's business processes.

Business Process Automation System (BPAS) implementation will help HEC in achieving following benefits:

?Automation of processes/ tasks/ activities of various projects/ programmes

?Transformation of classical way of record keeping of different projects, programmes and recurring tasks/ activities

?Improvement in HEC's service(s) delivery by reducing processing time and effort required for management of the activities

?Provision of integrated and unified services enabled applications which are common across different programmes to its users and stakeholders

?Development of common and standardized data repository of higher education sector which will not only provide information for improvement in existing processes but will also provide base data for policy formation of new schemes to its various level stakeholders/ managers

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over China, Hong Kong, and France.

Mr. Awan is in the final year of his PhD studies at Sun Yat-sen Business School, Guangzhou.

His PhD research is focused on "Word of Mouth Marketing and Brand Preference Evaluation".

Conference, China. His talk was entitled "Chinese Brands in South Asia Region and the Business Opportunities in Pakistan".

The audience at the Summit included academicians, business owners, entrepreneurs and government agencies from all

CIIT Scholar attends Global Brand ConferenceMr. Tahir Mumtaz Awan, a faculty member at the Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) Islamabad who is pursuing PhD studies in China under HEC's 90% Overseas Scholarship, gave a talk at the

rd3 Global Brand Conference and the First Chongqing Brand

The Academics Division, HEC and TESP recently organized capacity building training for Principals/Vice Principals and senior faculty members of Government Degree Colleges of the Sindh province.

TESP Activities

WB Mission Visits Pakistan to Review TESP Implementation Status

TESP, Academics Division hold training for Principals of Sindh Degree Colleges

A World Bank Implementation Support Mission, led by Mr. Halil Dundar, Practice Manager/Lead Education Specialist, visited Pakistan to review implementation status of the Tertiary Education Support Programme (TESP).

The main objectives of the mission were to review implementation status of the Government's Medium Term Development Framework for Higher Education (MTDF-HE-II) supported under the Project; review implementation status of Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs), review implementation status of

technical assistance and training activities supported under Component 2; and review status of legal covenants and safeguard requirements.

All DLIs were discussed in detail and WB showed its

satisfaction on implementation status of different DLIs. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC briefed the visitors about Government's vision for the higher education sector and highlighted importance of the Bank's technical and financial support.

Forty-five Principals of affiliated degree colleges of Sindh were imparted training on academic programme evaluation, public disclosure and transparency, community linkages and financial

management. Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Talat Khurshid said education is an agent of change and it is through education that a culture of tolerance can be spread in society.

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employees of public sector universities,” he said adding that HEC intends to launch second phase of TESP and would like to train more employees of Tertiary Education Institutions (TEIs).

Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Executive Director HEC commended TESP on organizing the trainings and stressed on the importance of capacity building. He said that main objective is to strengthen implementation capacity of HEC and TEI employees through different trainings.

The annual training plan has been approved by the HEC management and the World Bank, after detailed

Training on Leadership and Change Management for University Staff

consultation with all the stakeholders and after need assessment of HEIs. These trainings are being held in the areas of Leadership and Change Management, Human Resource Management and Socialization of HR, Financial Management, IT Management, Research Proposals, Intellectual Property, Capacity Building of Quality Assurance Staff and Project Planning, Implementation and Evaluation.

It is expected that very soon a contract to this effect will also be signed with IBA Karachi as well. TESP has received 1600 nominations from 60 public sector universities for these trainings.

Dr. Hidayat Ullah, Head, Department of Agriculture, University of Swabi has completed four-month Professional Development Programme under the scheme of Executive Endeavor Fellowship sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Government of Australia. He has run an independent breeding programme on screening of faba bean germplasm for frost stress at Plant Breeding Institute, University of Sydney under the supervision of Dr. Kedar Adhikari.

News Flash

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) in collaboration with World Bank's Tertiary Education Support Programme (TESP) and Institute of Management Sciences (IMSciences) Peshawar recently organized training on Leadership and Change Management for staff of public sector universities.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad, Chairman HEC, chaired opening session of the training held at Islamabad. HEC and TESP have launched a series of training workshops for capacity building of the staff of country's public sector universities, working on management positions in different capacities.

In his opening remarks, the Chairman HEC highlighted the significance of capacity building of the university staff. He said that HEC has been given special attention to capacity building of teaching as well as non-teaching staff. “This year we will train 3500

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HEC - MICROSOFT HEC - MICROSOFT E D U C A T I O N A L L I A N C E

Windows 8 Windows Azure Windows Phone imagine cup

Higher Education Commission has a vision to help Transform Education in Pakistan, the alliance between Microsoft and HEC is an example of how this vision is being executed for the Universities across Pakistan. The link between education attainment and economic growth has never been clearer. Together we are deeply committed to use the power of information technology to deliver technology, services, and programs that provide anytime, anywhere learning for all. Academic year 2014-2015 is step forward with all Public & Private sector universities getting the benefit of the programmes being offered. The summary of impact is can be seen in this figure:

What is DreamSpark? HEC has a vision to ensure accessibility of genuine software to all and this vision is not only giving students with the tools they need but is also promoting the value of intellectual property. DreamSpark is a Microsoft Programme that supports technical education by providing access to Microsoft software for learning, teaching and research purposes.

Technical Skill Development programme

Microsoft supports your startup as you grow.

is aiming toward capacity development of students around modern tools and technologies which are widely used in Industry. HEC strongly feel that the right skills are vital for growth in all sectors, by engaging Microsoft in such initiatives HEC drives the ability for students to get adequate skills as per latest market trends.

Largest Student Technology Competition in the world where students submit their projects and compete with the best of the world. Please visit http://www.imaginecup.com . HEC strongly feel that students should take part in global competitions like Imagine Cup, this helps students to benchmark their projects against their counterparts from other countries.

is the programme for those with ambitions to become startups and Entrepreneurs. Along with various other benefits the BizSpark also provide access to Azure, Azure gets your business up and running in the cloud.

For details http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/

helps connect students with Industry experts through in depth trainings focused towards Business and Soft skill development.

The programmes and initiatives mentioned above pave the way for people to achieve success, many of the students have benefited, for some the impact has been a life changing experience for them and their family, a small subset of stories is being shared here for our readers’ interest.

What is Imagine Cup?

Student 2 Business programme

BizSpark

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Saad Mahmood's journey with Microsoft Pakistan started with WowzApp Hackathon held in 2012; where he was really impressed by the programmes offered under HEC-Microsoft Education Alliance. Later he got an opportunity to be an inter at Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) Lahore that helped refine his skills as a developer and as a professional. He developed some really cool applications + games and monetized them to earn. Saad is an active community member, he has been actively engaged in promoting HEC-Microsoft Education Alliance programmes among his fellow students. He is active at MSDN, Code project, C# Corner, Stack overflow and other community sites.

His passion to help others and motivate students and developers to develop on top of Microsoft technologies helped him to earn a good status in online /offline developer community. Beginning of January 2015, based on his intention to pay back to community, Microsoft officially recognized his work by awarding him Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for Windows Platform Development, whereas his craze to develop apps for Microsoft and cross platform made him able to help his family buy their own home.

Rahber Ashraf's interaction with Microsoft started when he was selected as Microsoft Student Partner representing Bahria University, Islamabad under the HEC-Microsoft Education Alliance Program. His passion for technology and being an MSP helped him learn more about Microsoft technologies. He wanted to help and propagate knowledge to others and that's where Microsoft Pakistan DX team provided him with a jump start.

He delivered more sessions than any other MSP and was recognized by community and Microsoft as Community Speaker. His efforts finally paid-of and in September, 2014 he was hired by Microsoft as MACH Technical. For him the road to success is consistency and putting all your efforts in what you want to do from hear

HEC & Microsoft have started working on another milestone achievement similar to the last year's Microsoft Innovation Center launch in Karachi. Realizing the potential of students here in Islamabad, HEC has visualized the need for another Innovation center in Islamabad; working together with Microsoft towards achieving this vision.

Innovation centers provide students with Internship opportunities along with providing lab environments which are equipped with the latest hardware and tools required for conducting standardized workshops and trainings delivered by leading industry experts.

Student Buy a New home for Family while pursuing career in Software Development

A Journey from a Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) to a Full Time Microsoft Employee

Microsoft Innovation Center in Islamabad is going to be a reality

Over the years HEC and Microsoft are working towards making student developer successful and to equip student with expertise of development on cloud and mobile platforms. This effort has

My CollageWe have an inspiring and refreshing story of Mariam Sanaullah who earned above 1500£ in less than three months through one Windows Store app, named My Collage. Her interest in mobile app development lead her for internship program at Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC), Lahore where she developed this app under guidance of MIC Lahore's staff. The app witnessed more than 1500 downloads the very first day of its release. Within three months it reached 50,000 plus downloads. Today, Mariam is pursuing Masters at NUST, SEECS. She's now officially a Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) and her app has secured more than 175,000 downloads.

