ISLAMABAD, Jul 10 (APP):The University of Utah of the United States has organized a three-day training workshop for department chairs of public universities of Pakistan on strategic planning, as part of the USAID’s Higher Education System Strengthening Activity (HESSA).
Hosted by the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) Islamabad, the workshop was attended by 30 department chairs representing 16 partner universities of HESSA, a news release on Monday said.
These universities have partnered with USAID’s HESSA to strengthen their capacity of developing and delivering market-driven education and research to enhance graduate employability.
Facilitated by Dr Mike Barber, University of Utah and Dr Sajjad Ahmad, University of Nevada Las Vegas, the department leadership prepared strategic plans for their respective sections, and developed mission & vision statements, core values, goals and performance indicators to measure success of their departments.
Building on from the earlier batch, the workshop focused on the required skills to be a successful leader with a visionary approach to sustainable improvement in faculty and student success.
In his opening remarks, Dr Mike Barber welcomed the faculty from HESSA’s partner universities and elaborated the objectives and impact of the project.
Dr Osman Hasan, NUST’s Pro Rector Academics, welcomed all the participants on campus and appreciated the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the continuous support to advance higher education in the country and for engaging international experts in all its trainings.
“This workshop is complemented by virtual one-on-one sessions and an exposure visit to the University of Utah. Through this extended training programme, HESSA seeks to develop a pool of trainers who will support the capacity building of university administration and facilitate transformation across their respective universities and beyond,” the news release said.
HESSA is a USAID-funded programme that aims to introduce sustainable higher education reforms and work with Pakistani universities on international best practices in teaching, research, student support, and governance.