The National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC) successfully conducted its “VC and Dean’s Forum: International Practices for Industry–Academia Linkages,” on December 4, 2025, via Zoom. The forum brought together vice chancellors, deans, and senior academic leaders from universities across Pakistan to explore global best practices for strengthening collaboration between academia and industry. The session addressed the growing need for universities to enhance research relevance, foster innovation, and improve graduate employability through structured industry engagement.
The forum featured an exceptional lineup of international keynote speakers representing world-renowned institutions. Dr. Kamal Munir, Pro-Vice Chancellor for University Community and Engagement and Professor of Strategy and Policy at the University of Cambridge, discussed global structures that enable robust industry-academia collaboration. Dr. Sarfraz A. Mian, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management Policy at the State University of New York, provided insights into entrepreneurial universities, business incubation models, and innovation ecosystems worldwide. Dr. Yasser Bhatti, Professor of Strategy and Innovation at MBSC and Associate Scholar at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, shared perspectives on strengthening local and global linkages to enhance institutional impact. Professor Xi Chen, Professor of Information Systems and Associate Dean at the School of Management, Zhejiang University, offered insights from China’s ecosystem on bridging the academia–industry gap and building structured, high-impact engagement mechanisms.
The forum was moderated by Dr. Naukhez Sarwar, Dean and Professor at NUST Business School, Islamabad, and Dr. Sadia Nadeem, Dean and Professor at the FAST School of Management, FAST NUCES, Islamabad. Their facilitation connected global thought leadership with practical institutional strategies for the Pakistani higher-education landscape.
Discussions throughout the session emphasized aligning university strategies with national economic priorities, identifying institutional enablers for stronger engagement, and adopting global models that can guide local reforms. Participants reaffirmed their commitment to advancing sustainable, high-impact industry–academia partnerships that contribute to national innovation capacity and economic development.
