Becoming one of the piloting universities across Pakistan for implementing the HEC's latest framework for quality assurance, PSG 2023, the National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) conducted the Self-Review of Institutional Performance and Enhancement (Self-RIPE) from December 31, 2024, to January 2, 2025. The Quality Assurance Directorate of NUMS organized and facilitated the three-day self-RIPE activity.
The primary objective of the Self-RIPE was to evaluate the university's performance based on the 16 standards from the RIPE manual introduced by the HEC in collaboration with the UK's Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). The panel consisted of five members:
On the first day of the activity, the panel members reviewed the Institutional Performance Report (IPR) against the RIPE standards. The external expert proposed, and the panel noted several modifications for future compliance.
The second day of the activity began with a meeting chaired by Pro-VC (Academic) Maj Gen Farrukh Saeed, HI (M), (Retd), along with the Registrar, Controller of Examination, and other directors. In this meeting, Air Cdre Muhammad Ismail, SI (M), (Retd), Consultant Quality Assurance, presented an Overview of NUMS to the external expert.
After the presentation session, the RIPE panel visited Army Medical (AM) College, where Brig Amir Rashid, HoD of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine and Head of LQEC, along with his team, warmly welcomed the panel. The panel asked about AM College's programs and achievements. HoDs from various departments, faculty members, and students participated in interviews. All the participants expressed keen interest during the interview sessions and provided valuable feedback. The panel also toured the AM College, including the newly established Medical Education Department, before holding an exit meeting with the Principal of AM College, Maj Gen Suhail Amin, HI (M), who presented a shield to the external expert. The group took a photo to conclude the visit.
On the third day of the RIPE, the panel toured the PWD Campus. They conducted interview sessions with the Acting Dean of FSSH, the Heads of Departments, faculty members, and students from various programs. The panel also toured the NUMS PWD Campus, including its laboratories, library, classrooms, and cafeteria.
The panel then proceeded to the Armed Forces Postgraduate Medical Institute (AFPGMI). The Deputy Commandant, Brig M Tanvir Ahmad Qureshi, and Director of Training, Brig Ayesha Abubakar Mitha, welcomed the panel. The visit began with a presentation on AFPGMI's academic details, followed by interviews with HoDs, faculty, and students. The panel toured the classrooms, data rooms, and the College of Nursing at AFPGMI, concluding their visit with a group photo. In the afternoon, they met with Vice-Chancellor Lt Gen Wasim Almagir, HI (M), (Retd), and shared a consolidated briefing on the RIPE Panel's findings and recommendations. The VC of NUMS presented the external expert with a NUMS crest as a token of appreciation. The RIPE activity concluded with a group photo of panel members with the Vice Chancellor.
The College of Nursing (CoN), AFPGMI conducted a "Workshop on Quality Assurance Processes" on Thursday, July 11, 2024, inviting Dr Erum Monis, Deputy Director of Quality Assurance Dte NUMS, and her team as resource persons. The workshop aimed to enhance understanding of quality assurance requirements/processes for institution’s Postgraduate programs improvement.
Dr. Erum Monis shared a detailed presentation on following Quality Assurance Processes:
A hands on training with active participation from attendees, both faculty and students was conducted where participants practiced on their respective portals on their individual’s laptops.
Participants queries were addressed side by side, maintaining engagement and fostering a positive atmosphere. The workshop concluded with participants with a commitment from attendees to integrate quality assurance processes into their practices.
A group photo featuring Chief Nursing Instructor CoN Brig Asma Nazir, participants, and the Quality Assurance NUMS team marked the successful conclusion of the event. E-certificates issued to all the participants of workshop by QA Dte NUMS.
Relevance: SDG 4 ; Quality Education
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Quality Assurance Dte NUMS hosted a crucial orientation session on the Review of Institutional Performance and Enhancement (RIPE) in accordance with the revised HEC quality assurance standards framework. This significant event took place on Monday, May 27, 2024, at NUMS PWD Campus, Islamabad. Dr Muhammad Nauman Habib, PhD - Management, a renowned trainer and Head of the Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) of Pak-Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, Haripur, was the esteemed guest speaker. The workshop was attended by nominees from all directorates and academic departments of NUMS, underlining its importance and relevance.