Microsoft Student Partners (MSP) led Startup touches New HeightsKiaSceneHai, a new brand by a local startup; StringBlue from Lahore that is founded by two Microsoft Student Partners Ahmad Munir & Daniyal Shahid. KiaSceneHai is powered by Microsoft Azure and their website and mobile clients are about featuring local events of user's interest. Their Facebook page fb.com/ KiaSceneHai has attracted more than 100,000 Likes already and growing with a steady revenue stream.

(GIK) Team Amplifiers from Pakistan Represents Pakistan at Imagine Cup in SeattlePakistan's Imagine Cup team, Amplifiers from Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI) qualified for Imagine World Finals in the World Citizenship category that were held in Seattle on July, 2014. Team from Pakistan was among the 34 teams selected from 170 teams from 76 countries who competed in the world semifinals. Their project, Project AMP - Auditory Modified Perception replaces expensive hearing aid frequency processing with a Windows Phone 8 and a Bluetooth headset along with providing audiometry test right on the phone. It further expands the cost effective solution to incorporate Auditory Brainstem Response (EEG) for examining hearing loss in infants. The team with their Windows Phone solution powered by Microsoft Azure further competed in Telenor's Apportunity competition held at Oslo, Norway and made their way to top 7 apps from Asia, winning 200,000 PKR as price money.

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Student App Highlights: Promising Apps from Brilliant minds

Dr. Professor Sohail Abdul Sattar, co-chair, Computer Sciences & IT Department at NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi commented on account of curriculum integration with Microsoft, "It was for the first time in Fall 2014 that Microsoft contributed in the practical lab sessions of a Final Year Course CT-481 'Wireless Networks and Mobile Computing' of BS CSIT program. Microsoft provided highly skilled instructors for conducting practical hands on sessions as part of the course. Students acquired practical skills of latest Microsoft tools and

How Curriculum Integration with Microsoft is helping Young CS Graduates

technology from qualified instructors of Microsoft. At the end of the course students were assigned projects of Mobile App development. Consequently majority of the students submitted good quality projects. Most of the mobile apps developed by the students were of good quality and are publishable on the marketplace. This kind of academia -industry collaboration supported by the Higher Education commission (HEC) has been proved to be very important for producing good quality computer science graduates. We hope to have more such integrations in near future."

resulted with great apps being developed by students. Here are some of the most promising stories from these young and brilliant minds from past few months:

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ali, a Biological Scientist, has joined Government College University, Faisalabad

thas its 4 Vice Chancellor. With a PhD from University of Wales (UK) and Post-Doctoral work from MU Columbia, USA, Dr. Ali enjoys a vast experience in areas of teaching, research, administration, planning and development and project management.

With an academic experience of more than 25 years, he enjoys a strong research outlook with

Dr. Muhammad Ali Joins GCUF as Vice Chancellor many PhD and MPhil students to his credit alongwith research impact factor above 200.

GCUF community has welcomed his appointment as Vice Chancellor and hopes to take a giant leap under his captaincy in the sphere of higher education.

Senator Abdul Nabi Bangash, Chairman, Senate Standing Committee on Education visits Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS) after Committee's recent meeting held in Quetta. Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Executive Director HEC, accompanied the Senator.

News in Picture

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Microsoft Pakistan hosted 173 teaching events named “Hour of Code”Microsoft Pakistan conducted more than 173 teaching events named “Hour of Code” for individuals having little or no understanding of code and for students at schools and universities, and engaged all the Microsoft Student Partners (MSP) to demystify “Code”, teach young children how to code and show the students that anybody can learn the

basics. Numerous universities and educational institutions signed-up to host a record number of events at their academic premises all over Pakistan.

The participating cities included Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Faisalabad, Chakwal, Jhelum, Okara, Bahawalpur, Mirpur,

Gujranwala, Sukkur, Muzaffarabad, Turbat, Peshawar, Abottabad, Wah, and Topi. HEC has always encouraged students to be proactive and work towards betterment of society & Pakistan. This engagement is a great example of MSPs showing example of social responsibility and commitment towards uplifting country.

PAKISTAN CONTRIBUTES

BIG

HOUROF

CODEMicrosoft

specifically for in-service teachers who spend this time in rigorous training. Previously, 668 faculty members of different universities have benefitted from this programme in 23 batches.

The programme included Micro Teaching sessions to renovate teaching skills of the participants. Besides intensive training modules, general topics were strategically inter-mingled with regular course modules. Recreational and study trips were also arranged for participants.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Chairman said

th24 Faculty Development Programme Concludes

th24 Faculty Development Programme Concludes

A meeting of HEC's National Curriculum Revision Committee (NCRC) in the discipline of Agricultural Engineering, to review and update curriculum of Agricultural Engineering, was recently held at HEC Regional Centre in Peshawar. Previously, the Agriculture Engineering curriculum was revised and

Agricultural Engineering Curriculum Reviewed

that teachers are assets for any nation and they are responsible for shaping the thought-process. He urged faculty members to spread hope among their students and teach their students the importance of tolerance in life. “Remember your students should not only excel in their respective disciplines but they should also become good human beings.”

The Chairman advised the teachers to disseminate best practices learned during the programme. He also underlined the need of assuring quality in universities at all levels.

thThe 24 Master Trainers-Faculty Development Programme, organized by Higher Education Commission's Learning Innovation Division, concluded at HEC Secretariat on April 17, 2015. As many as 25 faculty members from 25 higher education institutions across Pakistan attended the eight-week programme. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC was chief guest at the certificate distribution ceremony. Mrs. Shaheen Khan, Adviser (Learning Innovation and Sports) was also present on the occasion.

The faculty development programme has been designed

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The Prime Minister of Pakistan has appointed Prof. Anwar-ul-Hassan Gilani as the Chairman of Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST). The mandate of PCST is to advise the Government on S&T policies, oversee progress and plan for meaningful promotion, development and application of Science and Technology for socioeconomic development of the country.

Prof. Gilani has the vast experience of academic leadership including Director, Natural Products Research Unit, Head, Pharmacology, Vice Chair, Research and Graduate Studies, Director, PhD Programme in Health Sciences, Dean, College of

Prof. Anwar Gilani is New Chairman PCST Health Sciences and President, Pakistan Chapter of International Society of Pharmacoeconomic and Outcome Research.

Dr. Gilani is a Professor of Pharmacology at the Aga Khan University since 1997 and hold the title of HEC Distinguished National Professor and HEC Life-Time Academic Achievement Award. He is adviser to WHO and International Foundation for Science. He has over 350 publications, supervised research of 20 PhDs and has won several national and international awards, including Pride of Performance and Sitara-i-Imtiaz.

A three-day Youth Symposium was held at Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI) of Engineering Sciences and Technology. It was organized by GIKI Science Society.

In his keynote address, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary, former Chief Justice of Pakistan, said that the youth are building blocks of a nation and it is a fact that more stronger the youth, more developed the nation is. “Pakistan currently has a youth population with over 100 million,” he said.

GIKI holds Youth Symposium

Mr. Amjad Afridi, Provincial Minister for Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs said that youth could bring a real revolution and result-oriented changes. Lauding arrangements of the students, he said that GIK Institute has

played a considerable role in the progress of the country. Dr. Jameel-Un-Nabi, Dean, Faculty of Engineering Sciences and Hammad Iqbal, President of Science Society also spoke on the occasion.

circulated by HEC in 2010. The Committee thoroughly reviewed and updated the curriculum at Bachelors and Masters level including knowledge about latest developments and innovations in the field of engineering around the globe. Some new courses, as per future

requirements, were also coined and incorporated in undergraduate and graduate curricula. To keep the curriculum at par with HEC and Pakistan Engineering Council guidelines, a representative from PEC was also included in the Committee. It was also emphasized that for various

courses requiring hands-on experience, the students will be required to draw maps by hand besides using simulation techniques. It was recommended that HEC should provide funds for establishment of state-of-the-art laboratories and libraries in the universities.

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The second meeting of the Scholarship Management Committee, held at HEC Secretariat, has approved the cases of 300 shortlisted students from 11 institutions for Pakistan-US Merit and Needs based Scholarships.

The meeting, chaired by Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi, Executive Director HEC, was attended by Dr. Tariq Mahmood, Adviser R&D (HEC), Mr. Thomas Le Blanc, Director USAID, Engr. Farooq Bazai, Vice Chancellor, BUITEMS Quetta, Dr. Rasul Jan, Vice Chancellor, University of Peshawar, Dr. Asif Rao, Director ORIC, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Mr. Zahid Hussain Khund, Registrar, Sukkur IBA, other key USAID officials and representatives of the partner institutions.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Kundi appreciated the collaboration of USAID in the education sector of Pakistan and how it has supported HEC's cause of establishing high-class educational centres to build university-industry-government linkages, and internationally ranked universities with trained faculty for increased research capacity.

