Having participated in recent meetings of the Advanced Studies and Research Board (ASRB) and the Academic Council at the University of Karachi, I have observed firsthand the structural challenges that our universities are facing.

These platforms, tasked with shaping academic direction and ensuring the integrity of postgraduate education, are increasingly preoccupied with an alarming trend: the erosion of qualified faculty due to retirement and the growing threat this poses to MPhil and PhD programmes.

Several departments are on the verge of academic stagnation — not because of a lack of students or ideas, but because of outdated policies that fail to recognize and adapt to evolving needs.

During my own journey through higher education — including the time I spent in Sweden as a postgraduate scholar, where I also had the opportunity to teach at the university level, I witnessed how modern academic systems function. European institutions thrive not just because of their research output but because of their inclusive and flexible approach to........

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