Higher Education Commission Chairman Prof. Dr. Niaz Ahmad Akhtar visited Bahria University’s Islamabad Campus to review the university’s academic and institutional progress, engaging with its leadership on several key areas related to higher education development and long term institutional planning. The visit brought together senior figures from both the national higher education regulatory body and the university itself, reflecting a continued pattern of direct engagement between HEC leadership and individual institutions across the country.
During the visit, the chairman was received by Bahria University Rector Vice Admiral Abid Hameed, who briefed him on the university’s academic ecosystem spanning its multiple campuses and disciplines, along with recent initiatives related to research, digital infrastructure, and broader student development programmes. This briefing appears to have given the chairman a comprehensive overview of how the university has been positioning itself across both traditional academic areas and newer technology focused initiatives, providing context for the more detailed tours that followed at specific facilities within the campus.
As part of the visit, the chairman toured the university’s Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and its Cyber Security Lab, where he received briefings covering ongoing research initiatives, AI driven teaching and research methods, industry collaboration efforts, and practical cybersecurity education and training programmes. These two facilities appear to represent a significant part of Bahria University’s push into emerging technology fields, with the briefings suggesting an emphasis on connecting academic research directly with industry needs and practical skill development for students engaged in AI and cybersecurity coursework. The chairman also inaugurated a new Sports Arena at the university’s Health Sciences Campus in Islamabad, which includes a futsal court and two padel courts, adding a recreational and student wellness component to the broader set of developments reviewed during the visit.
Following the tour, the chairman acknowledged Bahria University’s continued efforts to strengthen its academic, research, digital, and student support systems, while emphasizing the broader importance of knowledge sharing, joint research, and collaborative initiatives across Pakistan’s higher education sector as a whole. The visit adds to a series of similar institutional engagements HEC leadership has carried out with universities across the country in recent months, reflecting an ongoing effort to assess and support the development of academic infrastructure, research capacity, and technology integration within Pakistan’s higher education system.
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