The session commenced with a warm welcome from Consultant Quality Assurance NUMS, Air Cdre Muhammad Ismail, SI (M), (Retd), to the guest speaker and all the participants. The guest speaker, in a highly interactive session, underscored the importance of RIPE, discussed all 16 standards of RIPE, and provided comprehensive understanding and knowledge to the participants, particularly those representing specific standards. The participants' active engagement was evident as they posed queries and sought clarifications throughout the session, making it a truly interactive and engaging activity. The guest speaker also discussed the specific requirements that different departments of NUMS need to fulfill in preparation for the RIPE.
A Q & A session was held at the end of the workshop, further demonstrating the participants' keen interest and active involvement. Their enthusiasm and potential as the primary stakeholders for the RIPE and potential Institutional Performance Report (IPR) Committee members were highly appreciated. The guest speaker commended QA Dte NUMS for inviting such relevant stakeholders to the workshop and assured future support regarding the preparation/conduct of RIPE. Air Cdre Muhammad Ismail, SI (M), (Retd), expressed his gratitude to the guest speaker for sharing his valuable time and expertise with NUMS, and presented him with a certificate of contribution and NUMS crest. Certificates of participation, a testament to the participants' commitment and engagement, were distributed by the guest speaker.
One of HEC’s essential requirements is a systematic evaluation of the Postgraduate academic programs to assure compliance of HEC's minimum criteria for Masters and Doctoral programs (level 7 & 8). It aims to enhance the quality of these programs and make them compatible at national/international levels.
To ensure full compliance to the parameters promulgated by the HEC, Quality Assurance Dte NUMS has conducted Internal Post Graduate Program Review (IPGPR 2023-24), with a panel of experts on 15-17 January 2024. The panel composed of three members from NUMS i.e, Air Cdre Muhammad Ismail, SI(M), (Retd), Consultant QA, Brig Dr Dilshad Ahmed Khan, SI(M), (Retd), Director Academics, Dr Erum Monis Deputy Director QA and one external evaluator, Brig Dr Rizwan Hashim (Retd) Prof & HoD Department of Pathology and Director of Medical Education department Fazaia Medical College Air University Islamabad.
First day on 15 Jan 2024, activity was arranged in Seminar Room Tik Tower PWD Housing Society, Islamabad. All programs, faculty and student files were placed for review by the panel. Files were found complete with required documents. Interaction with PG students, faculty and Deans/HoDs was carried out wherein suggestions and complaints during the sessions were noted for reporting. The Panel encouraged all the participants to share their feedback for betterment of the NUMS programs
On 16 Jan 2024, the second day of the event, the activity initiated from NUMS MH Sectt. In the morning, the panel and QA team had a meeting with Pro VC (Acad), Maj Gen Farrukh Saeed HI(M) (Retd), and shared NUMS’ presentation on IPGPR 2023-24 and held discussion on the NUMS’ salient points of the presentation.
VC NUMS, Lt Gen Wasim Alamgir HI(M) (Retd), honored the panel to have a meeting to discuss the importance and smooth conduct of IPGPR 2023-24. He ensured the panel that the results achieved from this activity will be given due importance for the growth and development of NUMS’ PG Programs. A souvenir was presented to the External Expert by the Vice Chancellor.
After that, the panel and QA team moved to the Army Medical College for next activity. On arrival, the panel was received by Brig Amir Rashid, LQEC Head AM College along with his QA team and other high officials. The panel met with the Principal AM College, Maj Gen Suhail Amin HI (M), in his office. Then, panel reviewed the files and dossiers of all departments and undertook the interaction sessions with faculty, HoDs and PG students. The points raised by the participants were either clarified by the Panel or noted for the action.
The panel had an exit meeting with the Principal AM College and discussed various observations. The Principal presented the college crests to the external expert and Consultant QA.
On third day of the event, 17 Jan 2024, the panel was engaged in the report writing of IPGPR 2023-24 in Seminar Room PWD Campus. All the observation/suggestions and points requiring actions were compiled and arranged in a form of report.
With the change of senior position holders at the Armed Forces Postgraduate Medical Institute (AFPGMI), Air Cdre Muhammad Ismail SI (M) (Retd), Consultant Quality Assurance and Dr Erum Monis, Dy Director QA were invited by AFPGMI fpr a meeting on Thursday, Oct 19, 2023 to apprise the Commandant AFPGMI Rawalpindi, Maj Gen Prof Muhammad Fayyaz Malik on the Quality Assurance Framework, Policies and related Procedures at NUMS. Deputy Commandant/Chief Instructor Brig Dr Tanvir Ahmed Qureshi and Lt Col Amna Umer also attended the meeting.
