National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE) Who We Are

Who We Are

Shaheen Sardar Ali, PhD; FRSA

Rector NAHE

Shaheen Sardar Ali has held professorial positions at the Universities of Peshawar, Warwick, and Oslo. She was Vice-Chair of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (2008-2014). Professor Ali served as cabinet Minister for Health, Population Welfare and Women Development, Government of the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan and Chair of Pakistan's first National Commission on the Status of Women (1999-2001). In 2012, she was named one of the 100 most influential women of Pakistan. Professor Ali has published extensively in Islamic law, international human rights law including human rights of women and children and family law. She is the author of 9 books, 41 journal articles and 30 book chapters as well as a number of reviews and reports for national and international bodies. Her most recent monograph, Modern Challenges to Islamic Law (Cambridge University Press, 2016) has been widely acclaimed as a ground-breaking contribution to Islamic law scholarship.

Shazia Awan, Ed.D.

Lead Consultant Fellowship & Academic Leadership Program

Dr. Shazia Awan has joined National Academy of Higher Education at HEC as the Lead Consultant Fellowship & Academic Leadership Program. She is a higher education practitioner from Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. She has extensive experience of teaching internationally, in the Middle East, Latin America and in Canada. In her current role at Dalhousie University, she is an Educational Developer Internationalization and Intercultural Competency. She has worked as a teacher-education instructor, curriculum developer, and program coordinator at the College of Continuing Education, Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS. Canada for almost ten years. She completed her Doctorate in Education from the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter, UK. Her research and professional interests are in teacher education, adult learning, intercultural understanding in education, international teaching contexts, academic leadership, and culturally responsive, equitable, and inclusive pedagogy.

Wajiha Ali Syed Deputy Director NAHE Wajiha Ali Syed has been is working at HEC since 2007. In her current role, she is responsible for liaison with international counterparts including the US state department, British Council and World Bank. She has contributed significantly to three World Bank Projects, Higher Education Support Program (HESP) (2009), Tertiary Education Support Program (TESP) (2011-15) and Higher Education Development Project (HEDP) (2019). From 2009-18, she was responsible for the quality and research-based rankings of Pakistani HEIs including work on criteria development in consultation with national stakeholders, based on best international practices as well as data analysis to rank HEIs. Wajiha Ali Syed worked consecutively for four ranking cycles of Pakistani HEIs and gets credit for reviving national rankings after six years. In recognition of her efforts she was acknowledged in MTDF-II 2011-15. She is currently overseeing the NAHE component of the HEDP, which includes capacity building through twinning programs with international HEIs.	Mehwish Jabbar Deputy Director NAHE Mehwish Jabbar began her career in 2009 in the Learning Innovation Division (LID), Higher Education Commission (HEC). During her tenure, she worked as Program Coordinator of LID's Flagship Master Trainers-Faculty Professional Development Program for which she organized several workshops, trainings, seminars and conferences for faculty members of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across Pakistan. She has worked with international partners as Coordinator of Teaching Effectiveness, Good Governance Strategies and Leadership Programs for Faculty and Senior Administrators in Thailand, Turkey and United Kingdom. She was part of the team tasked with the establishment of the National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE) during the transition from LID to NAHE. Mehwish Jabbar coordinated the Six-Week Skill-Based Faculty Development Program designed and led by international instructors from USA in 2019 soon after the establishment of NAHE. She has an MS in Computer Sciences from National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad.
Sohail Raza Mangi Assistant Director NAHE Sohail Raza Mangi joined HEC in 2004 and has served in various divisions of the organization since then. A dedicated professional with 16 years of experience in project management, administration, finance, trainings and event management, he excels at building relationship with stakeholders across organizations and within teams. He thrives in demanding environments. Competencies and skills that he brings to the team include planning and organizing, costing and budgeting, office management and IT skills.	Ghulam Murtaza Goraya Assistant Director NAHE Ghulam Murtaza Goraya joined HEC in 2008 and has served in various divisions in multiple dynamic roles as desk officer and team member. While in the Academics Division, HEC, he contributed significantly to its divisional achievements. He was then assigned the role of Support Line Manager in the Social Sciences Section of the Research and Development Division, where he played a vital role in streamlining policies and standards for Social Sciences Research Journals to nurture and promote a quality-based research culture in Pakistan.
Mohammad Osaama Bin Shehzad Educational Technology Specialist Osaama Shehzad holds a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University where he developed interest in the dissemination of scientific knowledge through project-based learning. Before joining HEC in 2020, he won awards at annual research conferences, developed Science content for Asia's leading ed-tech company (Knowledge Platform), and lead introductory level computer sciences, mathematical, and life sciences courses at the Institute of Integrative Biosciences. Osaama plans to apply his computational and programming skills to formulate and scale digital learning solutions at NAHE.	Tahir Mehmood Superintendent NAHE Tahir Mehmood joined the HEC (training cell) in 2009 and has organized several national and international trainings, seminars and conferences with international partners for faculty members of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across Pakistan. He coordinated during NAHE Flagship online training program 'National Faculty Development Program' for newly PhDs with international instructors' team from UK, Canada and USA. He was also part of the team tasked with the establishment of the National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE) during the transition from LID to NAHE. In addition to being the focal person in joint programs such as Talented Researcher Exchange Programme (British Council-HEC), and ELTeach for National Geographic Learning (USA-HEC). Tahir Mehmood has an MS degree in Management Sciences with expertise of 15 years in trainings and event management.
Syed Shahzad Hussain Shah Jafari Clerical Official NAHE Syed Shahzad Hussain Shah Jafari worked at the Higher Education Commission (HEC) as an IT Assistant on contract for about four years until 2010 and has been serving as a Clerical Official since then. He has a Masters in Political Science from International Islamic University, Islamabad. He has also earned various certifications in Office procedures and IT applications. He served as Assistant Program Coordinator for the Master Trainers-Faculty Professional Development Programs (MT-FPDPs) for several batches. His responsibilities have included coordination, technical support, multimedia, video presentations, photography, evaluations and accounting and budgetary adjustment.

