Experts emphasize the need for leadership training for VCs to meet new challenges

KARACHI – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of its activity to strengthen higher education system, in collaboration with HEC and 16 Pakistani universities, organized a high-level dialogue hosted by the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi. The event brought together leading academics from state universities to discuss innovative strategies and introduce reforms to move universities towards sustainability.

The Higher Education System Strengthening Activity (HESSA), conducted by the University of Utah, brings together an extensive network of American professors to support their partner universities in strengthening their institutional performance.

The opening session of this two-day dialogue was chaired by Ms. Kate Somvongsiri, Mission Director USAID/Pakistan, together with Prof. Dr. Tariq Rafi, Chairman of the Sindh Higher Education Commission.

The event provided a forum for Vice-Chancellors to stimulate discussions on emerging issues in higher education, promote peer-to-peer learning and facilitate the exchange of ideas and best practices between partner universities.

Participants emphasized the importance of comprehensive leadership training to provide Vice Chancellors with the skills they need to effectively address emerging challenges.

Prof. Dr. Tariq Rafi, Chairman, Sindh Higher Education Commission, appreciated the USAID partnership in the field of higher education. He said, “This initiative will improve the organizational capacity of public universities and we are committed to making our programs more demand-driven to improve the employability of graduates.” He encouraged the audience to actively contribute to this process of improving educational institutions.

The first day included sessions on HESSA work planning in the context of the mid-term evaluation report and key achievements to date at each partner university. For example, NUST has introduced Connected Learning, NUTECH has initiated STEM bootcamps and most partner universities have restructured their student services including setting up wellness centers. The subsequent session included a presentation of the monitoring framework and deliberations on improving the effectiveness of the HESSA approach and the impact of project interventions.

The second day began with a session to discuss the initiatives of the partner universities in preparing strategic plans. This was followed by a panel discussion on “Transforming Universities towards Sustainability” moderated by Dr. Akbar Zaidi. The panelists included Dr. Sarosh Lodhi, Vice Chancellor, NED University of Engineering & Technology; Dr. Shakeel Khoja, Dean, School of Mathematics and Computer Science (SMCS), IBA Karachi; and Ms. Malahat Awan, Director, Alumni Affairs and Resource Mobilization, IBA Karachi.

Overall, the event was an important milestone for HESSA, which is now entering its fourth year of implementation. Discussions emphasized strategic planning, academic relevance and the importance of coordination across components, and underscored the need for continued collaboration and increased efforts by partner universities. In the remaining two years, HESSA will continue to focus on refining capacity building programs and improving institutional support.