Islamabad, April 7, 2026 — The Higher Education Commission’s Faculty Development Programme (HEC FDP) has enhanced the professional skills of more than 300 university faculty members through targeted scholarships since its launch in 2017. The programme aims to raise teaching and research standards across public and private universities in Pakistan by providing structured doctoral training and international research exposure.
To date, 110 scholars have completed their PhD degrees and are actively contributing to national research and innovation. HEC has awarded around 300 scholarships under the initiative, with 57 in batch-I, 84 in batch-II, 137 in batch-III and 17 in batch-IV, creating a growing pool of qualified faculty across Pakistani universities.
Under the HEC FDP, eligible faculty holding a master’s degree with a minimum of 18 years of education begin their doctoral research in Pakistan and then undertake a research placement abroad for six to twelve months. These placements are arranged at universities ranked among the top 200 in the QS World University Rankings, where scholars work with internationally renowned supervisors to advance their research projects.
The HEC FDP reinforces institutional capacity by linking Pakistani universities with global centres of excellence and by preparing faculty to deliver higher-quality teaching and to lead research initiatives. Continued support for such scholarships is intended to strengthen the higher education landscape and accelerate innovation that benefits students and national development.
