Islamabad, October 31, 2025 — The National Skills University Islamabad hosted a one-day cascading session of the STEM Faculty Development Programme under the PAK-UK education Gateway, a collaborative project involving the National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE HEC), the British Council, King’s College London and the STEM Learning Centre, York.
The session gathered faculty who had been trained in the UK to share their practice and pedagogical innovations with colleagues across the university. Serving as organisers and resource persons were Dr. Maryam Subhani and Ms. Anita Bibi from National Skills University, alongside Dr. Raisa Bano of Women University Swabi, Dr. Saima Kalsoom of PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi and Dr. Samar Naseer from Allama Iqbal Open University.
The programme focused on a set of transformative approaches to enhance teaching and learning in STEM, including the CDIO (Conceive–Design–Implement–Operate) framework aligned with Outcomes-Based Education, project-based learning, microteaching for reflective practice, the generative use of artificial intelligence in STEM teaching and authentic assessment methods for evaluating real-world competencies. These methods are presented to strengthen active learning, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving among students, all central goals for contemporary STEM Faculty development.
Dr. Noor Amna Malik, Managing Director of NAHE, attended as chief guest and praised the collaborative spirit of the resource persons, urging that such peer-learning cascades be sustained across Pakistani universities. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar, Vice Chancellor of National Skills University, commended the organising team and reiterated the university’s commitment to skills-oriented, hands-on education that equips graduates for the modern workforce.
By equipping faculty with practical strategies and tools, the cascading session under the PAK-UK Gateway aims to widen the reach of improved STEM teaching methods across Pakistan and support higher education institutions in embedding competency-focused, industry-relevant learning.
