HYDERABAD: A senior officer of British Council Pakistan has said that the council has been extending “massive” support to higher education institutions in Pakistan for over 70 years.
He was speaking as chief guest at an awareness seminar titled ‘Pak-UK Education Gateway’ organised by the Office of Research, Innovation andCommercialisation (ORIC), Sindh University (SU), on Wednesday under the aegis of British Council Pakistan and the Higher Education Commission.
He said that linkage had been strengt hened after the start of the education gateway in recent years as more and more British universities had opened their doors to Pakistani academics, scholars and students giving way to increased research engagement.
British Council area director for Sindh and Balochistan Michael Houlgate stated that Pakistan and the United Kingdom (UK) had an over 70-year-long history of cordial relations with marked cultural commonalities.
He said he was delighted to meet over 30 SU faculty members at one time who did PhD from highly reputed universities in the UK.
“We have, of late, announced first offering of the education gateway for 2020. This offer is called ‘Innovative and Collaborative Research Grant (ICRG), and it aims to enhance joint research engagement activism between Pakistan and UK scholars in collaboration with the HEC. I will urge academic heads to encourage your peers and students to be forthcoming in competing for this grant,” he urged.
He said the grant opportunities were available in the areas of innovative and collaborative research, Pak-UK joint principal investigator initiative, allied health sciences, quality assurance, leadership, distance learning, transnational studies, governance and community engagement and active citizenship.
SU Vice Chancellor Dr Fateh Mohammad Burfat said that “We have around 700 highly qualified faculty at the SU and over 300 of them have done their doctorates from leading world universities.”
He said that it had become almost impossible to work solo in a technology-ridden, fast-changing, and digital world. “To be productive, beneficial and meaningful, we need to connect, collaborate and converge,” the VC said.
He added that recently British Council hosted 800 VCs from 90 countries to share, network, learn and grow. “I was privileged to be part of this academic feat,” he added. The VC announced establishment of British-Sindh University Alumni Association at the SU for which they would be seeking help from the British Council Pakistan.
Talking about a wide spectrum of study and scholarship opportunities and offerings, British Council head of higher education and skills Sarah Parvez said the British Council under ICRG initiative had invested six million pounds to help improve health of higher education sector in Pakistan in 2020 grants programme.
She said the council preferred impact-oriented research engagement over what she termed ‘under-the-shelves’ research.
She said the council had shifted its focus from wholesome subject approach to thematically-specific subject approach to elicit desired outcomes.
Both Mr Houlgate and Ms Parvez said they were glad to note phenomenal increase in the number of PhD scholars at the SU, attributing this development to devotion of faculty and patronage by the vice chancellor. A presentation was followed by a highly informative and academically-enriching discussion session.
Earlier, ORIC director Prof Dr Imtiaz Ali Korejo presented an address of welcome and detailed introduction of his office.
British Council Pakistan Karachi project manager Fareed Athar, deans of various teaching faculties, academic and administrative heads, faculty, researchers and advanced-level students participated in the seminar.
Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2019
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