The HEC recently organized an event to confer the Best University Teacher Awards for 2022 across three categories: Life Sciences and Medicine, Physical Sciences and engineering, and Social Sciences & Humanities.
The annual awards initiative by HEC aims to commend outstanding university educators and encourage them to improve their teaching and mentoring skills. Notable awardees include Dr. Syeda Salma Hassan from Government College University, Lahore; Dr. Kamran Khalid from Fatimah Jinnah Medical University, Lahore; and Rafia Mumtaz from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), each recognized for their excellence in Social Sciences & Humanities, Life Sciences and Medicine, and Physical Sciences and Engineering respectively.
The event was overseen by Chairman HEC Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed and attended by Executive Director HEC Dr. Shaista Sohail, Advisor Academics Engr. Muhammad Raza Chohan, university Vice Chancellors, faculty members, and numerous students also featured in distributing cash prizes and certificates to winners of the Inter-University Essay Writing Competition.
Chairman HEC, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, stressed teaching’s prophetic nature and urged educators to fulfil their duties diligently. He emphasized the importance of youth training alongside education and celebrated the participation of female faculty and students, highlighting the sector’s growing inclusivity.
Addressing the gathering, Executive Director HEC, Dr. Shaista Sohail, emphasized teachers’ role in educating and character building. She encouraged students, privileged to study in esteemed institutions, to excel in their fields for future socio-economic contributions.
Advisor Academics Engr. Muhammad Raza Chohan illuminated the Best University Teacher Award’s background and selection process. HEC received 51 nominations, with expert committees finalizing the winners. He celebrated excellence in knowledge imparting and acquisition.
Cash prizes of Rs. 1 million were awarded to each of the three Best University Teachers. The Inter-University Essay Writing Competition winners received cash prizes ranging from Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 500,000, depending on placement and language category.
Top Urdu winners included Talha Ijlal from the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Saifullah from the International Islamic University, and Lubna Maryam from the University of Gilgit-Baltistan. In the English category, Syed Haris Nawaz from Abdul Wali Khan University, Muhammad Wajid from the National University of Modern Languages, and Nimra Arooj from the National University of Medical Sciences secured the top three positions.