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Home International Summit on Higher Education and Workforce Development in 21st Century

International Summit on
Higher Education and Workforce Development
in the 21st Century

30 November - 2 December 2022   |   Islamabad

Objectives


  • To bring together leaders and decision makers from universities, industry, and government to invigorate the higher education agenda and rethink the role of higher education in the 21st century.
  • To hold conversations on addressing key challenges faced by the public sector universities today while keeping a futuristic approach.
  • To serve as a springboard for forging a “community of practice” among higher education institutions and stakeholders, and to launch a subsequent policy dialogue series.

Expected Outcomes


  • Partnership opportunities identified among universities in Pakistan as well as those in Pakistan and in the US.
  • A summit communique summarizing the important policy recommendations emerged from different sessions to share with all relevant stakeholders.
  • Launching of policy dialogue series following the recommendations emerged from the summit.

 

 

November 30

December 1

December 2

Session 1
10:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

Session 2
2–5 p.m.

Session 5
9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

*All times are in Pakistan Standard Time (PKT)

Session 1


Aligning Higher Education to 21st Century Needs

  • Higher education globally is at a turning point. Universities will keep teaching for social and economic good, conduct research, and serve their communities. That core mission of universities will remain the same for the foreseeable future. However, what we refer to as the global megatrends - climate change, pandemics, technological advances and with that the changing nature of job markets, changing student populations - are forcing universities to reconsider how they deliver services so that they can keep true to their missions.  With that in mind, this session is designed to address what we consider are the five key trends relevant to global as well as Pakistani higher education institutions and will define the next few decades of higher education delivery in Pakistan. These include - Sustainability and Interdisciplinarity; Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Micro-credentials and Skills Education; Online and Distance Education; and Ensuring Building Diverse Campuses.

Session Chair

Dr. Shaista Sohail
Dr. Shaista Sohail
Executive Director Higher Education Commission (HEC)
  • Higher education globally is at a turning point. Universities will keep teaching for social and economic good, conduct research, and serve their communities. That core mission of universities will remain the same for the foreseeable future. However, what we refer to as the global megatrends - climate change, pandemics, technological advances and with that the changing nature of job markets, changing student populations - are forcing universities to reconsider how they deliver services so that they can keep true to their missions.  With that in mind, this session is designed to address what we consider are the five key trends relevant to global as well as Pakistani higher education institutions and will define the next few decades of higher education delivery in Pakistan. These include - Sustainability and Interdisciplinarity; Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Micro-credentials and Skills Education; Online and Distance Education; and Ensuring Building Diverse Campuses.

Speakers

Andreas Schleicher
Andreas Schleicher
Director for Education and Skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Frankie Santos Laanan
Frankie Santos Laanan
Associate Dean for Faculty and Student Affairs, University of Utah
Asim Zia
Asim Zia
Professor of Public Policy and Computer Science, University of Vermont
Deborah Keyek-Franssen
Deborah Keyek-Franssen
Associate Vice President and Dean of University Connected Learning, University of Utah
Naveed Anwar
Naveed Anwar
Vice President for Knowledge Transfer, Asian Institute of Technology

Session 2


Making HEIs Sustainable and Market Driven: Challenges and Opportunities

  • Most public sector universities in Pakistan rely only on government funds for recurrent as well as development activities. Tuition fee is highly subsidized and any increase in tuition is discouraged for political reasons and the fact that many who attend public universities can't afford to pay. With economic slowdown, universities in Pakistan are struggling with financial sustainability as higher education funding continues to be slashed. Universities need to learn resource mobilization to keep the lights on. This includes but is not limited to building academia industry linkages, public-private partnerships, endowments, private fund raising, innovation and commercialization, and development of other business and funding opportunities.
    Employers also demand university education to be more relevant so that graduating students are skilled not just for their first jobs but also to re-learn and re-skill as nature of job markets changes. The session explores what universities are doing to stay relevant.

Session Chair

Ishrat Husain
Ishrat Husain
Professor Emeritus and former Dean and Director IBA Karachi

Speakers

Ishrat Husain
Ishrat Husain
Professor Emeritus and former Dean and Director, IBA Karachi
Mary Bane Lackie
Mary Bane Lackie
Vice President of Advancement, University of Central Arkansas
Roger Griffiths
Roger Griffiths
Business Development Manager, University of Birmingham Dubai
Steve Burian
Steve Burian
Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Alabama

Session 3


Strengthening University-level Ecosystem

  • Different offices and staff (leadership, faculty, and students support services) at a university complement each other towards driving an organizational change leading to improved employability of graduates. In this regard, three parallel sub-sessions have been set up to discuss several interconnected issues.

