Since its inception in 2002, Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (HEC) is focused on developing human resources by helping universities/ Higher Education Institutions to establish a world-class center of excellence in various disciplines.
From 2020, to improve the quality of the undergraduate qualification, HEC has initiated reforms in Post-Secondary Education and developed a thorough policy incorporating requirement of Internships, Practical Learning Labs, Student Clubs, and Student Societies for university students. In this context, the universities are facilitating students for better Academic facilities, Internships, Practical Learning Labs, Student Clubs and Societies, and other related services. Thus, a central office was required to facilitate students under one roof to save time and resources in line with undergraduate policy 2020.
In this context, Youth Development Centers (YDCs) in the leading public sector universities would be established where services related to students will be offered in a single office having distinct wings dealing with Education, Employment & Engagement.
EDUCATION: Academic & Career Counseling, Skills-based Education, Scholarships, Capacity-Building, etc.
EMPLOYMENT: Entrepreneurships, Business Incubation Centers, Internships, etc.
ENGAGEMENT: Practical learning Lab: Clubs, Societies, Associations, Sports, Youth Helpline, Youth Card, etc.
CRITERIA FOR YDCs:
The criteria for developing YDCs are as follows:
- Public Sector Universities including women universities across the country
- Universities with large student bodies
- Universities from all provinces including Islamabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan
PROJECT OBJECTIVES:
- Developing an online portal for all public sector universities
- Guiding youth in career counseling
- Fostering an entrepreneurial culture and open paths for entrepreneurship among the Youth
- Creating awareness among youth regarding job hunting and relationship building for better job placements and internships
- Organizing extracurricular activities, including involvement of student clubs and societies for inculcating positive attitude among the youth
Developing a one-stop integrated national and international scholarships hub
PROGRESS OF THE PROJECT
HEC in collaboration with NITB is developing a digital platform to provide youth development center facilities for all public sector universities.
A single operational office is established in 45 universities wherein all departmental queries will be responded to youngsters through online portal including:
- Guiding academic issues about the selection of Major Subjects/Courses.
- Sharing internship opportunities and job placement offers with students and establishing proper monitoring mechanisms
- Facilitating youth regarding Practical Learning Labs where youngsters will be able to develop excellent communication skills
- Developing rules for different student clubs and societies as an operational platform
- Managing events including Green Clubs, Drama Clubs, Book Reading Clubs, etc.
- Supporting students in publishing newsletters, university magazine, articles in Newspapers, etc.
- Providing opportunities in terms of national and international scholarships
- Resolving other student queries or issues on time in a professional way