Dr. Tariq Mahmood informed the members that Merit and Needs based Scholarship Programme was started in 2004 in collaboration between HEC and USAID, which till date has provided 1807 scholarships to talented and needy students. “Of these, 1400 students have completed their education and are working at local and multinational companies. In the first Scholarship

3000 students will benefit under Phase-II

Cases of 300 Students Approved for Pakistan-USAID Needs-based Scholarships

Management Committee of Phase-II, 221 scholarships were awarded to the meritorious students,” he said.

He further said, “As the Programme has been expanded to 31 universities in its Phase-II, it will enable to capture youth of low income households to come under the net of higher education on a wider scale, thus increasing access and providing adequate opportunities to less privileged youth.”

Mr. Thomas Le Blanc told the members that US Government is committed to take necessary steps to ensure that the country comes out of the challenges. “Under the Phase-II, the programme will provide financial assistance to approximately 3000 needy youth in next five years and fully funded scholarships to the students of Agriculture, Medical, Business, Engineering in top universities of Pakistan. Fifty percent of the scholarships are reserved for female students,” he said.

The partner institutions include IBA Karachi, Fatima Jinnah Women University Rawalpindi, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, National University of Sciences and Technology Islamabad, Khyber Medical University Peshawar, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Institute of Management Sciences Peshawar, PIEAS Islamabad, SBBU Peshawar and Sukkur IBA.

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The National Institute of thPsychology hosted 5

International Conference under the theme of Educational Psychology.

A total of 80 papers were selected for oral presentation distributed in 11 parallel sessions and an invited symposium on “Recent advances in school psychology in Pakistan”.

Additionally, 114 empirical research papers were displayed in form of Poster Presentations which were all included in the poster competition award. More than 600 delegates

A book entitled “Karachi: The Land Issues” was launched at the Karachi Literature Festival on February 8, 2015. Published by Oxford University Press, the book has

Conference on Educational Psychology

representing nationwide major higher education institutions participated in the conference. The conference was inaugurated by Dr. Mansoor

Akbar Kundi, Executive Director HEC. Eminent scholars and researchers attended the conference and presented their work.

Karachi: The Land Issue Launched been jointly written by Arif Hasan, eminent architect and planner; Noman Ahmed, Professor and Chairman, Architecture and Planning Department at NED University; Asiya Sadiq-Polack, Associate Professor at NED; Saeed Uddin Ahmed, Assistant Professor at NED; Mansoor Raza, independent researcher and Moizza B. Sarwar, D.Phil Candidate at the University of Oxford, UK.

The book is based on a year and a half long research done by these scholars on the dynamics of land in Karachi and the various issues related to it. During the launch event at KLF 2015, Arif Hasan

highlighted the salient contents of the book and various dimensions of land covered in the volume. The session was moderated by Kamran Asdar Ali, Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Other panelists included Maniza Naqvi, eminent author; Rumana Husain, educationist and author and Nasreen Askari, Curator Mohatta Palace Museum.

The speakers and audience were of the view that the book is an invaluable contribution to the knowledge about this vital attribute of city planning and development in Karachi.

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Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad, Chairman HEC, has said that universities are mandated for building communities through transferring their technologies among people and providing recommendations to policy makers as think-tank to address issues of common man.

He along with Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Vice Chancellor, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF) inaugurated Agri Exhibition, which was part of six-day Spring Festival held at UAF. Over 40 stalls were displayed at different models, technologies, handicraft, related to agriculture, food and textile industry.

Addressing on the occasion, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said that researches should not be piled up in the

Chairman HEC Inaugurates Agri Exhibition at UAF libraries. It must be translated into goods and services. He added that researchers and experts should come up with innovative ideas to give suggestions to policy makers about agriculture, energy and water issues.

The Chairman said that HEC was making all out efforts to promote education, quality research and trained manpower.

Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that the country was passing through multiple challenges including food insecurity, water issue, unemployment and other issues. He said that the festival was meant to provide a platform to the farming community, common man, scientists, academia, industry and policy makers to sit together and to find out ways to improve agricultural productivity.

Dr. Pavel Kabat stressed upon the need to enhancing scientific partnerships with academic community and to develop the strategic collaboration. He said that the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) established in 1972 had been conducting policy-oriented research into problems of a global nature that are too large or too complex to be solved by a single country or academic discipline.

stUET Lahore holds 21 Convocation

Dr. Fazal Ahmad Khalid said, “We know that higher education is critical for nation building and UET in the last century has played a major role in the national development and demonstrated

stThe 21 convocation of the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore was held recently. As many as 3715 students were awarded degrees while distinguished 114 students received gold medals.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC, was the chief guest. Dr. Fazal Ahmad Khalid, Vice Chancellor was also present.

Speaking at the occasion, the Chairman HEC appreciated the contribution of UET Lahore in the engineering education, particularly output of PhD scholars. He hoped that the graduates will play an active role in country's development.

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significant progress in promotion of engineering education and research. The University is successfully collaborating with Chinese technology companies and have set up joint training facilities at UET like Huwaei, ZTE and Supcon.”

Training for Faculty Members UET Lahore also organized a one-week training for newly inducted faculty members of various

The launching ceremony of The Textbook of rdSurgery (3 Edition) by veteran surgeon and

former Principal of King Edward Medical College, Prof. Dr. Ijaz Ahsan, was held at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) recently.

The book, which has been published by Paramount Books Pvt. Ltd., is an introduction of surgery for undergraduate medical students and physicians. The text covers the general principles of surgical practice. Designed as an entry point into the broad field of surgery, it provides an overall perspective of all the major organ systems,

campuses and departments of the University. QEC invited a number of guest speakers to address the participants.

Addressing the closing ceremony, Dr. Fazal Ahmed Khalid, Vice Chancellor, UET Lahore said, “We are determined to provide quality higher education and to enhance capabilities of newly inducted faculty members by equipping them through all necessary professional trainings”.

Prof. Ijaz Ahsan's Textbook Launchedwhile updating readers with the latest imaging methods and biochemical investigations.

Full colour figures accompany the cases discussed and photo quizzes check knowledge on specialist subjects. With unusual and intriguing illustrations, this book can be read easily, providing a fascinating introduction for the young student entering the surgical world.

In order to spread awareness about different types of cancer, Ziauddin University organised a seminar entitled “Not beyond us” to mark World Cancer Day. The seminar focused on the barriers in cancer cure and the importance of screening and early diagnosis.

Dr. Pirzada Qasim, Vice Chancellor, Ziauddin University praised the speakers for their valuable contribution in the field of medicine and urged teachers, students, scholars, and media to play active role in raising awareness and educate people about the deadly disease.

Dr. Najeeb Niamat Ullah, Consultant Medical Oncologist at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital elaborated the financial impact of cancer.

Ziauddin University holds Seminar on World Cancer Day

He analyzed the relationship between health care expenditure and life expectancy. Dr. Tariq Siddiqui, Director Oncology, Dr. Ziauddin Hospital, discussed the evolution of chemotherapy, types of prescriptions and how to make the right choices.

Dr. Naila Zahid, Head of Oncology Department, Liaquat National Hospital, stressed on screening and early diagnosis of cancer.

Dr. Quratulain Badar, Radiation Oncologist, Dr. Ziauddin Hospital, classified the barriers in patient related, doctor related and system related factors, and argued that lack of routine checkups, delay in diagnosis, financial crises, alternative medication and lack of qualified specialists are major obstacles to diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

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A two-day International Conference on “Management, Education and Social Sciences Research” was jointly organized by Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Karachi and Iqra University recently.

Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Director, Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi was chief guest of the inaugural session.

Dr. Muhammad Qaiser, Vice Chancellor, University of Karachi, was also present.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Ishrat said that we cannot become good and responsible citizens without studying

KU Conference on Management, Education and Social Sciences Research

social sciences. Lack of qualified research scholars in social sciences is a very alarming sign which needs immediate actions to make standard and quality of researches in the field of social sciences.

Dr. U. A. G. Isani, Vice Chancellor, Iqra University lauded the collaboration of public and private sector

Social Issues Highlighted in Thesis Show at University of Sindh

The students of Institute of Art and Design, University of Sindh, Jamshoro portrayed new horizons of thought and novel ideas in amazing colours and forms amid an air of festivity at the Institution's Degree Show 2014.

Students through their works tried to highlight various socio-political issues mainly focusing gender, women empowerment, child marriages and growing aggression in society through their body of work.

The activity was going on all over the building of institute since three departments including communication design, textile design & fine arts had put on display the thesis work of their students. There was a great deal of diversity in

the works of students belonging to different cultural backgrounds and places.

The event could be considered the largest ever exhibition organised by the Institute of Art & Design, University of Sindh, under one roof spanning over some two weeks. The work of students from all three IAD departments, including fine arts, textile design, and communication design was put on display.

The fine arts department displayed work by 2 young inspiring artists with majors in sculpture, printmaking, painting and miniature painting. Work of some 13 students of textile design department and 13 of communication design was part of the exhibition.

universities in organizing an international conference.

