Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Prof Dr Mukhtar Ahmed has expressed resolve that the commission was committed to promoting collaborative research with other international universities and welcomed such projects from New Zealand.
“We need to build relations from the scholar to university and university to country. The need to expand scope of higher education globally is vital as working in isolation was no longer feasible to make progress,” the HEC chairman said while addressing a delegation of New Zealand university representatives and government, led by New Zealand Education Regional Director John Laxon and New Zealand Immigration for Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Africa Vice Counsel Christina Fordyce.
Other members of the delegation included New Zealand Honorary Consul General Moin M Fudda, International College of Auckland’s Qaiser Rashid, MasseyUniversity’s Mechael O’ Shaughnessy and Prof Richard Archer, Wellington Institute of Technology’s Moria Hagenson, UC International College’s Jenny Wilson and Mohsen Salwan from New Zealand Education.
The chairman briefed the visitors about HEC’s programmes and discussed the increase in placement of HEC scholars in New Zealand’s universities, tuition fee structure and post-doctorate research placement during and after PhD studies.
Out of 158 scholars studying in New Zealand’s universities, 65 have completed their doctoral studies and returned to Pakistan. Disciplines that are spanned by scholars include Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Biological and Medical Sciences, Business Education, Engineering and Technology, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences.