In a significant stride towards modernizing Pakistan’s higher education landscape, the Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, presided over a crucial meeting to review the impending launch of the Faculty AI Training Program. This initiative aims to equip over 1,000 university faculty members nationwide with essential Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills and certifications.
The comprehensive program, a collaborative effort between the Ministry of IT, the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Meta, and the National Computing Education Accreditation Council (NCEAC), is designed to cater to diverse needs. It includes soft skills training for non-technical faculty alongside technical AI certifications, notably Meta’s LLaMA credentials offered through the Coursera platform, targeting between 250 to 500 educators.
The high-level meeting saw the participation of key figures, including HEC Chairman Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, NCEAC Chairman, senior officials from the Ministry of IT and Telecom (MoITT), the CEO of Pakistan Software Export Board, representatives from Atom Camp, and a delegation from Meta led by Sarim Aziz, Director of South and Central Asia Public Policy.
Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja lauded the initiative as an exemplary model of “public-private-academic collaboration.” She emphasized AI’s profound impact, stating it is “a transformative force impacting sectors such as education, healthcare, agriculture, and governance.” The Minister further assured the Ministry’s unwavering support in facilitating the program’s nationwide implementation, ensuring its alignment with national policies, including the forthcoming National AI Policy and other digital skills frameworks.
Minister Khawaja outlined several proposals for expanding the program’s scope. These include introducing student-focused training phases, localizing AI content into Urdu and other regional languages, and integrating ethical and safety standards to promote responsible AI usage. She also suggested the establishment of joint monitoring dashboards and a long-term AI Faculty Development Fund to guarantee sustained impact.
The Minister concluded by commending the leadership of HEC, NCEAC, and Meta, underscoring the critical need to prepare educators with “next-generation AI knowledge to cultivate a globally competitive, AI-literate workforce.”
