Pakistani Academics Complete Training in China

ISLAMABAD/TIANJIN : As part of academic activities under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) University Consortium, the second Advanced Training Programme for Senior Academics from Pakistan higher education institutions concluded recently. Tianjin Foreign Studies University (TFSU), China, hosted the two-week programme for a batch of 24 academic staff members of universities.
The CPEC Consortium of Universities is a collaborative academic platform established jointly by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan and the China Association of Higher Education (CAHE) to strengthen higher education cooperation between Pakistan and China under the CPEC unit in HEC.
President TFSU Ms. Li Yingying; Vice President TFSU Mr. Zhu Pengxiao and Director General (Global Engagement Division) HEC Pakistan Ms. Aayesha Ikram graced the opening ceremony of the programme. Addressing the ceremony, President TFSU Ms. Li Yingying emphasised the significance of collaboration between the HEC Pakistan and the China Association of Higher Education. She termed the two-week programme an enriching ‘journey of exploration’.
“You have not only explored cutting-edge areas such as AI-empowered education and examined the inheritance of the “craftmanship spirit”, but also experienced the pulse of ‘intelligent manufacturing’ in China,” she highlighted. She expressed a hope that the trainees will put their learning into practice by being pioneers in the digital transformation of education, being practitioners in serving the high-quality development of the CPEC, and being ambassadors of China-Pakistan people-to-people connectivity.
She shared that the programme had been officially incorporated into the commemorative activities marking the 75th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan.
Director General (Global Engagement) HEC Pakistan Ms. Aayesha Ikram underlined the significance of the training programme and shed light on the role of HEC as an autonomous regulatory and funding body mandated to steer the development, quality enhancement, and international engagement of Pakistan’s higher education system. “Our overarching objective is to ensure that universities play a transformative role in national development by producing skilled graduates, impactful research, and meaningful innovation,” she emphasised, concluding that HEC’s policy direction is guided by three interlinked priorities, viz. inclusion and access; academic quality; and relevance and impact.
She asserted that the conduct of second advanced training programme within a span of two months speaks volumes about the strength, trust, and forward momentum of our academic cooperation. Earlier, the programme was inaugurated by Deputy Secretary-General China Association of Higher Education Ms. Gao Xiaojie, who underscored the friendship and partnership between China and Pakistan.
She highlighted the role of CPEC University Consortium in collaborative research, capacity building, and talent development in fields like AI, international engineering, cultural modernization, and regional studies.
Representative of the trainee cohort, Dr. Abdul Samad of Loralai University expressed his appreciation for the training and its enriching experience, giving the trainees valuable insights of digital transformation in Chinese higher education.