Dr Nasrullah Khan Khilji, Course Leader and Senior Lecturer in Project Management at the University, will take up a new position as a senior consultant in the Pakistan government in Islamabad after being nominated as a caretaker Minister for Education, Science and Technology earlier this year.  

Dr Khilji, who took a three-month sabbatical from the University to serve in the government of Balochistan, will now join a team of experts in reviewing education related policies, plans and programmes to ensure the accessibility and availability of quality secondary and higher education in Pakistan – more specifically at grass roots level in Balochistan.

Dr Khilji has a broad background in teaching, research and enterprise from various higher education positions in the UK and abroad. Before joining the University’s Business School (UBBS), he was a lecturer in project management at the School of Computing and Engineering at the University of West London.

In 1999, he initiated the PEARL (Promoting Educational Activities and Resources Links) higher and technical education project in Quetta, Pakistan to enhance and improve the level of technical and professional education. The PEARL institute is actively imparting higher and technical professional training courses in the capital of Balochistan.  

Dr Khilji, who will take up his new role in January 2019, said: “It is a great privilege for me to take up this position with the Pakistan government. My role will be to team up with senior fellows in the Pakistan higher education system to review and elevate the quality of education in Pakistan. I am quite optimistic that my new role will benefit the UBBS to develop academic collaborations in higher education between Pakistan and UK.  

“I would like to thank the University for their encouragement and support when taking this position. I am also grateful to the UBBS head of department and the Dean, Debra Leighton in particular for her continuous support and guidance.”

Debra Leighton, Executive Dean for the Business School, said: “As a University, we are proud that Dr Khilji has been given this opportunity to work with the Pakistan government. It is not every day a member of your team is asked to take up a position in government, so huge credit must go to Dr Khilji for the difference he has made already to standards of education in Pakistan.

“We thank him for all his significant contribution to the University and wish him every success in the future.”