Dr. Moonis Ahmar, Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Karachi welcomed all the national and foreign scholars, faculty members and other participants. He emphasized on the importance and vibrancy of the field of Social Sciences.

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A fire-fighting training session was organized by the Services Division of Higher Education Commission (HEC) at the Islamabad office. Representatives of all the divisions of HEC attended the session. Dr. Raza Bhatti, Member (HRD), who was chief guest on the occasion, highlighted significance of such trainings. He appreciated Mr. Arshad Kamran, DG Services and his team members Mr. Sajjad Ahmed and Mr. Muhammad Anwar for conducting the training.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan is working with the Karakuram International University (KIU) Gilgit to expand its capacity to accommodate greater number of students. The Planning Commission has accorded approval to HEC's project costing Rs. 887 million to establish Faculty of Engineering at KIU Gilgit as well as development of University's Skardu Campus.

Kicking off with the modest start, the University will enrol undergraduate students from the next academic session in Mining Engineering

Fire Fighting Training

HEC to Establish Engineering Faculty at KIU Gilgitprogramme. Other programmes like Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering will be initiated in the subsequent years. With establishment of the Engineering faculty, students of Northern Areas will get access to Engineering education in their vicinity.

The Skardu campus, which will be further developed under this project, initially started with four disciplines of Education, Management, Computer Sciences and Modern Languages to facilitate students of the area at their doorstep, particularly female students.

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Engr. Muhammad Adil Usman, Chancellor, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET) has said that Sir Syed University has undertaken concerted efforts and turned out over 13,000 graduates, so far, who are capable to meet the demand of modern world. Engineers of this university hold responsible positions in reputed organizations both within Pakistan and abroad.

He was addressing the SSUET graduates at the thUniversity's 18 Convocation that was held to

commemorate academic accomplishments of its students at the Expo Center Karachi in which some 1100 students from the disciplines of

Computer, Electronics, Civil, Telecommunication and Bio-Medical Engineering and Computer Science besides those having completed their Master's were awarded degrees.

“I am sure the young graduates would adopt high values of professional ethics and focus attention to build the nation,” said the Chancellor.

Dr. Syed Jawaid Hasan Rizvi, Vice Chancellor, said that the University has been introducing new technologies. “Last year, Software Engineering, Bioinformatics and Architecture were introduced. This year we have started Electrical Engineering.”

th18 Convocation of SSUET

The European Union's Ambassador to Pakistan Lars-Gunner Wigemark has emphasised the need to cultivate peace as Europe had a belligerent past but with the inception of the ECSC, the then EU, the region has managed to keep warfare at bay.

He said the Union also anticipated to cementing closer ties with the non-EU members as well in order to spread peace and harmony.

The diplomat recently delivered a lecture as a guest speaker on “Achievements and Challenges for the European Union” organised by the Area Study Centre for Europe, University of Karachi. Wigemark outlined three categories of challenges faced by the EU--the security, economic and socio-cultural

EU Ambassador Delivers Lecture at University of Karachi

factors. He said free movement of people, capital and goods across Europe and the Schengen visa have played a pivotal role in fostering closer ties among member states.

“However, the EU is concerned with security issues on the margins of Europe, such as the growing turmoil in Syria and growth of ISIS militancy that has engulfed Iraq,” he said.

Dr. Uzma Shujaat, Director ASCE said, “Since 2001, the EU policy is constructively and strongly engaged with Pakistan to make significant and visible engagement, both in political and economic terms, which includes resumption and upgrading of political dialogue, signature of third Generation Cooperation Agreement, as well as development assistance.”

Consul General of Germany Dr. Tilo Klinner, CG Italy Giulio Iazeolla, CG France Dall'Orso François and Director Goethe Institute Dr. Manuel Negwer were also present on the occasion.

Dr. Abid Azhar, Dean Faculty of Sciences, University of Karachi appreciated ASCE's achievements in the field of research and advance learning. Later, Wigemark also inaugurated the plaque in commemoration of two decades of cooperation between the EU and the ASCE.

Director of Southeast Asia Research Centre (SEARC) of City University Prof. Mark R Thompson signed the agreement on academic exchange between the two institutions. The areas of cooperation include the general areas of research with mutual understanding, in which both the centres believe cooperation is feasible and desirable and which would

ASC University of Sindh Signs MoU with City University of Hong Kong

contribute to fostering and developing a mutually beneficial relationship. Under the agreement, the two centres will work together towards pursuing goals of internationalisation of education and research output.

They would also promote educational and academic exchanges, besides organizing joint conferences, workshops and seminars.

The Area Study Centre (ASC), Far-East and Southeast Asia, University of Sindh (SU) Jamshoro has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with South East Asia Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong to establish cooperative relations between the two institutions.

The Director of the Centre Dr. Hamadullah Kakepoto and the

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A one-day Women Conference 2015 under the theme “Empowering Women: Empowering Humanity” was held at Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur. Dr. Parveen Shah, Vice Chancellor, SALU presided over the conference.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Shah said, “To celebrate international conference is to actually celebration of struggle of women over centuries and rejuvenation of commitment to strive for a society, free of all kinds of discrimination against women. This inequality could be seen in persistent gender wage gap and unequal opportunities.”

Dr. Shah presented the plight of women in low

SALU Conference on Empowering Women

representation in leadership, public offices and continues blatant violation of women's right.

From climate, change to political and economic instability cannot be solve without the full empowerment and participation of world's women.

Dr. Shah remarked that women's full participation in the political and economic arena is fundamental to democracy and justice.

Dr. Mohammad Yousuf Khushk, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Arts said, our religion is the moderate. He said no struggle could succeed without women participation. Dr. Samina Isran, Dr. Tajnees

Training for Teachers of Social Sciences at University of Sindh

contents in best possible way. Out-come oriented androgogical skills were discussed. The event was inaugurated by Dr. Parvez A. Pathan, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Sindh, Jamshoro.

Dr. Pathan hoped that the workshop would benefit the participants and help them in managing their everyday class activities including effective and result oriented pedagogical skills more effectively.

Pirzada, Dr. Sofia Khushk, Ms. Shaida Chandio, Ms. Rubina Shaheen, Ms. Qamar-un-Nisa Larik, Ms. Paras Khaskheli also spoke on the occasion.

The speakers shed light on socio-economic conditions of home based working women.

They said, due to lack of formal education, economic empowerment, decision-making, access to market the women are deprived from economic empowerment.

They suggested that education, health and employment opportunities may be extended, social welfare organizations, NGOs must concentrate or the socio-economic uplift of the rural women.

A two-day workshop for teachers belonging to Faculty of Social Sciences was held at University of Sindh (UoS), Jamshoro. The workshop provided training on effective and efficient usage of knowledge and skills to impart

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The Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan who is also the Chancellor of Islamia College University Peshawar, has expressed the optimism that graduates of the University would earn a good name like previous generation of students of the institution.

He was delivering convocation ndaddress at the 2 Convocation

of the University in the historic Roose Keppel Hall of the University.

Besides 110 students who were awarded degrees, the Vice Chancellor Mr. Ajmal Khan, Registrar Prof. Dr. Sareer Badshah, Controller of Exams Prof. Attaullah Khan, Deans and heads of academic faculties and departments, members of Senior Alumni Association, parents and guests also attended the event.

The Chancellor said that Islamia College was the name

nd2 ICUP Convocation held

of a proud history and the movement for creation of Pakistan.

He called upon the graduates of the ICP to serve the nation and people with dedication and professionalism.

The Vice Chancellor recalled in his address the role of ICP students in Pakistan movement and the deepest love and affection of the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah with the Islamia College Peshawar. The Vice Chancellor

pointed out problems the University was facing in running its academic programmes and infrastructure developmental projects because of paucity of funding.

The Governor and Chancellor ICP, Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan gave away degrees to 110 passed out students of the ICP.

These students belonged to BS, MS, MA, MSC, MPhil and PhD. Three MPhil and two PhD degrees were also awarded on the occasion.

Dr. Nagina Parveen articulated advantages of teaching as a profession. “Teaching is the only profession which begets all other professions. Commitment, patience, knowledge, technology are its important elements.”

Prof. Qalandar Shah Lakiyari said that literature and psychology of a learner are the two determining factors of

effective and efficient teaching in the university. A teacher's job is not only to complete his syllabi but to inspire his students as well.

Ms. Erum Shah classified between traditional teaching methods and modern teaching methods. She presented some principles of learners' psychology that the teachers, particularly in higher

education, should abide by in the class. These principles include: voluntary participation, mutual respect, collaboration, action and reflection, choice and change, motivation, and the last but not the least self-direction.

Dr. Khan Muhammad Sangi and Mr. Imtiaz Ahmed Bughio were also keynote speakers during the workshop.

