Higher Education Commission Funded Online Program For Fresh PhDs Concludes

The inaugural Higher Education Commission (HEC) funded four-week online training course for the 41 fellows of the Interim Placement of Fresh PhDs (IPFP) under the National Faculty Development Program (NFDP) concluded on Wednesday

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th May, 2020 ) :The inaugural Higher Education Commission (HEC) funded four-week online training course for the 41 fellows of the Interim Placement of Fresh PhDs (IPFP) under the National Faculty Development Program (NFDP) concluded on Wednesday.

According to a press release issued by the HEC media department, the first cohort of 41 IPFP fellows program was conducted online with technical assistance from the microsoft due to COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in the country.

The IPFP program supports universities in getting the services of fresh PhDs for a period of one year in anticipation of their recruitment to regular faculty positions.

It said the NFDP course was organized by the newly established National academy of Higher Education (NAHE).� It aims to provide new faculty with the practical skills and competencies they will need in order to become successful academics. These include courses in teaching effectiveness, including online teaching, research management, and professional practice. This is in keeping with the HEC's strategy that all higher education programs should be driven by the goal of future student success.

The program, led by a team of national and international experts, was delivered in accordance with the highest standards online readiness established by HEC in the wake of the Corona virus crisis. The NFDP 2020 course is to be delivered between now and August 2020 in 12 cohorts of 40 participants each. This is the first cohort of the course.

In his keynote address, Chairman HEC Tariq Banuri congratulated graduating IPFP Fellows as well as the organizers and instructors of the program for their commitment and the success they achieved under difficult conditions, this being NAHE's first intensive program, which had to be delivered online and during Ramazan.

� Mr. Banuri emphasized that the real success of this program will come from the work of participants in the time to come. Lamenting the deterioration in the quality of higher education in Pakistan, he said, the current focus of HEC is to re-establish the value of our degrees and certifications. "Your success is not in getting this certificate. Your success, and our success, will happen when you provide excellent education to your students, when you do first class research, and when you help solve the problems that the country is facing." Earlier, in her welcome speech, Rector NAHE, Dr. Shaheen Sardar Ali welcomed the session participants and gave a brief introduction of the NFDP 2020. She congratulated the IPFP fellows and appreciated their hard work and commitment during the sessions. She said the programme provided a virtual, immersive, and integrated world-class learning experience that will prepare the participants for their academic careers.

The resource persons of the programme, including Dr. Steve Burian, Dr. Shazia Awan, Dr. Hassaan Khan and Dr. Saima Sherazi, also shared their experiences of the four-week programme and hoped that it will go a longway for participants to enhance and develop skills needed to become a good teacher and a successfulresearcher.