Islamabad: University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC) Chairman Professor Dr. SMA Faiz has stated that the UGC is eager to enhance regional cooperation to improve the quality of higher education and research. This announcement was made during the ‘Promoting South Regional Cooperation in Higher Education Conference’ hosted in Islamabad, Pakistan.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the UGC chairman led the session on the first day of the three-day conference, titled ‘Higher Education for Economic Development: Orienting Higher Education to the Twenty-First Century Labor Market (Bangladesh Experience)’. He articulated UGC’s dedication to fostering an environment conducive to the commercialization of research and innovation within South Asian higher education institutions.
Dr. Faiz emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperative relationships among higher education institutions, industries, and trade organizations to facilitate the implementation of innovative ideas. He called on all stakeholders to collaborate in building an effective ecosystem for research and innovation in higher education institutions across the South Asian region.
A nine-member delegation, led by the UGC chairman, is participating in the conference, which is jointly organized by the World Bank and the Pakistan Higher Education Commission. The delegation includes Honorary Professor of Soil Water and Environment Department of Dhaka University Dr. Babuna Fayez, UGC members Professor Dr. Mohammad Tanzim Uddin Khan and Professor Dr. Md Saidur Rahman, UGC Secretary Dr. Md Fakhrul Islam, Director of Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation Project Asaduzzaman, Additional Secretary of Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education Md Hasan Maruf, and UGC Director Dr. Sultan Mahmud Bhuiyan.