Capacity Building for Doctoral Provision in Pakistan

Overview of the Outcomes of the Key Trainers’ 2nd Workshop for Doctoral Supervisors
HEC Islamabad, November 29, 30, December 1, 2016

Capacity Building Project for Doctoral Programmes in Pakistan – Next Steps

Introduction and Rationale:

UCL IoE set up a project to facilitate capacity building for doctoral programmes in Pakistan.
Supported by British Council, Pakistan, the UK team approached the Higher Education
Commission in 2015 to discuss ways in which we could support the HEC initiative to strengthen
doctoral programmes. The approach was welcomed and a partnership of HEC, UCL IoE and the
BC took the project forward. It is expected that the HEC will take over the project with some
ongoing support from the BC and UCL IoE.
Activities so far:
A. The first joint workshop took place in May 2015 in HEC, Islamabad. Participants came from
universities with effective doctoral programmes, universities with new doctoral programmes and
universities with no doctoral programmes, but with plans to set them up.
The workshop was successful and it was agreed that the next step should be a Doctoral
Supervision workshop.
B. In November/December 2016, a Doctoral Supervision workshop took place. 14 senior
academics, most of whom were Deans and thus in a position to influence doctoral supervision
procedures in their institutions, took part. The majority of this group had attended the May 2015
workshop, so there was a very useful continuity in the work of November/December 2016. This
workshop produced:
 An HEC policy for doctoral supervision
 An HEC supervision training syllabus for potential and existing supervisors
 A list of Key Trainers who could go on to train supervision trainers throughout Pakistan
Suggestions for the Future of the Project:
Several participants of the last workshop are interested in and easily capable of becoming
trainers to take a Research Supervision Workshop to all Pakistan universities, but first it would
be helpful if they were to have:
 A letter from the HEC to announce a capacity building programme for
Supervision training throughout the country
 An agreed and published timetable to cascade that programme

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  HEC’s agreement to, and support of, their becoming a small group of well-trained
and effective Key Trainers to deliver the programme
The UCL IoE team wishes to continue to support of this project, although it is planned that it will
be run by the HEC. The UK team is happy, initially, to facilitate a workshop with the Key
Trainers to prepare the national programme. They would also offer support throughout the first
stages of the project roll-out. They will welcome, of course, the continuing support of the British
Council, Pakistan, whose logistical support of the November/December 2016 workshop was
invaluable.
Next steps:
The next concrete step therefore would be a workshop, facilitated by the UK team and supported
by the HEC and the BC, Pakistan, in February 2017. This workshop would be attended by the 11
Key Trainers who attended the workshop in November/December 2016 (See the list attached
with this letter). The participants requested that the next workshop should include:
- Working with difficult/challenging students
- Co-supervision
- Different systems for recording student progress and supervision
It will also formalise the syllabus, previously agreed, into a national three-day training trainers
programme for doctoral supervision, with agreed facilitation methods. It would be helpful if a
representative of the HEC is present in order to plan for the roll-out process and the timetable for
cascading the training to HEIs around the country.
Some members of the UK team will be facilitating a workshop for Women in Leadership in
Higher Education in Sindh Province, in Karachi, from 11 th – 16th February 2017. The UK team
could therefore facilitate the above Key Trainers workshop in either Islamabad or Karachi in the
preceding week, namely 6th – 9th 0r 10th February.
During the next stages of the project, in which the Key Trainers will be working with trainers
from HEIs throughout Pakistan, the UK team will keep in close touch to support the process.
They are happy to return once or twice during the first year of the project to discuss progress
with Key Trainers.