Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) awarded the 2023 ICDE Prize of Excellence to the Virtual University of Pakistan during the 29th ICDE World Conference 2023 held in Costa Rica, Central America. The award was presented by the Secretary-General and President of ICDE.
This Excellence Prize for 2023 was unanimously decided by an international committee of experts in recognition of the Virtual University’s extensive contribution in the field of open, flexible, and distance learning. ICDE, an international organization based in the Netherlands, has a membership body of more than 200 institutions from around the globe.
The Rector of Virtual University of Pakistan, Prof. Dr. Arshad Saleem, received this award during the conference held at the National Convention Center of Costa Rica, hosted by UNED-San José, Costa Rica. During his remarks, he dedicated this award to the founding Rector, Dr. Naveed A. Malik, and the VU family. The conference was attended by delegates from over 50 countries worldwide. He mentioned that the Excellence Prize for VU adds more responsibility to deliver quality education.
Dr. Saleem informed the participants that the establishment of VU was a futuristic idea in 2002 and has played a key role in educating and imparting skills to the youth of Pakistan. He also added that VU is not hesitant to harness the strength of generative AI to offer knowledge and skills to its students. 4
Finally, he expressed gratitude to the Ministry of IT&Telecom and HEC for their unconditional support.