After a round of introduction, the worthy Commandant shared his vision of establishing a Quality Assurance Section and embedded in it a Medical Education Department in AFPGMI.
Air Cdre Muhammad Ismail SI (M) (Retd) briefed the General on the HEC’s initiative of the Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project and current quality assurance policies, procedures and practices in place at NUMS Institutions in coordination with NUMS QA Dte.
The Commandant appreciated the QA initiatives taken at NUMS Institutions and assured the Consultant QA of his commitment for his cooperation for continuous quality improvements at AFPGMI.
HEC has planned to prepare National Ranking 2023 for Pakistani universities, for which the data for ranking parameters is to be provided by the universities. Quality Assurance Directorate as representative of NUMS has to collect the data from concerned depts/dtes and upload on HEC given portal within the deadline.
In this scenario, QA Dte organized an online meeting with all the relevant depts/dtes heads (stakeholders) on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. Meeting was chaired by Pro VC (Acad) Maj Gen Farrukh Saeed HI (M), (Retd) and participated by relevant Directors, Registrar, Deans and HoDs. The aim of the meeting was to present the summary of the collected data to Pro VC (Acad) for his information and approval.
Air Cdre Muhammad Ismail, SI (M) (Retd), Consultant QA, opened the session with a welcome note to all participants and highlighted about the HEC National Ranking 2023 requirements, i.e., data gathering, submission on HEC portal and deadline. He explained about hurdles and delays coming in gathering the data from different depts/dtes.
Then, Dr Erum Monis, Deputy Director QA shared the data sheets with the participants. She presented all the data collected so far, directly from the official portal of HEC. Pro VC (Acad) had precisely responded to every category with his comments. She requested the Pro VC (Acad) for his support in collecting data from some depts/dtes/institutes who have not provided the data as yet. He showed serious concern about the remaining data and instructed the relevant depts/dtes to cooperate with QA dte and expedite the provision of data, before the deadline.
The participants also shared their feedback and queries in the meeting. At the end, Air Cdre Muhammad Ismail, SI (M) (Retd), thanked all the participants and specially the Pro VC (Acad) for sparing his precious time for chairing the meeting and rendering his support.
On Wednesday 13th September 2023, a hybrid (online & in person) session on “NUMS CMS Implementation & Assigning SAR on QA Portal” was organized by DT Dte. The session started with welcome remarks by Mr. Khurrum Shehzad, Director DT, followed by presentation of DT team on CMS portal and its implementation. More than 35 participants attended the session including Deans FMDS and FSSH, Director Student Affairs, HoD Biological Sciences, HoD DSBS, HoD Psychology, HoD PH, HoD HND. QA team including Air Cdre (Retd) Muhammad Ismail Consultant QA, Dr. Erum Monis Deputy Director QA, Asif Imran Manager QA and Kamran Arshad Assistant Manager represented their Dte in the session.
Mr Shahzad Asghar Deputy Director DT, explained the usage of CMS (Campus Management System), which include following process:
DT Team also shared the details and access to the different portals and explained that:
Director DT thanked all the participants for attending the session and expressed the hope that all Dtes/Depts shall collaborate each other for effective implementation and usage of CMS.
NUMS QA Dte in collaboration with LQEC Army Medical College Rawalpindi, organized an orientation session focusing on Self-Assessment Report (SAR) Writing and Evaluation Process on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. The main objective of this session was to enhance participants' understanding of SAR and its significance in the internal quality assurance (IQA) process. Participants from AM College, AFIP, AFIRI, AFIT, AFIC, College of Nursing (CoN) and AFPGMI attended the session. The honorable Pro Vice Chancellor (Academics) Maj Gen Farrukh Saeed, HI (M) (Retd) graced the session with his presence.
Air Cdre Muhammad Ismail, SI (M) (Retd), Consultant QA, warmly welcomed all participants and orientated them on significance of IQA, HEC’s requirements and peer evaluation through a comprehensive presentation of ‘How to write SAR. It focused on engaging key students (class representatives) and faculty members to gather feedback on courses and faculty, ensuring timely collection of necessary data. He shared the best practices and practical tips to enhance SAR writing skills with relevant examples, for all eight criteria and 31 standard. Throughout the session, the impact of SAR in assessing the quality and effectiveness of a program was emphasized upon; highlighting its mandatory requirement by HEC (Higher Education Commission), Pakistan.
