Workshop on 'Good Governance in Universities in the 21st Century'
On 22 May 2007, AIT President Said Irandoust participated in the opening ceremony of a workshop on 'Good Governance in Universities in the 21st Century' for senior management officials of Pakistani Universities, sponsored by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan. AIT trustee H.E. Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Khateer Hasan Khan, Ambassador of Pakistan, also attended the opening ceremony.
The workshop which was organized by AIT Extension was participated by 12 Vice Chancellors and two senior management officials from universities and two senior officials from HEC. The aim of the program is to provide a venue for senior officials to discuss various issues relevant to good governance in universities and to better familiarize themselves with academic, management and administrative practices. It also provides an excellent opportunity for AIT to share its own experiences and also learn with senior officials from partner Pakistani universities in the process.
The AIT President also had an opportunity to meet with some of the Vice Chancellors separately and was able to listen to their input on ways in which the proposed AIT Center in Pakistan could be formalized and ways in which the Center could partner their respective universities.
On 23 May, the AIT President met with Brig. (Retd.) Agha Ahmed Gul, Vice Chancellor of University of Balochistan (UoB), Pakistan who is among the delegates attending the workshop, discussing the mega-project proposal between HEC, UoB and AIT. According to the proposal, AIT will strengthen collaboration in capacity building of UoB, mainly upgrading the skills of UoB teachers (by sending them to AIT for Doctoral degrees, and short-courses); physical facility development such as laboratory facilities; curriculum development and upgrades; developing/upgrading research capabilities; organizing workshops/conferences. UoB will focus on the following areas for capacity development, namely, renewable energy, environmental science, and sustainable water engineering and management.
The AIT President also attended a lunch meeting on Sunday, 28 May with the Vice Chancellors and senior officials which was hosted by Ambassador Khan. Aside from AIT's partnership with HEC, some of the Vice Chancellors are also keen on establishing direct partnerships with AIT, such as in the upgrading of their faculty and staff by sending them to further their studies at AIT, for which they have funds available within their respective universities.