University of Management and Technology organized South Asian Colloquium on Doctoral Programs (SACDOC 2016) on Tuesday 16th February, 2016 from 9:00am to 6:00pm. UMT took the opportunity to introduce the purpose and benefits of this colloquium held at Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore specifically for the faculty members, supervisors, and directors of doctoral programs in business schools operating across South Asian region. SACDOC 2016 aimed at bringing about approximately 100 senior academicians from across South Asian region especially the SAARC countries, e.g. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. This colloquium was not only helpful in sharing the knowledge pertinent to operationalizing doctoral programs in business schools but was also an initiating anecdote for imparting indigenous thought in improving the quality of higher education in South Asian region.
SACDOC 2016 had been conceptualized on the realist grounds which highlighted the hurdles in the way of improving the quality of higher education. The quality of education and research in business schools critically depends upon the quality and quantity of faculty. A survey of business schools in South Asia reveals serious deficiency in qualified faculty in most of the business schools. Most of the business schools in private sector in South Asia have been established in 1990s and later. The initial focus on institutional development, program development, and engagement with industry did not allowed resources and attention to be focused upon the challenging task of capacity building for developing quality doctoral programs. The graduates of business schools who possessed the required intellectual and academic interest are easily lured by lucrative jobs and never turn back to academia. As a result the majority of the teachers responsible for teaching courses in BBA and MBA programs have only masters degrees.
Objective of SACDOC 2016
- To set an agenda for incorporating indigenous thought in improvement of higher education culture in South Asian region
- To establish a knowledge sharing platform for collaborative learning, therefore, channeling the strategy of improvement in higher education institutions through holistic approach
- To set a pace towards bridging the gap between 1st world and 3rd world economies through collaborative learning and knowledge sharing.