ISLAMABAD, OCT 1 /DNA/ – The Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan conferred on Tuesday seven Research Awards and three Best University Teachers Awards during a ceremony held at HEC Secretariat to appreciate the best performers in the Pakistan’s academic landscape and to forge a culture of impactful research.
Chairman HEC Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed was chief guest on the occasion. Executive Director HEC Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum, Member Research and Innovation HEC Dr. Bushra Mirza, Members of the Review Committees and senior HEC management attended the ceremony. The winners of Research Awards and Best University Teacher Awards were given cash prizes.
The Research Awards were conferred in the categories of Social Sciences, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences. After a rigorous review process, the winners were selected from the sub-categories of Best Publication, Best Research, and Best Young Researcher.
In the Social Sciences category, Dr. Nadia Agha from Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur won the award for best publication, Dr. Jawad Sarwar from Lahore University of Management Sciences secured the title of Best Researcher, and Dr. Mahnaz Mansoor from the Hamdard University bagged the Best Young Researcher prize.
Similarly, in the Physical Sciences category, Dr. Muhammad Ikram from the Government College University Lahore won the award for best publication, Dr. Haq Nawaz Bhatti from the University of Agriculture Faisalabad secured the title of Best Researcher, and Dr. Kashif Ishaque from Muhammad Ali Jinnah University bagged the Best Young Researcher prize.
In the Life Sciences category, the Best Young Researcher title was awarded to Dr. Shah Fahad from the University of Haripur.
The Best University Teacher Awards were awarded to Ms. Ruqia Bibi from Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Peshawar in Physical Sciences and Engineering category, Dr. Muhammad Ali Chughtai from Gandhara University, Peshawar in Life Sciences and Medicine category and Dr. Saleema Ahsan from Iqra University, Karachi in the Social Sciences and Humanities category for the year 2023.
While addressing the ceremony, Chairman HEC Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed congratulated the winners and said that the Government of Pakistan is committed to facilitate and provide all possible resources to the higher education sector. He stressed on the need for contributing back to the country by the higher education community.
“We had a humble beginning in 2002 when HEC was established. We have come a long way in terms of numbers of educational institutions and research publications, however it is the responsibility of the academia to play its due role in resolving the issues facing the country. It is high time that we come out of the impact factor race and head towards real impact in the society.”
The Chairman thanked the team of reviewers as well as HEC team for carrying out the rigorous process for selection of best researchers and teachers.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, Member Research and Innovation HEC Dr. Bushra Mirza highlighted the significance of research in any society and elaborated how HEC has created an ecosystem for research in the higher education sector.
She said that there was no research culture in Pakistan 30 years ago until HEC was established, which took measures to promote the R&D activities. “Though we are still evolving, now is the time we focus our attention on applied research for benefit of the society.”
She said that HEC started giving out the Best Teacher Award in 2003, with each university given an award to its best teacher every year. However, since 2019 HEC has only been selecting three winners for the title at the national level. Similarly, the Research Awards were started in 2009, and 272 awards have been awarded to the best performing researchers.
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