ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) via its Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project concluded the 6th cohort of the Women Leadership Programme. National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE) held the first-ever cohort of female future academic leaders for Balochistan at Balochistan University of Information Technology and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta.
Thirty future female leaders from all public sector universities across the Balochistan province attended the training. Women from all disciplines – medical, engineering, humanities, and others participated. Most of these are mid-career professionals working as Heads of Departments, Registrars, and senior faculty members. This programme is a crucial step towards building the capacity of women leaders in the higher education sector of Pakistan.
The programme kicked off under the leadership of Vice Chancellor, Shaheed Allah Bukhsh Soomro University of Arts Design and Heritage, Dr. Arabella Bhutto who delivered detailed sessions on Social Influencers and Women Identity, Time Management and People Management.
The project has already trained more than 120 women in 5 earlier cohorts of trainings in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar. It is essential for women leaders to understand the inner workings of the higher education sector and navigate the challenges they may face in leadership roles. The programme focused on governance in higher education, recruitment policies, managing work-life balance, gender and workplace communication, public procurement rules, financial management and strategic communication.
The programme also provides personal and professional development opportunities and exposes participants to international best practices in women’s leadership. This knowledge and exposure can enable future women leaders to prepare themselves to transform higher education institutions into demand-driven institutes, bridging the gender gap in higher education.
The programme is an outcome of various consultations and roundtables held by NAHE in 2020-21, where the need for capacity building – especially in the areas of leadership, governance and management – was evident. It was observed that very few women reach top leadership position at universities. HEC plans to empower existing women leaders through capacity-building programmes as well as nurture potential and upcoming women for leadership positions in the academia.
The participants appreciated the efforts to encourage women up in the management cadre and affirmed that these efforts are essential towards promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in higher education. The project has also planned a structured mentorship to ensure sustainability of this programme. The women trained will act as mentors/training trainers and will pass on the learning to other women in their university or cluster of women in their geographical area.