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Vice Admiral (R) Tanveer Faiz has been appointed as new Rector of Bahria University (BU). He has 40 years service and was a distinguished professional of Pakistan Navy. He has held important appointments which provided him tremendous exposure in operations, staff, training and education. He is a graduate of PN Staff College and after qualifying National Defence course, he earned Master degree in Defence and Strategic Studies from NDU/ Quaid e Azam University.

In his welcome address, the Rector said that we would like to open all the doors for promoting

The fourth annual multi-category competition BNU Bestival'15 organized by the Student Body of Beaconhouse National University (BNU) under the aegis of the Directorate of Student Affairs and External Relations was held at BNU Tarogil Campus.

This year the four-day event featured 20 sub-competitions including Technopreneurship, Video-production, Table Tennis, Thematic Art, Stand-up Comedy, Rap-battle, Ramp Jewelry, Poetry and Prose, Photography, Individual Singing, Instrumental Music, Journalism, Gaming, Futsal, Dramatics, Fashion Design, Debates, Battle of the Bands, Art of Motion and Arm-wrestling.

The latest categories to be included in the Bestival this year were the Plan9 Technopreneurhsip Competition, Instrumental Music and Rap-battle.

As many as 900 participants from different educational institutions and student organizations participated in the Bestival. These included AIESEC, Care Foundation, Planeteers, Aitchison College, UET-Lahore, FCC, FAST-NU, NUST, LGS, LSE, Beaconhouse School System,

Vice Admiral (R) Tanveer Faiz is New Rector of Bahria University

research potential of the students, which will enable them to use their academic knowledge for practical projects.

“To this end we have to build bridges between the University and the corporate sector, opening the way for research, and making students apply their academic skills to practical projects,” he said.

BNU holds Bestival' 15

UMT, LUMS, NCA, PIFD, Agriculture University Faisalabad, NTU – Faisalabad, GIFT, SICAS, SZABIST, Lahore ALMA, LAS, UOL, UCP, BZU – Lahore Campus to name a few.

The participants also attended daily social gatherings featuring Jal – the Band, Sky Lit-up, Fashion Show and a Drama Night. The event was supported by Plan 9 Technology Incubator of the Punjab Information Technology Board, Pak-Suzuki, Beaconhouse School System, Turkish Airways, Air One, Pakistan Table Tennis Federation, Pakistan Arm-wrestling Federation, The News International and FM89 radio channel.

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The fourth round of Indigenous On-Campus Training on “Organizational Inter-departmental Communication” for management cadre's officers is was conducted at NED University of Engineering and Technology in collaboration with HEC from

nd2 Indigenous On-Campus Training Workshop at NDU

th4 IOT held at NED University

February 23 to March 4, 2015. The workshop was organized by the Quality Enhancement Cell. The workshop was an opportunity for employees to advance their professional skills and to perform more efficiently at their workplace.

The 2nd Indigenous On-Campus Training Workshop was organized at National Defence University (NDU) from February 9-13, 2015 under Modern University Governance Programme in collaboration with Learning Innovation Division (LID) of Higher Education Commission.

Dr. Mohammad Riaz, Director QEC, NDU presided over opening ceremony and in his opening remarks he enlightened participants about significance of the training for prospective challenges of administrative concern they are likely to face in the emerging scenarios of higher education institutions. He also drew attention towards the role of Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) NDU and their eagerness towards capacity building of administrative staff along with faculty.

Experts were invited for discourse on topics like Effective Management Skills, Gender Equality, E-Governance, Environmental degradation, Governance etc. Resource persons including Dr. Sania Nishter, who is a renowned social worker

and former federal minister, critically investigated the role of governance in our institutions with real time examples from her tenure as Minister.

Dr. Farzana Bari, renowned human right activist and Director at Centre of excellence in Gender Studies, Quaid-e-Azam University, enlightened participants about role of gender equality in society and misinterpretation of equality in Islam.

Dr. Audil, Assistant Professor, Department of Environment Sciences PMAS Arid Agriculture University, briefed about the environmental degradation and way forward to make this earth better and safe place to live in.

Ms. Noshaba Awais, Deputy Director (Research and Development) HEC briefed about different funding options available for individuals as well as projects. Earlier, the first Indigenous On-Campus Training Workshop was held at NDU from November 24-28 , 2014.

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Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) held its

th11 convocation on January 31, 2015 at Karachi Expo Centre. The chief guest for the occasion was Ms. Sherry Rehman, Former Ambassador of Pakistan to the US.

The ceremony included speeches by the SZABIST Chancellor Dr. Azra Fazal, Acting President Ms. Shahnaz

thSZABIST holds 11 Convocation

Wazir Ali and Chief Guest Ms. Sherry Rehman.

All speakers extended their heartiest congratulations to

ththe graduates of 11 Convocation and their parents in their speeches. Moreover, Vice President (Admin and Finance), Ms. Nasreen Haque, members Board of Trustees, Board of Governors of SZABIST were present during the auspicious occasion.

More than 3500 people attended the event including graduates, their parents, corporate delegates, faculty and staff of SZABIST, and the event was covered by the print and electronic media.

1050 degrees were conferred and a total of 186 Corporate Gold Medals and Merit Gold Medals were awarded to the graduates for their outstanding academic performance.

The first batch of around 50 BEd (Hons) students has completed their degree from the Institute of Education and Research, University of Peshawar. The programme, started under Pre-Step, was aimed at producing professional and qualified teachers at primary, intermediate and secondary levels.

Dr. Muhammad Rasul Jan, Vice Chancellor, University of Peshawar (UoP) was chief guest of the graduation ceremony and awarded degrees and certificates among prospective teachers.

Addressing the graduation ceremony, the Vice Chancellor said that quality education at primary and secondary levels was the basic need of time

st1 BEd (Hons) Batch Passes Out from UoP

as it lays the foundation of a child's mental development. And in order to achieve the desired objective quality professional teachers are imperative.

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The Department of Food Science and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), Multan organized two-day international conference on “Malnutrition in South Asia: the Peril Persists” from February 23 – 24, 2015.

Dr. Muhammad Ashraf Chauhdry was the chief guest of the conference. The participants included people representing academia, research organizations, food industry, NGOs and farmers community. Invited speakers highlighted malnutrition issue in the light of its prevalence especially on children under the age of five in their respective countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, India etc.

Local speakers emphasized the need of devising policies exclusively addressing the perilous malnutrition issue. All the speakers were of the opinion that malnutrition is to be placed on top priority agenda of government for its eradication at grass-root level.

BZU Conference on Malnutrition in South Asia

The conference primarily spurred a sense of realization on gravity of malnutrition as an issue of public health significance and will prove to be a wakeup call for public health professionals, medical doctors, nutritionists, dietitians, food processors, academicians, researchers and programme managers to put management of malnutrition in their priorities.

Around 140 abstracts were received from local and international researchers elaborating various aspects of

malnutrition in addition to the suggestion contained therein to modulate malnutrition. These findings have been compiled in the shape of an abstract book. Further, a Food Expo was organized wherein 35 food companies, NGOs and international organizations displayed there commodities and services. Around 20,000 peoples including students from BZU, faculty members, local and foreign delegates and representatives of food industry and civil society visited these stalls.

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The Fourth Convocation of The University of Faisalabad was held at Amin Campus of the University on March 17, 2015. Mian Muhammad Hanif, Chairman Board of Governors awarded degrees to graduates of the University, while Vice Chancellor University of Health Sciences (UHS), Maj Gen (R) Dr. Muhammad Aslam awarded degrees to graduates of University Medical and Dental College. As many as 526 graduates of the

th4 Convocation of TUF

University were awarded degrees. Mian Muhammad Hanif congratulated the graduates and said that objective of this institution is to help the common man to have access to higher education. Dr. Muhammad Aslam, Vice Chancellor UHS urged the graduates to utilize their professional skills and knowledge for providing health care services to the common people of their country.

The Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan organized an “International Conference on Citriculture: Challenges and Management” from February 11-13, 2015 in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

The objective of the Conference was to encourage transfer of knowledge and collaboration among local and global researcher's community.

Dr. Syed Khawaja Alqama, Vice Chancellor, while formally inaugurating the Conference welcomed and appreciated the

thThe 7 Convocation of Dadabhoy Institute of Higher Education (DIHE), Karachi was held on March 16, 2015 at PAF Museum, Karachi. A total of 1608 students were awarded degrees, out of which one was MPhil, 144 MBA, 976 BCom, 36 BBA, 34 BSCS, seven Medical,

Int'l Conference on Citriculture

large number of researchers from China, India and Pakistan for making the Conference successful.

During his keynote speech, Dr. Muhammad Akbar Anjum, Chairman, Department of Horticulture, highlighted the importance of citrus in global economy and presented valuable suggestion to revive status of citrus industry in

Pakistan. He also emphasized the opportunities for increasing exports of citrus fruits to the potential world markets.

The conference was divided into seven technical sessions. A total of 105 abstracts were received, out of which 41 papers were selected for oral presentation and 31 for poster presentation.

thDIHE holds 7 Convocation

40 ADE, 15 BEd and 360 were BTech students. Five students were awarded Gold Medals for their outstanding performance.

Addressing the students, the Chief Guest said that the role of universities, apart from imparting knowledge, is to

make students better and productive citizens.

Mr. Abdullah Dadabhoy said that higher education has now become a tool of economic growth and since 2005 DIHE has been producing quality graduates who are contributing positively in various fields for country's economic growth.

Earlier, in her annual report, the Rector, Dr. Shahana Urooj Kazmi, said that DIHE is well aware of its responsibilities towards research, academic rigor and other forms of creative endeavours which are essential for sustained intellectual growth of any higher educational institution.

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about some basic knowledge regarding research papers like plagiarism, citation, novelty etc. Some common mistakes found in research manuscripts were also discussed.

The presenter also guided the students about research ethics and research paper's pre-submission steps. Some

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Freedom Movement”. He highlighted the role of Pakhtuns in various campaigns launched in India before partition.

These campaigns included Anti-Rowlatt Movement 1919, Khilafat Movement 1919 and Civil Disobedience Movement 1947.

He said that not only 800 delegates from of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attended that 23 March 1940 public meeting at Lahore but security duty was also performed by Pakhtun

A condolence reference was arranged at Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) to pay tribute to Prof. Dr. Saeeda Asad Ullah Khan (late), Former Vice Chancellor of FJWU for her efforts for promotion of education and research in the country.

In the reference, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC, Senator Razina Alam, family members, colleagues and students appreciated her

Reference at FJWU for Dr. Saeeda Asadullah Khan outstanding efforts toward development of higher education in the country.

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said she was a wonderful lady who was always ready to accept challenges. She was an excellent teacher, good leader, sincere friend and a loving sister. She left behind very good memories which will keep her alive in hearts of her colleagues, friends and students.

Conference on Pakistan Resolution contingent. The theme of Mr. Tabassum's paper was “Prospects of Pakistan's Development”.

While giving background of the creation of Pakistan, he said that that Pakistan is a replica of the first Islamic state at Madina. He said that the secret of Pakistan's strength lies in its ideology.

He hoped that Pakistan will soon come out of the current critical situation and will play its due role in the community of nations.

Research Paper Write-up Seminar at GIKIuseful write-up tips (which should be taken into consideration) were also shared at the event.

This activity was organized under Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme of Pakistan Engineering Council having 0.5 Credit Points.

Pakistan Study Centre, University of Peshawar, in collaboration with Pakistan Thinkers Forum organized a National Conference on Pakistan Resolution.

Malik Liaquat Ali Tabassum, Central President of Pakistan Thinkers Forum and Dr. Fakhr-ul-Islam, Director, Pakistan Study Centre University of Peshawar read out papers on various aspects of Pakistan movement.

The theme of Dr. Fakhr-ul-Islam's paper was “The Role of

A seminar entitled “Research Paper Write-up” was arranged by Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI), Topi.

The seminar was delivered by Dr. Muhammad Faisal Khan. The audience was updated

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“Pakistan is the country which has high mortality and morbidity rate. The health indicators of Pakistan are very poor. There is a need to look into the quality of education in Pakistan. More research should come up to improve the health situation in Pakistan.”

These views were expressed by Ms. Saira Afzal Tarar, State Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination at Annual Research Day 2015 organized by Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) at its Ojha Campus.

The international moot on medical education was organized by the Foundation University Islamabad recently. Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Azhar Rashid was the chief guest in the concluding ceremony of the Association for Excellence in Medical Education (AEME) Conference. Maj. Gen. (R) Khadim Hussain, Rector, Foundation University Islamabad, Dr. Ghulamqadir Kazi Vice Chancellor Isra University and Maj. Gen. (R) Dr. Nasim ul Majeed Principal Foundation University Medical College were also present on the occasion.

The theme of the conference, that was attended by 2000 health professionals was “the Continuum of Education in the Health Professions: Enhancing the Quality”.

The international and national facilitators of the conference include Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) USA, World Federation for Medical Education (WFME), Higher Education Commission, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan, Foundation University Islamabad, Isra University and many prominent Medical and Dental Colleges. The topics discussed at the conference included Teaching and Learning, Learning Environment and

AEME Conference held at FUI

E-learning, Assessment, Rehabilitation, Curriculum Development, Quality Assurance and Evaluation, Continuous Professional Development, Nursing, Dental Education, Postgraduate Training, Ethics and Professionalism, Veterinary Sciences and Poster Review.

Lt. Gen. Azhar Rashid appreciated the organizers and participants for playing their role effectively to make this event a success. The Rector FUI underlined the significance of the conference. He thanked and congratulated the participants, organizers and especially those medical experts who attended the conference from abroad and other parts of the country for three consecutive days.

th6 Annual Faculty Research Day at DUHS The Annual Research day aimed to showcase the research in posters presentations being conducted by the faculty members and student throughout the year and to serve as a forum for interaction among faculty members and student.

Prof. Masood Hameed Khan in his remarks said that the motivation to observer faculty research day is to enhance the enthusiasm towards performance of quality researches. Dow University is providing platform for research activities and it is the duty of young scientist to take it at highest level.

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“Everything changes with time, except the change itself. We live in an age of innovation and change, and in such an age, the universities have a special obligation. They must hold fast to the best of the past, and do more for the best of the future.”

This was stated by Prof. Dr. Asadullah Kazi, Chancellor, Isra University while presiding over

thits 12 Convocation of Isra University held in January 2015 at its main campus in Hyderabad. The Isra University conferred degrees to around 532 students belonging to Medical Sciences, Dentistry, Nursing, Vision Sciences, Physical Therapy, Management Sciences, Electronics, Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering and

stThe 1 Annual Isra Medical International Symposium, 2015 was organized by Isra University Hospital (IUH) on January 24, 2015 at Hyderabad. The chief guest of opening ceremony was Prof. Dr. Akhlaq-un-Nabi Khan, which was followed by the scientific presentations. Prof. Dr. Feroz Memon mentioned significance of the symposium and its aims about bringing together a core group of researchers from various parts of the world with a significant participation from Pakistan.

In the symposium, the number of registered participants exceeded more than 700 due to its

thIsra University holds 12 Convocation

Telecommunications. Dr. Asadullah Kazi said that we must get ready for globalization, which is like the river that has burst its banks. He advised that we must learn swimming or else we will be drowned.

Prof. Dr. Ghulamqadir Kazi, Vice Chancellor, Isra University said that the main purpose of such events is not only to confer degrees on the students but also to honour those who have

performed meritoriously. He also shared the tremendous progress shown by Isra University and the various achievements made over the years.

Dr. Asadullah Kazi also awarded honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy to Dr. Ahmed Yousif Ahmed Al Draiweesh, President, International Islamic University, Islamabad in recognition of his commendable services in the field of Medical Education.

Symposium on New Horizons in Health Sciencesattractive scientific sessions and International level workshops. The scientific sessions were divided into two main categories, Medicine and Allied and Surgery and Allied which were decorated with the 69 oral and 28 poster presentations of renowned International and National speakers.

Beyond scientific sessions, the faculty of Medicine and Allied Medical sciences has also arranged one day pre-symposium workshops on twelve different disciplines. The workshops were conducted by the experienced facilitators and attended by highly enthusiastic participants.

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In order to enhance awareness in academia and industry a seminar on Big Data Analysis and Benefits of Patents was conducted at Institute of Space Technology on March 27, 2015. Resource persons Engr. Zahoor Sarwar and Mr. Adil Bilal gave detailed insight on latest techniques of big data analysis and patents.

As many as 148 professionals from Public and Private Sector Industries, Public and Private sector institutes came to attend the session. Industrial officials participated from AQ Khan Research

First phase of five-day Indigenous on-campus training (IOT) workshop for administrative and management cadre was organized at Institute of Space Technology Islamabad in collaboration with Learning Innovation Division (LID) of Higher Education Commission in January 2015.

The IOT workshop comprised of different sessions including Time Management & Avoiding Procrastination, Stress Management, Communication Skills, Project Management Techniques and Finance for Non-Finance Managers.

During the inaugural ceremony, course coordinator Mr. Nasir Ali welcomed the guests and participants. The administrative staff of

IST Seminar on Big Data Analysis and Benefits of Patents

Laboratories, NESCOM, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, National Development Complex, MTC, CENTECH, PAC Kamra, PMO, AFIC, PIMS, Higher Education Commission (HEC) and SUPARCO attended the session.

From academia faculty and students of Quaid-i-Azam University, Air University, CASE, GPGCW, International Islamic University, Preston University, University of Sargodha, Riphah, VU, Mirpur University and Foundation University Medical College attended the session.

Trainings for Management Cadre at ISTBahria University, NUML and PIDE also participated in the training course.

