ISLAMABAD: Higher Education Commission (HEC) has launched a mentoring programme for universities (MPU) to train leadership and faculty of higher education institutions across the country.

“Initiated through the National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE), the program is an expanded version of HEC’s Women Empowerment and Mentoring Programme launched back in November 2024 for 18 women universities,” says a press release.

“The mentoring programme for universities is a nationwide initiative aimed at strengthening leadership capacity and professional development within the higher education institutions (HEIs).

It is a gender-inclusive programme designed to support faculty members and academic leaders from both public and private sector universities. The programme seeks to foster a culture of mentorship, collaboration, and knowledge sharing across the higher education landscape of Pakistan,” the press release said.

HEC ChairmanEngr. Prof Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar along with members of HEC’s senior management committee launched the programme at a ceremony, held at HEC Secretariat on Tuesday. Vice Chancellors of all the universities also joined the event virtually.

The HEC chairman termed mentoring of academic leadership and faculty a crucial part of institutional development. Highlighting the significance of readiness for mentorship, he underlined that the country’s academia has no dearth of learned figures with high capability to deliver in this specific area. The programme, he asserted, will help exploit the expertise of such senior academicians.

Dr Niaz appreciated NAHE for the success of Women Empowerment and Mentoring Programme and expanding the scope of this initiative to all the universities. “This was very much needed, and it was high time to further extend the programme,” he asserted.

Speaking on this occasion, Managing Director NAHE Dr Noor Amna Malik shed light on the programme’s background. She underlined the achievements of Women Empowerment and Mentoring Programme.

“The initiative garnered huge success and repute, paving the way for its expansion to all the universities across the country,” she affirmed. She maintained that as many as 890 mentors and mentees were produced through the Women Empowerment and Mentoring Programme.

“The initiative proved to be a support system within our own ecosystem, as it has been institutionalised and internalised where people assist and uplift one another,” she emphasised.

Dr Malik underscored that the mentoring programme for universities will help remove the interpersonal and psychological barriers facing the academic leadership and faculty.

She said the programme will provide guidance to its beneficiaries to deal with challenges in the institutions, develop leadership capacities, and enhance ability to contribute to their own growth alongside the growth and transformation of their respective academic institutions.

Vice Chancellor Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) Dr Uzma Quraishi expressed her views on the impact of the women empowerment and mentoring programme.

She said the programme established the need for mentorship in a professional setup, as it focused on personal and professional growth regardless of gender. She informed the audience that the programme produced 240 mentors in three cohorts at LCWU who are now cascading their learning and making a difference.

She revealed that the initiative enables universities to include new modules in line with their own needs.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2026