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The USAID’s Higher Education System Strengthening Activity (HESSA) organised a two-day training session on strategic planning for department chairs of public sector universities.
The training was held in three different batches for a total of 45 heads of departments from 15 higher education institutes (HEIs) that have partnered with USAID’s HESSA to strengthen the capacity of developing and delivering market-driven education and research to enhance graduate employability.
The first batch of this training was hosted by IBA Karachi, while the second and third groups convened at the NUST Islamabad campus.
International experts Professor Mike Barber and Professor Stacy Harwood from the University of Utah, Professor Delores Robinson from the University of Alabama, and Professor Sajjad Ahmad from the University of Nevada helped participants learn how to prepare strategic plans for their respective departments and develop mission and vision statements and core values for their departments.
Building on lessons learned from the initial May 2022 training session organised for the same group, this training further enhanced the skills necessary to be a successful Department Chair with a strong visionary approach to long-term sustainable improvement in faculty and student success.
The participants in each group also worked on developing goals and performance indicators to measure success. Using case studies and role-playing, they learned about managing faculty, employee, and student conflicts, time management, and improving department culture.
This training will be further complemented by virtual forums and a study tour to the US in 2023.
HESSA’s implementation strategy seeks to develop a future trainer to support the improvement of university administration that wish to expand beyond their departmental boundaries and facilitate transformation across their respective universities.
HESSA is a five-year, $19 million, USAID-funded program that aims to introduce sustainable higher education reforms and work with Pakistani universities on international best practices in teaching, research, student support, and governance.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 18th, 2022.
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