The second phase of five days Indigenous on-campus training (IOT) workshop for administrative and management cadre was organized at Institute of Space Technology Islamabad from March 16-20, 2015. The IOT workshop comprised of different sessions including Organizational Culture and Leadership Skills, Team Building and Motivation Skills, Organizational Behavior and Politics, Total Quality Management and Time Management and Avoiding Procrastination.

The administrative staff of National University of Modern Languages and Air University also participated in the training course.

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Dr. Mujahid Kamran, Vice Chancellor, University of the Punjab recently laid foundation of three-storey Zoological Museum opposite to the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.

Dr. Muhammad Akhter, Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences, Dr. Naeem Khan, Acting Treasurer, Rao Muhammad Sharif and a large number of faculty members were present on the occasion.

Three spacious and wide exhibition halls will be constructed in which rare

VC Punjab University Lays Foundation of Zoological Museum

remnants of ancient animals discovered by PU scientists would be displayed. A state-of-the-art postgraduate research laboratory will also be established to provide research facilities to the students.

On this occasion, Dr. Muhammad Akhter thanked

the Vice Chancellor for his support and providing funds for the project. Earlier, the Vice Chancellor inaugurated a five--day training workshop on honeybee at Zoology Department. Participants from various universities and departments from the country participated in the event.

Indus University Seminar on Self-Assessment Report

The Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) of Indus University hosted a seminar on ''How to Write a Self-Assessment Report (SAR)''. This was a refreshing exercise for the faculty members as previous activities of this stature have been conducted time and again.

The resource person Muhammad Moin uddin Ali Khan, Head of Quality Enhancement Cell, Institute of Business Management (IoBM) shed light on the topic. The Programme Team, Assessment Team and Full Time Faculty members participated enthusiastically and also

explored untapped aspects of knowledge. The takeaways of the session were: student counselling is of paramount importance and should be done at departmental level; scope of programme objectives can be widened by incorporating knowledge management, research, ethics, critical thinking, team building, problem solving in the curriculum; The Teacher

Portfolio must include Student Course Evaluation, Faculty Review Report and updated resume so the teachers' performance can be assessed in a systematic and comprehensive manner; apart from getting the survey of graduating students filled, exit interview should be conducted to obtain authentic responses from the graduates.

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The Controls and Signal Processing Research Group (CASPR) at Mohammad Ali Jinnah University took the initiative of taking R&D measures for making the medium duty vehicles hybrid resulting in significant fuel savings. Being strong in automotive research (produced four PhDs in automotive research so far), three PhD students are working on Hybrid Electric Vehicles. Prof. Aamer Iqbal Bhatti, at CASPR, MAJU is leading the CAPR team.

For this purpose, CASPR contacted Center for Automotive Research (CAR) at Ohio State University, USA. CAR is a world leader in the research and development of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV). The role of CAR was particularly highlighted by the visit of US President Barrack Obama of the CAR research labs and facilities. CAR is being led by a world renowned Professor in Automotive Research, Prof Giorgio Rizzoni.

Centre for Energy Research and Development (CERAD) at UET Lahore has also a very active group working on Hybrid Electric Vehicles, with the development of HEV laboratory in process. Prof Waqar Mehmood, Director CERAD and Prof Tahir Izhar are leading the initiative from the UET side. CERAD aims to develop strong R&D infrastructure in HEV's at the KSK Campus of UET Lahore.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) is the largest volunteer organization of the Electrical Engineers in the world. Control Systems Society (CSS) is one of its premier technical society widely representing Control Engineers from all over the world. IEEE CSS has local chapters in most of the developed countries of the world, providing a platform for the local engineers for networking and getting together for R&D in Control Systems.

In Pakistan, a joint chapter of CSS is working under the title of Karachi-Lahore-Islamabad Joint Chapter.

MoU between MAJU, Ohio State University and UET Lahore

Prof. Rizzoni has very kindly agreed to work with CASPR and CERAD for the development of HEV's in Pakistan. CAR will guide CASPR and CERAD in the development of the state of the art HEV Lab at UET KSK Campus.

The three parties will collaborate in the Hybridization of a medium duty mass transit/uti lity vehicle. PhD students from MAJU and UET will be accommodated by CAR for in-house training and collaboration. Joint research proposals will be pursued by the three parties. To this end, a tri-partite MoU has been signed between CAR, CASPR and CERAD.

Dr. Aamer Receives Award of Outstanding Chapter from IEEE CSS

The chapter is vibrant in bringing the Pakistani Control Engineers together on one platform and to increase control awareness in the form of technical seminars. This year, IEEE CSS chose the Karachi-Lahore-Islamabad Joint Chapter as the Outstanding Chapter of the Year.

The award was given by Prof Kirsten Morris, the Vice President, Member Activities of CSS to Prof. Aamer Iqbal Bhatti, Chair of the Karachi-Lahore-Islamabad Joint Chapter at the CSS Award Ceremony held at JW Mariott, Los Angeles USA.

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The cotton varieties of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur IUB-13 and IUB-75 have stood first and second respectively in yield per acre during trials recently held at Punjab Seed Corporation Khanewal where total 40 varieties were kept under observation.

It was also noted that these varieties performed remarkably under high temperature, drought and can resists diseases like curl leave virus. It is pertinent to mention here that the IUB has

Cotton Varieties Launched by IUB Successful

Book by MUET Faculty The European International River Publisher has published book entitled "The First Book of Electronics Workshop: Can't Beat A Practical Approach!” authored jointly by Bhawani Shankar Chowdhry, Ahsan Ahmad Ursani, Abbas Shah of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET), Jamshoro.

The field of electronics has seen an unparalleled growth in the last 60 years, from the invention of the transistor to the making of the processor. In this ever evolving field, the modern day student has been observed to jump to complex circuit designing without having a firm understanding of the internal circuit elements and the tools that are used to analyze them. The book is an attempt to redress these shortcomings by providing an apt

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and concise description of basic electronic components and apparatus and how to work with them practically. Theoretical description is followed by specifying the practical considerations so as to cement the students understanding of the component/apparatus.

This edition contains a more detailed component description with focus on real life usability. We have included many pictures showing the different shapes and forms of each component that are available. The practical book on Electronic Workshop imparts technical knowledge on five main topics including Laboratory Apparatus, Passive Electronic Components, Active Electronic Components, Circuit Assembly, and Circuit Simulation.

already successfully launched a cotton variety IUB-222 in the market.

Dr. Qaiser Mushtaq, Vice Chancellor has felicitated Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Bandesha, Chairman, Plant Breeding and Genetics Department and his team on this success and hoped that the University Agriculture College will continue to benefit farmer's community through applied research providing cotton verities more suitable to local climatic conditions.

The declaration of year 2015 as the International Year of Light (IYL) and Light-Based Technologies is a global initiative adopted by the United Nations to raise awareness of how optical technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications and health. With UNESCO as the lead agency, IYL 2015 programmes will promote improved public

A PhD scholar of PIEAS, Fazal Badshah, at Department of Physics and Mathematics, carried out his research at Quantum Technology at Queen's (QTeQ), Queen's University, Belfast through HEC's sponsored programme IRSIP. During this visit, he has published a paper on the dynamics of a coupled-cavity array containing multiple two-level atoms.

The work, written in collaboration with Prof. Shahid Qamar, also from PIEAS, and Prof. Mauro Paternostro describes the generation of multisite

University Lahore. The first day of the competition comprised activities including Ad Talk, Ad Debate and Ad Fun (Networking Lunch) where professionals representing national and multinational, companies and advertising agencies participated.

The second day comprised two competitions namely 'Ad Verts' in which students of the competing teams were allocated renowned brands and they were expected to

PIEAS-QTeQ Paper Published in PRAentangled states and transfer of excitations resulting from the competition of tunnelling and onsite nonlinearities.

QTeQ put this news on the website of Queen's University as a matter of pride: “The paper is the result of the great work that Fazal did in Belfast in 2013, supported by HEC studentship from Pakistan and the generosity of Shahid. At QTeQ we all wish to see Fazal soon and to keep up the collaboration with him and Shahid.”

Awareness Walk on IYL 2015 at PIEASunderstanding of the central role of light in the modern world while also celebrating achievements in the field in 2015. The launching ceremony of the celebration was held on January 19, 2015 in Paris.

For awareness of the International Year of Light 2015, a walk was arranged by PIEAS Optical Society, UNESCO Chair and the Department of Physics and Applied Mathematics on January 27, 2015.

Preston University Wins Inter-University Advertising Competition

make a60 second TV commercial and a print ad (for newspaper or magazine) of quarter / half page.

The second competition was 'Ad Wars' where the competing teams were allocated renowned brands and they were expected to come up with a comprehensive advertising campaign for the allotted brand including research, situation analysis, media strategy, creative strategy and advertisements.

Preston University has won first position in inter-university advertising competition “Ad Con 15”.

