Boosting Teaching And Research: UHS Extends Faculty Councils To Clinical Disciplines

UHS VC Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore says councils will provide structured platforms for curriculum review, research collaboration, and faculty development across UHS and its affiliated institutions

LAHORE: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Oct 1stt, 2025) The University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Wednesday launched Discipline-Specific Faculty Councils (DSFCs) for clinical subjects, extending an initiative that was successfully piloted earlier in the basic sciences.

The inaugural session was held here at UHS City Campus under the chairmanship of Vice Chancellor Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore. Senior clinicians representing 27 specialties, including medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, cardiology, anesthesiology, radiology, neurology, psychiatry, urology, and dentistry, attended the meeting.

Prof Rathore said the councils would provide structured platforms for curriculum review, research collaboration, and faculty development across UHS and its affiliated institutions. “The growing complexity of modern healthcare demands such dedicated forums. These councils will not only ensure systematic curriculum updates but also foster research, innovation in teaching, and fairness in assessment,” he said.

A DSFC Cell will be set up under the Directorate of Postgraduate Studies to coordinate activities, maintain records, and oversee quality assurance. Faculty participation will be linked with CME credit hours and recognized in annual appraisals and promotion dossiers.

Prof Zulqernain Baloch of Kunming University of Science and Technology, China, who attended the session, said he was in Lahore to help strengthen research collaboration between UHS and Chinese universities. “There is tremendous scope for joint projects in medical sciences, and we are keen to build long-term partnerships in research, publications, and faculty exchange,” he said.

UHS VC also announced that an e-log system would be introduced from next month to regularly monitor the performance of postgraduate trainees.

The participants including Prof. Mahmood Shaukat, Prof. Muhammad Moin, Prof. Waheed ul Hameed, Prof Alia Bashir, Prof. Tayyiba Wasim, Prof. Fauzia Sajjad and others appreciated the step, calling it a timely reform in medical education. They observed that the councils would not only unify academic efforts across institutions but also create a stronger culture of collaboration, research, and professional development.

The session was also attended by Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Nadia Naseem and Director Postgraduate Studies Prof Asif Naveed.