USAID Higher Education System Strengthening Activity (HESSA), led a four-day Student Leadership Development and Programming Training for Public Higher Education Institutions in Lahore, Pakistan on December 4-7, 2023 at UET Lahore. The training is part of the five-year, $19 million HESSA project designed to advance the capacity of Pakistan’s higher education institutions and systems to develop employable graduates. Dr Sumera Sajjad Director Student Affairs, LCWU attended the training. 

Attendees received in-depth and experiential training from international experts on student society development best practices, advising student organizations, and facilitation skills for student leadership development programming. Mentoring and online strategy sessions were provided as well.  

USAID’s HESSA project is being implemented by the University of Utah with support from IIE and the University of Alabama. In collaboration with 16 Pakistani public sector universities, HESSA seeks to enable and empower students—especially women and marginalized groups—to access and succeed in higher education by strengthening practices that elevate student skills and global competencies and creating strong support networks that set students up for post-graduation success. 

Speaking at the closing session, USAID/Pakistan’s Education Director, Ms. Kate Maloney, said, “Together with the government of Pakistan we can support youth, particularly women and marginalized groups, in attaining higher education and provide them with an enabling environment to expand their opportunities, and allow them to contribute to the social and economic development of Pakistan.” The HESSA Chief of Party, Dr. Kenneth Holland, reiterated the need for robust student support systems in all institutions. He said, “This training program will contribute to learning how to cultivate a student-focused approach to student organizations and societies at the universities.”