UNESCO/UNEVOC Centers Recognize NSU as Skills Education Leader

It was the proudest moment to hear that “National Skills University Islamabad is on the right track for incorporating digitalization in skills education and should continue collaborating with the UNESCO Chair on Digitalization in TVET at the Shenzhen Polytechnic University, China.” Professor Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar, founding vice chancellor of the university, stated this on his return from the TVET Leadership Program on Digital Transformation held at Shenzhen Polytechnic University from 13- 18 November 2023. Professor Mukhtar’s services and efforts in TVET education were recognized at this conference with the Honorary Credential/Certificate of Participation in this prestigious program. He recently completed his four-year tenure as Vice Chancellor of the first skills university in the federal capital of Pakistan, and the UNESCO Chair on Digitalization invited him to present his experience establishing this institution with other UNESCO/UNEVOC members who gathered in Shenzhen to contemplate incorporating digital technologies in vocational and skills education.
In his inaugural address, Mr. Robert Parua, Education Programme Specialist at UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office for East Asia, coined this conference as the first in the history of UNESCO TVET leaders to identify new strategies for imparting skills education. This conference gathered TVET leaders from Brunie, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, Fiji, Kenya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam, and Zambia.
The conference comprised several keynote lectures, experiences sharing of skill education programs, pedagogical practices, visit to the digital transformation of partner enterprises like Huawei Company, BYD Auto China – the major producers of electric cars collaborative efforts, educational programs like artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, and associated entrepreneurship by the Shenzhen Polytechnic in collaboration with other partners.
In his presentation, Prof. Mukhtar shared his experiences establishing the NSU Advisory Council, NSU Vision 2025, and various other initiatives to establish a world-class skills university. He also shared efforts on the Skills Online initiative at the NSU. Moreover, the university umbrella programs, i.e., each undergraduate program, serve as a service center besides running several short skills programs of 3-6 months. Several leaders showed their willingness to collaborate with the NSU. Efforts of the NSU in skills certification via TAKAMUL-NAVTTC, consecutively twice being a member of the UNESCO-UNEVOC Coaction initiative and participation in greening leadership, were praised by all TVET leaders attending this program.
In his concluding remarks, Prof. Mukhtar thanked Prof. XU Jianling, President of the Shenzhen Polytechnic University; Prof. YANG Xinbin, Holder of UNESCO Chair on Digitalization in TVET; Prof. Yang Wenming, Coordinator of the Chair and the entire team for their dedicated support and facilitation for this unique event on devising new strategies in TVET education.