ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the British Council have launched the £10 million second phase of the Pak-UK Education Gateway, the HEC said on Monday, a joint initiative aimed at deepening collaboration between universities in both countries on research, mobility and higher-education reform.
The program, funded equally by the HEC and the British Council, builds on a partnership launched in 2018 and seeks to strengthen institutional ties between Pakistani and British universities, focusing on shared challenges including climate change, skills development and economic growth.
Education cooperation has become an increasingly important pillar of broader Pakistan-UK relations, as both countries look to expand academic mobility, research collaboration and international recognition of qualifications at a time when higher-education systems face pressure to respond to climate risks, labor-market shifts and funding constraints.
“This £10 million partnership is set to deepen collaboration between UK and Pakistani universities on critical issues like Climate Change and Mobility. A true system-to-system commitment,” the HEC said in an X post.
According to the British Council and HEC, the first phase of the Pak-UK Education Gateway supported 165 institutional partnerships, generated around 2,000 joint research papers and awarded £5 million in research grants. Officials say the second phase aims to build on that foundation as part of a longer-term effort to internationalize Pakistan’s higher-education sector.
