Project Achievements – January to April 2025

British Council – Transnational Synergy (TNS) Project
Funded under the Transnational Education (TNE) Program 2024–25

From January to April 2025, the TNS project made strong progress towards its goals of strengthening research collaboration, promoting remote PhD opportunities, and empowering women in academia. Here’s a look at what we accomplished in these four months.

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January 2025 – Project Kick-Off

27 January 2025 – Virtual Kick-Off Meeting

• Facilitator: Dr. Bilal Hassan (London Metropolitan University, UK)
• Participants: Senior academics and researchers from LMU UK, Bahria University, The Women University Multan, Thal University Bhakkar, and PPRII Islamabad.
• Key Outcomes:
  • Aligned on three core project pillars:
    1. Research Collaboration
    2. Remote PhD Program
    3. Women Empowerment in Academia
  • Agreed on central project website as a resource hub for activities, updates, and materials.
  • Planned first round of workshops for March 2025.
  • Set timelines for exchange visits:
    • Pakistani partners to visit UK – July 2025
    • UK partners to visit Pakistan – October/November 2025

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March 2025 – Major Collaborative Launch

1. Career Progression Seminar

• Host: The Women University Multan
• Live Broadcast: Bahria University Islamabad & Thal University Bhakkar
• Focus: Academic career growth, leadership, and progression pathways.
• Impact: Strengthened inter-university collaboration; identified improvements for future hybrid events.

2. Newsletter Preparations

• Drafted the first official TNS Newsletter highlighting early milestones, MoUs, and event coverage (to be published post-Eid).

3. New Strategic Partnership

• Ministry of Human Rights (Pakistan) officially joined TNS – a key national-level collaboration to promote gender equity and academic inclusion.

4. Women Leadership Research

• PPRII collected data on women’s leadership progression in Pakistan’s higher education sector for a planned sector-wide report.

5. Scientific Publication Data Collection

• Initiated compilation of partner universities’ recent publications to feature on the TNS portal.

6. New Partner Outreach

• Interest received from University of Okara, University of Agriculture Peshawar, and Northern University Nowshera to join TNS activities.

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April 2025 – Expanding Skills & Inclusion

1. Research Collaboration Seminar

• Date: 15 April 2025
• Speaker: Prof. Omer Rana (Cardiff University, UK)
• Host: Bahria University Islamabad
• Participants: Kohsar University Murree (via live broadcast)
• Topics: Grant writing strategies, collaborative research opportunities.

2. Overleaf LaTeX Training – WU Multan

• Date: 22 April 2025
• Trainer: Dr. Maitreyee Dey (London Metropolitan University, UK)
• Participants: 10 faculty members & PhD students trained as Master Trainers.
• Focus: Professional academic writing, citation management, collaborative editing.

3. Women in Leadership Seminar

• Date: 28 April 2025
• Speaker: Prof. Uzma Ashiq (University of the Punjab)
• Host: Thal University Bhakkar
• Focus: Gender equity, mentorship, and leadership skills in academia.

4. Partnership Growth

• New Partners Joined:
  • Kohsar University Murree
  • Northern University Nowshera
• Ongoing discussions with additional universities.

5. Newsletter Finalization

• First newsletter prepared for release with consolidated updates from January to April.

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Overall Impact (Jan–Apr 2025)

• 3 high-impact academic events delivered to over 100 participants across partner universities.
• 2 major training sessions creating 20+ certified Master Trainers in research tools.
• Strengthened collaboration with 2 new universities and a national ministry.
• Laid groundwork for upcoming UK visit (July 2025) and second phase of events in mid-2025.
• Established the TNS portal as a central repository for project updates, resources, and media.