Bahawalpur: The 90th meeting of the Board of Advanced Studies and Research (BASR) of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) was held at the Khawaja Ghulam Farid Auditorium, Baghdad-ul-Jadeed Campus, under the chairmanship of the Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr Muhammad Kamran.
Deans and heads of various academic departments participated in the meeting, which discussed a range of important postgraduate academic and research matters. Director, Advanced Studies and Research, Prof. Dr. Naveed Aslam Malghani, presented a report on the implementation of decisions taken during the previous meeting. The Board approved the theses of 159 scholars and the appointment of supervisors in various academic departments.
In a significant step aimed at promoting transparency in the evaluation of PhD research and maintaining academic standards, the Board decided that a local examiner who evaluates a PhD thesis would not be appointed as the local examiner for the subsequent PhD defense. The Board also recommended that retired faculty members could be appointed as evaluators or examiners for M.Phil. and PhD theses, provided that they remain affiliated with an academic or research institution.
In accordance with the relevant guidelines of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the meeting approved the implementation of the HEC Graduate Education Policy 2023 with effect from the Fall 2023 semester. The Board also approved the appointment of M.Phil./MS faculty members possessing at least three years of teaching or research experience as supervisors for M.Phil./MS scholars. Several other postgraduate academic matters were also approved, including changes of supervisors, amendments to research and thesis titles, appointment of co-supervisors and extensions in the prescribed period for completion of M.Phil. and PhD degrees.
The Board further constituted various committees to work on the adoption of the Higher Education Commission’s Artificial Intelligence framework and formulate recommendations for rationalizing thesis fees. The meeting reviewed the postgraduate research and academic matters to strengthen transparency, maintain academic standards, and improve research and graduate education practices at the university.