University of Peshawar. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR: University of Peshawar has become one of the eight universities to be admitted from the Himalayan-Hindukush countries to the Himalayan University Consortium.
A signing ceremony was held at the Kathmandu University, Nepal on October 31, to admit new members in the annual meeting 2018.
Prof Muhammad Asif Khan represented Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri in the annual gathering of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) being held at Nepal.
Prof Asif Khan, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Peshawar and former Vice Chancellor of Karakorum University, is working keenly for the Upper Indus Basin Group, ICIMOD and Hazard Studies Group since 2011 to strengthen Pakistani universities presence on this international and regional platform for meaningful cooperation and academic collaboration.
It is important to mention, that Karakorum University and Agriculture University Peshawar were the founding members of the Himalayan University Consortium back in 2007.
The 11-year old Consortium intends to undertake activities such as the development of a postgraduate fellowship programme among member universities and institutions, the development of mountain-focused curriculum in suitable subjects, the development of a programme for the exchange of faculty members, joint teaching of a generic course on sustainable mountain development that covers topics such as knowledge networking and policy advocacy, and promotes sustainable mountain development in the region.
The vision of the Himalayan University Consortium (HUC) is to contribute to enhanced collaboration among the universities of the region and to promote centres of excellence on key topics relevant to the region. The aim is to build a dynamic mountain knowledge partnership among universities, ICIMOD, and regional member country partners to promote research and learning.
ICIMOD and universities will work together to strengthen capacity by developing joint research and knowledge management programmes on contemporary topics and, in so doing, help ease some of the shortcomings that regional institutions may have in terms of capacity and funding.
HUC partners will be involved in developing and sharing new curricula. Key outcomes will include new curricula adopted and more students relevantly trained to meet the new mountain challenges of the future.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan — and based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Globalisation and climate change have an increasing influence on the stability of fragile mountain ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain people.
ICIMOD aims to assist mountain people to understand these changes, adapt to them, and make the most of new opportunities, while addressing upstreamdownstream issues.
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