Islamabad – The Faculty of Education at the International Islamic University Islamabad convened a five-day Postdoctoral Workshop for Batch III 2025–26, bringing together eight postdoctoral fellows from universities across Pakistan. The programme focused on strengthening research proposals, sharpening analytical skills, and aligning projects with IIUI’s emphasis on ethical and impactful scholarship.
In the opening session, Dr. Fouzia Ajmal, Incharge Academic Affairs, underscored the university’s commitment to building a vibrant research culture and outlined expectations for the Postdoctoral Workshop. Participants then presented their research proposals and received detailed feedback aimed at enhancing conceptual clarity and methodological rigour.
Sessions were delivered by a roster of experienced facilitators. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Amir, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Technology and Director ORIC, explored Outcome-Based Education and its implications for higher education research. Dr. Muhammad Sherbaz Ali addressed the growing role of artificial intelligence in research design and analysis, while Mr. Waseem Ahmed, Manager Training at NIDM–NDMA, discussed disaster resilience through strategic knowledge investment relevant to Pakistani contexts.
Methodological strengths were reinforced through focused instruction on qualitative and quantitative approaches by Prof. Dr. Riaz Shad of NUML and Dr. Abdul Rahman Saad AlAjlan from IIUI’s Faculty of Education. Fellows benefited from practical guidance on data handling, analytical framing, and aligning methods with research questions.
Proposal review and refinement were guided by Dr. Zarina Akhtar, Dr. Munazza Mahmood, Dr. Asad Abbas Rizvi, and Dr. Azhar Mahmood, who offered targeted feedback to improve academic precision and presentation. Dr. Azhar Mahmood also led a session on supervisors’ capacity building, preparing faculty and mentors for effective oversight of postdoctoral projects. Dr. Fouzia Ajmal concluded a workshop strand on research report writing and the university’s report format to ensure consistency and publication readiness.
Participants toured the IIUI Central Library under the guidance of the Chief Librarian, gaining hands-on exposure to academic resources and digital research tools that support advanced scholarship. The closing session reviewed fellows’ progress and mapped the next phase of the fellowship, reinforcing IIUI’s focus on research quality, ethical standards, and measurable knowledge impact for Pakistan’s education sector.