The mega inter-university event was organized by Forman Christian (FC) University, Lahore from March 20-21, 2015. In all 12 teams from different universities of the country participated in AdCon 15.

'AdCon15' was a 2-day event held at the campus of FC

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The first-ever Effective Management Skills series for officers of the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), its affiliated colleges/centres and surrounding universities was organized by QAU in collaboration with HEC under Modern University Governance Programme for University Management.

Resource persons Dr. Syed Tahir Hijazi, Member Governance, Planning Commission of Pakistan, Mr. Naeem Akhtar, Senior Auditor PIFERA, Dr. Naveed Anjum, GM Training and Development AERO, Mr. Muhammad Muddassar GM Trainings NESCOM, Dr. Shafiq-ur-Rehman Registrar QAU, Dr. Ajmal Waheed and Mr. Muhammad Junaid, Quaid-i-Azam School of Management Sciences QAU and Ch. Shahram Atta, Deputy

Training for Officers of QAU, Affiliated Colleges, Centres & Surrounding Universities

Registrar (Establishment) QAU were engaged in the series who shared their valuable experience with the participants.

As many as 145 participants benefitted from this series, whose purpose was to equip participants with basic management principles, Action Planning, Decision making, Interpersonal skills, Attitude Project, Financial, Stress and Time Management, processes involved in strategic planning.

The participants also prepared procedures & policies for better understanding & clarity of the rules.

On concluding day, Dr. Javed Ashraf, Vice Chancellor QAU appreciated the revolutionary initiative of the HEC regarding capacity building of university officers for professional development through latest tools, techniques and international practices in university Governance and leadership.

Department of Theriogenology of UVAS in collaboration with HEC and the Society of Animal Reproduction Pakistan (SARP).

Dr. Talat Naseer Pasha, Vice Chancellor and Dr. Manzoor Ahmad, SARP Patron-in-Chief and Dr. Laeeq Akbar Lodhi were also present on the occasion. Plenary lectures, poster contest sessions,

UVAS Symposium on Dairy Animal Reproduction

presentations and group discussions covering the areas of animal reproduction, animal health, nutrition and breeding and genetics featured the Symposium. The event attracted a large number of national and international experts related to dairy animal reproduction from USA, Canada, Brazil, India, Turkey, Nepal, Afganistan and Pakistan.

A two-day International Symposium on Dairy Animal Reproduction with the theme “New knowledge new practices” was held at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore.

Syed Babar Ali, Pro-Chancellor LUMS, inaugurated the Symposium organised by the

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Speaking on the occasion, Syed Babar Ali said that livestock sector is a rapidly growing sub-sector and central to the livelihood of rural people. He said that it is playing an important role in national food security and rural economic uplift and can play a more vibrant role in economic development, employment generation and socio-economic stability of rural areas provided a level playing field is available to its stakeholders.

Dr. Pasha said that UVAS has developed state-of-the-art

“Cancer is becoming a one of the major public health concern in Pakistan. Independent sources have highlighted an alarming rise in the new cancer patients across the country. The cancers of lung, gastrointestinal tract, prostate and breast are commonly encountered in the clinical practice.” This was highlighted in a symposium organized at the Department of Animal Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

A day-long activity was organized by the Human Genetics Laboratory, Department of Animal Sciences, QAU to mark the 'World Cancer Day' which comprised a symposium, and awareness campaign on the campus. A large number of faculty members and students attended the symposium.

In the inaugural session, Dr. Bushra Mirza, Chairperson Department of Bio Chemistry, QAU highlighted key importance of the topic and the relevance with the academics. Scholars and resource persons of the symposium delivered thoughtful talks on various cutting-edge discoveries in the field of cancer treatment.

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Kazi gave following recommendations to control cancer in Pakistan :

• Notifying a broad-based National Cancer Control Steering Committee comprising of stakeholders from all thematic areas and provinces;

• Developing a comprehensive National Cancer Control Plan that clearly delineates activities, milestones, timeline, budget, indicators and monitoring mechanism.

• Strengthening of the tobacco control programme

• Consolidation of cancer control by increasing awareness among the general population and PHC providers;

• Strengthening of radiation medicine facilities across Pakistan in association with federal and provincial governments & Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission

• Tapping social security nets like Zakat, BISP and Baitul Maal in the provision of diagnostic and treatment facilities for deserving patients.

Symposium on Recent Advances in Genetics and Therapeutics of Cancer

clinics, teaching, training, research and diagnostic facilities. The student body is now over 4,900, which has an

intake from all over Pakistan with reserved seats from FATA, Balochistan, Afghanistan and Azad Kashmir.

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The Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) of Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering Science and Technology (QUEST), Nawabshah in collaboration with Pakistan Science Information Centre (PASTIC) and IRP organized a one-day workshop entitled “Industry Driven Technologies” on February 24, 2015. Dr. Abdullah Saand, Dean QEC welcomed to the chief guest, keynote speaker, participants, researchers, faculty members and senior officers in the workshop. Dr. Muhammad Akram Shaikh, DG PASTIC, delivered his keynote speech on

A one-day training on “Development of Scheme of study and Course Codes” was organized by Dr. Abida Taskeen, Director, Quality Assurance Cell (QEC) and T&D, Qarshi University recently. Dr. Tahira Mughal Aziz, Controller Examinations, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU), was the resource person.

With six capacious rooms, operation theater, preparation room, breeding rooms, autoclave, feed preparation devices, data storage system, and computational facilities, the animal house of Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Tandojam is hub of biological research of interior Sindh. Fully air-conditioned animal house with contamination free atmosphere was established to facilitate the bio research pertaining to veterinary and medical issues. At the moment, this experimental animal facility houses albino rabbits, albino mice, Guinea pigs, albino and exotic rabbits, fish and snail species for multiple researches. The on-going breeding programme is highly

SAU Experimental Facility: A Hub of Bio Research Activities

successful as only from one pair of rats, mice, guinea pigs and rabbits the stock has increased many folds and provides research stock to MSc, MPhil and PhD scholars, many of them from sister universities and medical colleges of interior Sindh. Till date, eight MPhil students from ISRA University Hyderabad have completed their research in animal house and received degrees while two PhD students are pursuing their research. From Liaqat University of Medical and Health Sciences, two MPhil students have completed their research and are in writing phase of thesis, while two MPhil and one PhD students are pursuing their research.

Workshop on Industry Driven Technologies @ QUEST

technology based development (Approach and Techniques). The workshop was presided by the Acting Vice Chancellor, Dr. Bashir Ahmed Memon. He praised the efforts of QEC and PASTIC in organizing a worthwhile research based and industry linked workshop for raising quality and standard of education at QUEST. Mr. Rahmatullah, Chief Coordinator IRP, Mr. Naveed Ashraf Manager (Shafi Reso Chemicals) were resource persons for the workshop.

Qarshi University holds Training for Faculty All faculty members of Qarshi University attended the training, whose purpose was to benefit and support the faculty in developing scheme of studies and course codes as per HEC requirements, and to provide a platform to recognize and discuss curricula related issues.

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NEWS & NEWS & VIEWSVIEWS

Congratulations University, Under HEC Microsoft Education Alliance Agreement, you have

successfully subscribed to Office 365 ProPlus for your faculty and staff.

Office 365 deployment was kicked off in the first week of September. The willingness of

Universities to adopt O365 can be seen by the fact that till date, more than 30,000 of the

faculty data from over 60 universities has already been shared with HEC

Office when and where you need itInstall Office on your PC or Mac, on tablets and smartphones for when you're on the go, and on

the web with Office Online for everywhere in between.

Work together with OfficeCreate polished documents with the full Office applications you know and trust, save them to the

cloud, and then edit and collaborate with your team in real time using Office Online.

Office, built around youJust sign in to Office, and documents, preferences, and other settings follow you across your PC,

tablet, phone, or the web, so you can always pick up where you left off.

With Office 365 ProPlus, you can:•

• Run existing Office 2010, Office 2007, and Office 2003 applications while you install the new

Office, so you don't have to interrupt your users' work.

• Get updates delivered to users without interruption. Updates are cached in the background and

the next time a user closes and re-opens the Office application, it is up to date.

• Take advantage of a wide range of tools

Have Office up and running fast—often in under two minutes.

Office 365 ProPlus F O R FA C U LT Y M E M B E R S A N D U N I V E R S I T Y S TA F F

What's more, with OneDrive that gives each user

1 TB of personal storage to save their work on the

cloud, your faculty/staff will be able to access their

documents wherever they are, whenever they

want, across all devices. To subscribe and learn

how you can give your faculty/staff the best

chance to get to the top with Office 365, please

contact our focal persons:

Ali Hafeez

Higher Education Commission, Pakistan

Landline: +92 51 90402225

Email: ahafeez@hec.gov.pk

Sheikh Muhammad Rizwan

Microsoft, Pakistan

Landline: +92 51 2078187

Email: v-shrizw@microsoft.com