Wajiha Ali Syed

Deputy Director NAHE

Wajiha Ali Syed has been is working at HEC since 2007. In her current role, she is responsible for liaison with international counterparts including the US state department, British Council and World Bank. She has contributed significantly to three World Bank Projects, Higher Education Support Program (HESP) (2009), Tertiary Education Support Program (TESP) (2011-15) and Higher Education Development Project (HEDP) (2019). From 2009-18, she was responsible for the quality and research-based rankings of Pakistani HEIs including work on criteria development in consultation with national stakeholders, based on best international practices as well as data analysis to rank HEIs. Wajiha Ali Syed worked consecutively for four ranking cycles of Pakistani HEIs and gets credit for reviving national rankings after six years. In recognition of her efforts she was acknowledged in MTDF-II 2011-15. She is currently overseeing the NAHE component of the HEDP, which includes capacity building through twinning programs with international HEIs.

Mehwish Jabbar

Deputy Director NAHE

Mehwish Jabbar began her career in 2009 in the Learning Innovation Division (LID), Higher Education Commission (HEC). During her tenure, she worked as Program Coordinator of LID's Flagship Master Trainers-Faculty Professional Development Program for which she organized several workshops, trainings, seminars and conferences for faculty members of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across Pakistan. She has worked with international partners as Coordinator of Teaching Effectiveness, Good Governance Strategies and Leadership Programs for Faculty and Senior Administrators in Thailand, Turkey and United Kingdom. She was part of the team tasked with the establishment of the National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE) during the transition from LID to NAHE. Mehwish Jabbar coordinated the Six-Week Skill-Based Faculty Development Program designed and led by international instructors from USA in 2019 soon after the establishment of NAHE. She has an MS in Computer Sciences from National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad.

Sohail Raza Mangi

Assistant Director NAHE

Sohail Raza Mangi joined HEC in 2004 and has served in various divisions of the organization since then. A dedicated professional with 16 years of experience in project management, administration, finance, trainings and event management, he excels at building relationship with stakeholders across organizations and within teams. He thrives in demanding environments. Competencies and skills that he brings to the team include planning and organizing, costing and budgeting, office management and IT skills.

Ghulam Murtaza Goraya

Assistant Director NAHE

Ghulam Murtaza Goraya joined HEC in 2008 and has served in various divisions in multiple dynamic roles as desk officer and team member. While in the Academics Division, HEC, he contributed significantly to its divisional achievements. He was then assigned the role of Support Line Manager in the Social Sciences Section of the Research and Development Division, where he played a vital role in streamlining policies and standards for Social Sciences Research Journals to nurture and promote a quality-based research culture in Pakistan.

Mohammad Osaama Bin Shehzad

Educational Technology Specialist

Osaama Shehzad holds a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University where he developed interest in the dissemination of scientific knowledge through project-based learning. Before joining HEC in 2020, he won awards at annual research conferences, developed Science content for Asia's leading ed-tech company (Knowledge Platform), and lead introductory level computer sciences, mathematical, and life sciences courses at the Institute of Integrative Biosciences. Osaama plans to apply his computational and programming skills to formulate and scale digital learning solutions at NAHE.

Tahir Mehmood

Superintendent NAHE

Tahir Mehmood joined the HEC (training cell) in 2009 and has organized several national and international trainings, seminars and conferences with international partners for faculty members of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across Pakistan. He coordinated during NAHE Flagship online training program 'National Faculty Development Program' for newly PhDs with international instructors' team from UK, Canada and USA. He was also part of the team tasked with the establishment of the National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE) during the transition from LID to NAHE. In addition to being the focal person in joint programs such as Talented Researcher Exchange Programme (British Council-HEC), and ELTeach for National Geographic Learning (USA-HEC). Tahir Mehmood has an MS degree in Management Sciences with expertise of 15 years in trainings and event management.

Syed Shahzad Hussain Shah Jafari

Clerical Official NAHE

Syed Shahzad Hussain Shah Jafari worked at the Higher Education Commission (HEC) as an IT Assistant on contract for about four years until 2010 and has been serving as a Clerical Official since then. He has a Masters in Political Science from International Islamic University, Islamabad. He has also earned various certifications in Office procedures and IT applications. He served as Assistant Program Coordinator for the Master Trainers-Faculty Professional Development Programs (MT-FPDPs) for several batches. His responsibilities have included coordination, technical support, multimedia, video presentations, photography, evaluations and accounting and budgetary adjustment.