The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Qaiser Ali, has emphasized improving the quality of education and assured that the University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar is committed to bringing the standards of education to par with international norms. This commitment has already been promoted with the establishment of the Quality Enhancement Cell at the university.
The Director, Quality Enhancement Cell, Dr. Safdar Nawaz Khan is leading a team dedicated to ensuring and enhancing the quality of the academic programs and services at UET Peshawar. QEC's primary objective is to promote a culture of continuous improvement and excellence in all aspects of the institute. At QEC, the team strives to achieve quality related goals by implementing a robust quality assurance mechanism, strengthened thorough evaluations, and provision of actionable recommendations for improvement.
The standard of higher education in Pakistan needs to be at par with international norms. Efforts have long been underway to bridge gaps and pave way for developing a knowledge-based economy in Pakistan. It was in this context that Quality Assurance Committee, comprising the Vice Chancellors of universities and HEC policy makers, was established in 2006. The committee was given the task to develop a viable mechanism for implementation in the higher education sector to improve quality. After conducting a series of meetings with the concerned stakeholders, the committee recommended the establishment of Quality Enhancement Cells (QECs) in all public sector universities. QECs have now been established in all public and private sector universities of Pakistan. QECs are monitored, guided and supervised by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) of HEC.
The vision of the Quality Enhancement Cell is to improve the quality of all aspects of the university’s functioning in support of the university’s vision to be among the top ranking universities of the world through Education, Research and Innovation.
The mission of the Quality Enhancement Cell is to support the university in the area of quality assurance. At present, the efforts of the QEC are mainly focused on: (a) coordination between the university and HEC, and (b) implementation of the HEC quality improvement programs at the university to help maintain and enhance the standards of education. The task of QEC is missionary in nature and the QEC shall not be judged as quality enforcing agency. The QEC is assigned a critical task by the HEC to assist the university in improving student learning by continuously enhancing the academic standards under the HEC guidelines. The mission of improving the quality can only be achieved by the united efforts of the faculty, administration, students, and other stakeholders.
The QEC has the following objectives:
A training and brainstorming session for the HoDs of the academic departments of UET Peshawar regarding the recommendations of the Undergraduate Policy Review Committee was held in the conference hall on 28 Feb. 2024. The review findings of the Undergraduate education policy in light of guidelines from accreditation councils were presented by Director QEC, Dr. Safdar Nawaz Khan.
Mr. Gul Aftab, Junior Clerk, was given a farewell at the Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) on the last day before his retirement from service. He expressed gratitude for the support of his colleagues. QEC team wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.
The QEC team attended a focal person session on Course Authoring in the DLSEI Coursera for HEIs. The main issues covered were Course Authoring in Coursera Portal, along with guidelines on features, administrative functions, and course planning, particularly for MOOC design.
The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) of HEC has embarked on a collaborative journey with QAA UK and engaged extensively with key stakeholders from a multitude of Pakistani universities to meticulously craft a robust Quality Assurance Framework for Higher Education. In this regard, QAA arranged a webinar on the Revamped Quality Assurance Framework for Higher Education, that was attended by the QEC team.
The QEC team attended a training session organized by Turnitin and HEC titled “Understanding the role of Turnitin administrator.” The purpose of the training was to enlighten the administrators and users regarding guidelines for administrators, instructors and students, admin best practices with tips and tricks, step-by-step instructions, system status, AI writing detection toolkit for administrators etc.
An official Afghan delegation headed by Dr. Nazar Muhammad Irfan, Director of Foreign Affairs and Scholarships, Ministry of Higher Education, Afghanistan including Afghan officials from the Afghan International Islamic University (AIIU) accompanied by Mr. Jehanzeb, Project Director HEC visited UET Peshawar. Dr. Safdar Nawaz, Director QEC UET Peshawar gave a detailed presentation of UET Peshawar's academic and research activities.
The Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC), UET Peshawar has arranged a three days training workshop on "Improving Quality of Teaching in Engineering Education" from 20-22 September 2023.The training is aimed to provide updated knowledge on HEC guidelines on anti plagiarism and the best pedagogical practices in engineering education to the young faculty.
The Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Iftikhar Hussain convened a high level meeting with the senior management and officials here today. The objective of meeting was to discuss the issues related to preparation for the Fall Semester 2023 of Undergraduate & Postgraduate programs and financial planning for the next academic year.
The QEC team participated in an online session on the revised Graduate Education Policy (GEP) - 2023 followed by a Q&A session. During the session, the key aspects of the revised GEP with significance, implications, and opportunities for academic excellence were discussed. The session was conducted by the Quality Assurance Division, HEC Pakistan.
Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC)
HEC Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)
Talloires Network of Engaged Universities