The delegation is led by the Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed.
A delegation of 29 people, including well-known academics from universities in Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), has arrived in London to take part in the Pak-UK Education Gateway program’s Leadership Development Study program.
The delegation is led by the Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed.
The Education Gateway program, which is being run by the British Council Pakistan in partnership with the Higher Education Commission, aims to develop the skills of academics and administrators in governance, academia, and research in order to prepare them for the future.
According to a press release issued by the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (UAJK) here on Tuesday, another goal of the trip is to learn from the extensive experiences of the British higher education system and the long history of achievements made by UK universities.
Along with other members of the delegation, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Kaleem Abbasi, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (UAJK), will spend more than a week touring different universities in the UK, meeting with senior staff from the top organizations in charge of regulating and monitoring higher education institutions.
Upon their arrival in London, Vice Chancellor Dr. Abbasi and other delegation members attended the event’s opening session, where Chairman HEC Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed informed the attendees about the main goals of the leadership development program, a feature of the Pak-UK Education Gateway.
This was followed by a session on “Adding Value Through Good Governance and Putting Strategy Into Practice,” led by David J. Lock, a consultant for UK higher education.
Following an interactive session and a visit to the Queen Mary University of London, where delegates met with senior faculty and administrators of the university, John Rushforth, Secretary, Committee of University Chairs, UK, also gave a session on Effective Governance in Higher Education.
Later, HE Moazzam Ahmed Khan, Pakistan’s High Commissioner in London, hosted a dinner in the delegation’s honour. Vice Chancellor UAJK Prof. Dr. Muhammad Kaleem Abbasi discussed the state of higher education in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and outlined the challenges this sector is currently facing during the event.