Dr. Erum Monis, Deputy Director QA gave a presentation on “Online processing and evaluation of SAR”. She discretely defined completion of SAR Cycle and External Expert Evaluation. A lot of stress was given on following the given timelines for submission of data to QA Dte in order to conclude the process within a month’s time. It was also shared that the SAR portals have been made user friendly and have saving options before final document submission. This enables the timely invitation of external evaluators for SAR peer evaluation and for department heads to take corrective actions side by side during the life of their program(s), ensuring continuous academic quality improvement. The following documents were shared with the Program Teams of respective Programs from AM College, AFPGMI, AFIP, AFIC, AFIRI and CoN:
Based on the results and reports, Program Heads and PT members were urged to submit the corrective actions taken on the observations/reports of the Implementation Plan Summary for individual programs.
Concluding the session, participants were provided an opportunity to ask questions and clarify any doubts they had. The session saw active participation from the participants sharing their keen interest in the topic.
A group photo of participants, Pro VC (Acad) Maj Gen Farrukh Saeed, HI (M) (Retd) and Principal AM College Rawalpindi Maj Gen Suhail Amin concluded the activity.
On Tuesday, June 6, 2023, an orientation session focusing on Self-Assessment Report (SAR) Writing and Evaluation process took place at NUMS PWD Campus. The main objective of this session was to enhance participants' understanding of SAR and its significance in the internal quality assurance (IQA) process. Air Cdre Muhammad Ismail (Retd), Consultant QA, warmly welcomed all participants and orientated them on significance of IQA, HEC’s requirements and peer evaluation which is the essence of Self-Assessment at university level. The session was thoughtfully structured to cover various aspects of Digital SAR writing and evaluation.
Throughout the session, the impact of SAR in assessing the quality and effectiveness of a program was emphasized upon; highlighting its mandatory requirement by HEC (Higher Education Commission), Pakistan.
Dr. Erum Monis, Deputy Director QA shared the best practices and practical tips to enhance SAR writing skills. These included actively engaging key students (class representatives) and faculty members to gather feedback on courses and faculty, ensuring timely collection of necessary data. A lot of stress was given on following timelines in order to conclude the process within a month’s time. It was also shared that how the SAR portals have been made user friendly and have saving options before final document submission. This enables the timely invitation of external evaluators for SAR peer evaluation and for department heads to take corrective actions side by side during the life of their program(s), ensuring continuous academic quality improvement.
The entire SAR process, from initiation to completion, was thoroughly explained to the participants. Mr. Asif Imran, Manager/Data Analyst engaged the participants with live demonstration of the Self-Assessment Portal according to the role of the stakeholders.
Concluding the session, participants were provided an opportunity to ask questions and clarify any doubts they had. The session saw active participation from the participants sharing their keen interest in the topic.
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‘Khud Ko Pehchaano’,(Know yourself), is a youth empowerment initiative of Punjab Population Innovation Fund (PPIF) and Population Welfare Department (PWD) which is promoting sexual and reproductive health literacy (SRHL) for better health outcomes.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in many countries’ health infrastructure and inequities in access to healthcare around the world, including for SRH. Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is crucial for rebuilding and strengthening national health systems and delivering quality health care to communities, and SRH care is the key to achieving UHC in Pakistan.
A total of twenty master trainers from NUMS who were trained through a formal training session in Oct last year, conducted nine onsite sessions at PWD Campus to further train the students.
Another session was organized at the Farruki Auditorium for around 70 Allied Health Sciences students of Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute (AFPGMI) on January 2, 2023.Dr Erum Monis Deputy Director of Quality Assurance Dte, member Inquiry Committee Protection Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace, at NUMS introduced the students to Sexual and Reproductive Rights and basic definitions that helped them understand the concept. Emphasizing on the need for awareness on premarital screening and genetic counselling, she said this could prevent and manage medical and other health risk factors known to impact pregnancy outcomes.
Dr Hina Shan, Senior Lecturer Public Health, shed light on the family planning in Pakistan, the latest statistics, knowledge, skills, and beliefs necessary for physical, mental, and social well-being. Sexual and reproductive health awareness is an educational approach relevant to young peoples’ existing sexual and reproductive health needs and concerns. Education about SRH provides information and empowers young adults to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as syphilis, Hepatitis B & C, and AIDS.
Concluding the session, Dr Erum Monis gave basic information on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) & mitigation strategies. She elucidated how GBV, a phenomenon deeply rooted in gender inequality, continues to be one of the most notable human rights violations within all societies. Both women and men experience gender-based violence, but most victims are women and girls.
Boys and girls eagerly asked questions to further clear their understanding on the real-life related topic.