Sub-Session 1: Strengthening HEIs Governance

Sub-session attendee assignments

Session Chair

Asghar Khalid
Asghar Khalid
Former Rector NUTECH

Speakers

Roger Griffiths
Roger Griffiths
Business Development Manager, University of Birmingham Dubai
Thomas C. Piechota
Thomas C. Piechota
Professor of Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy, Chapman University
Frankie Santos Laanan
Frankie Santos Laanan
Associate Dean for Faculty and Student Affairs, University of Utah
Fazal Khalid
Fazal Khalid
Rector, GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences & Technology

Sub-Session 2: Building Faculty Capacities in Preparing Employable Graduates

Sub-session attendee assignments

Shahid Munir
Shahid Munir
Chairperson, Punjab Higher Education Commission

Speakers

Muhammad Usman Ilyas
Muhammad Usman Ilyas
Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Birmingham Dubai
Osman Hasan
Osman Hasan
Pro-Rector (Academics), National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan
Deborah Keyek-Franssen
Deborah Keyek-Franssen
Associate Vice President and Dean of University Connected Learning, University of Utah
Gerardo Blanco
Gerardo Blanco
Associate Professor of Higher Education, Boston College

Sub-Session 3: Bridging Career Readiness Gaps

Sub-session attendee assignments

Session Chair

Keith Grover
Keith Grover
Senator, Utah State, U.S.

Speakers

Mary Bane Lackie
Mary Bane Lackie
Vice President of Advancement, University of Central Arkansas
Naveed Anwar
Naveed Anwar
Vice President for Knowledge Transfer, Asian Institute of Technology
Natalie Humphrey
Natalie Humphrey
Head of Student Experience and Wellbeing, University of Birmingham Dubai
Duaa E Zahra Shah
Duaa E Zahra Shah
Senior at National University of Sciences and Technology

Session 4


Improving Quality of Higher Education and Role of Accreditation

  • This session is designed for a dialogue on challenges and opportunities in implementation of quality assurance mechanisms to improve the market value of degrees. For example, not only how practices followed in Pakistan differ across universities within the country, but from those considered to be international best practices. Topics will include how do we define quality improvements? How do universities/colleges/ programs prepare themselves for accreditation? What should be the role of Federal HEC or equivalent provincial bodies in enhancing quality standards and in the accreditation process? What are global experiences or best practices in accreditation and quality assurance? What are the quality and accreditation-related challenges with reference to coordination between universities, HEC, and regulatory bodies?

Session Chair

Shahnaz Wazir Ali
Shahnaz Wazir Ali
President SZABIST University

Speakers

Gerardo Blanco
Gerardo Blanco
Associate Professor of Higher Education, Boston College
Samreen Hussain
Samreen Hussain
Vice Chancellor (Acting), Aror University of Art, Architecture, Design & Heritage
Sajjad Ahmad
Sajjad Ahmad
Department Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering & Construction, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Khalid Mahmood
Khalid Mahmood
Member/Secretary, National Accreditation Council for Teacher Education, Pakistan

Session 5


Higher Education and Climate Change Adaptation

  • Higher Education Institutions can contribute to the climate change adaptation and resilience agenda. This issue has been subject to regular debate over the last decade, but calamities caused by the recent floods in Pakistan made it even more urgent to look at the state of adaptation efforts and how these could be further improved. As such, this session will create an opportunity for all stakeholders to discuss how HEIs, climate policy think-tanks, policy and advocacy groups, and other stakeholders can come together to build an understanding of the way forward.  What are critical knowledge gaps we should be worried about and what direction higher education should take to address those?  What best practices or adaptation models provide hope for optimism especially for developing countries like Pakistan? How can higher education help us think our way out of problems as well as prepare workforce of tomorrow that is skilled at sustainable solutions.

Session Chair

Sherry Rehman
Sherry Rehman
Federal Minister of Climate Change Government of Pakistan

Session Co-Chair

Fateh Muhammad Marri
Fateh Muhammad Marri
Vice Chancellor Sindh Agriculture University

Speakers

Asim Zia
Asim Zia
Professor of Public Policy and Computer Science, University of Vermont
Thomas C. Piechota
Thomas C. Piechota
Professor of Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy, Chapman University
Michael Barber
Michael Barber
Professor and Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Utah
Ghulam Rasul
Ghulam Rasul
Head of Climate Change Program of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Pakistan

CONFERENCE CONTACT

HESSA Project, Islamabad, Pakistan

M. Aslam Chaudhry, Chief of Party
Ayesha Razzaque, Deputy Chief of Party

HESSA Project, University of Utah, SLC, USA

Mike Barber, Project Lead
Cheri Daily, Project Manager

                   

This program is made possible by the support of the United States Government and the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of the University of Utah and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the U.S. Government.