The Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Government of Pakistan, Higher Education Commission, Pakistan, Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW) and COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan jointly organized Vice Chancellors’Forum on ‘Universities in the Islamic World: Facing Global Challenges’, February 23-24, 2015, at Islamabad, Pakistan.

The VC Forum provided an excellent platform for deliberation of the global challenges facing Islamic institutions today and for formulation of the recommendations related to these challenges. Vice chancellors, rectors and presidents of the universities in the Islamic world participated in this event which enabled the university leaders to foster collaboration, strengthen cooperation and encourage dialogue among them and the institutions they represent. Over 70 Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) were signed among various universities. The IOU signed 4 MOUs with: COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan; Bayan Institute of Higher Education, Afghanistan; Islamic University in Uganda, Uganda; and The Advanced Institute of Modern Arts and Emerging Sciences, Pakistan.

Dr. Bilal Philips also participated in a panel discussion on the second day of the VC Forum, February 24, 2015. The topic of the debate was “Sustainable Higher Education Systems”. Additionally, Dr. Bilal was there to represent the interests of the Islamic Online University in the field of Islamic global higher education, promote the University and its various colleges, and establish the Islamic Online University as a leading global institution of higher education. 

Panel Discussion on February 24, 2015 

An interview with Dr. Bilal covering this event was published in The News International newspaper along the overview of the VC Forum. Read the article in the e-paper here.