181/25 Celebrating Research Partnerships, Envisioning Educational Futures: The PHEC–ICDD Collaboration

On 18 August 2025, the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) will hold a seminar at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore. The gathering will mark 20 years of collaboration with the International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD), a partnership that has consistently produced research of both local significance and global resonance. This collaboration has led to significant advancements in various fields, including several scientific publications.

The seminar will feature keynote addresses by Professor Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Chairman of PHEC, and Professor Dr. Andreas Bürkert from the University of Kassel, Germany. Together, they will reflect on two decades of scientific cooperation, exploring themes ranging from ethnomedicinal plants in Gilgit-Baltistan to the genetic diversity of yaks in the Karakoram. A central point of discussion will be the concept of “rurbanity”, which refers to the blurring of boundaries between rural and urban spaces, a phenomenon that is highly relevant to Punjab’s rapidly transforming socio-economic landscape.

Yet this seminar's significance lies not only in its academic agenda but also in Prof. Iqrar Ahmad Khan's leadership. His arrival at the PHEC has renewed momentum for Punjab's higher education. 

Prof. Khan’s leadership style is already redefining expectations. Instead of operating solely from policy corridors, he has chosen to visit universities across Punjab, listening to faculty, students, and Vice Chancellors/Rectors. By doing so, he is bridging the gap between the abstract world of policymaking and the lived realities of academic institutions. His emphasis on employability and market relevance is particularly timely in a province where a young population is both a promise and a challenge.

The inclusion of “rurbanity” in the discussion signals another important shift. Punjab’s urbanisation is unfolding in complex, hybrid forms, where rural and urban worlds merge rather than replace one another. To study this dynamic is to study the very future of the province. Prof. Khan’s decision to prioritise such debates reflects his belief that universities must be active participants in shaping society, not passive observers.