British Council completes faculty leadership training under HEAT project
The British Council Bangladesh has concluded a 10-day Training of Trainers programme for senior university academics under the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation Project, aimed at bolstering academic leadership and faculty development across Bangladesh.
Held recently in Cox's Bazar, the residential programme assembled 15 senior academics from public and private universities, including current and former vice-chancellors, deans, treasurers, heads of departments, and directors of institutional quality assurance cells.
The Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation Project is implemented by the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh under the Ministry of Education, with support from the World Bank.
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As the project's technical partner, the British Council led the design and partial implementation of the Senior Faculty Professional Development Programme, including the development of the curriculum and training resources, and the enhancement of the capacity of master trainers and national trainers.
The programme was designed by the British Council in collaboration with Advance HE in the United Kingdom and Bangladeshi higher education experts.
Participants engaged with themes such as strategic governance, quality assurance, internationalisation, curriculum leadership, student support, teaching excellence, assessment reform, research leadership, industry-academia collaboration, and institutional transformation.
The training included expert-led sessions, case studies, practical exercises, collaborative learning, peer engagement, and reflective discussions.
Professor Dr Mamun Ahmed, Chairman of the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh, attended the closing ceremony as the chief guest.
Other guests included Country Director of British Council Bangladesh Stephen Forbes; Project Director of the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation Project Professor Dr Asaduzzaman; Professor of the Department of Law at the University of Dhaka Dr Borhan Uddin Khan; Consultant at Advance HE, United Kingdom Dr Ben Brabon; members of the local consultant team; representatives of the British Council and the project; and senior academic leaders from universities across Bangladesh.
Certificates were presented to the 15 master trainers upon completion of the programme, while national and international facilitators received certificates of appreciation for their contributions.
Participating master trainers and consultant team members shared their experiences during the closing ceremony and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening teaching, learning, and academic leadership in the country's higher education institutions.
The British Council stated that the first cohort's completion marks a significant step towards establishing a sustainable national faculty development system.
The newly trained master trainers will facilitate future Training of Trainers programmes and prepare a broader group of national trainers, expanding professional development capacity across Bangladesh's higher education sector.
The British Council will continue to support the next phase of the Senior Faculty Professional Development Programme in partnership with the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation Project.
The initiative aims to establish a scalable professional development network, supporting teaching excellence, academic leadership, institutional quality, and innovation across Bangladesh's universities.
