Dr Anjum Halai

Professor Anjum Halai's appointment as Vice Provost (Asia and UK) became effective in November 2018. She has longstanding experience of working in the higher education sector in Pakistan and internationally. She has demonstrated strong leadership in building higher education institutions through establishing policy and governance system, academic budget development, academic space management, steering new academic initiatives, senior academic recruitment, government liaison, relationship building with international and national stakeholder in higher education. 

Working with deans and other academic leaders she is responsible to develop strategies to achieve the academic plans and programmes within her geographic domain.  She is leads and coordinates collaborations with the Aga Khan Development Network agencies to achieve institutional goals. 

As Founding Dean Faculty of Arts and Sciences (2018-2022), Professor Halai led the development of academic programmes, financial plans and space plans for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Pakistan.

Professor Halai chairs the University Appointments and Promotions Committee that provides strategic oversight to the development of policies and procedures for academic appointments and promotions across the University.

Professor Halai has a well-established academic profile, with experience of teaching at graduate and postgraduate levels, a strong track record of research grant income, scholarly papers published in reputable forums and several books to her credit. Her research interests are in social justice issues in education, higher education development in LMIC contexts, and teacher education especially in mathematics.

She was recently elected as a Fellow of the prestigious World Academy of Arts and Sciences https://worldacademy.org. On the basis of her significant contribution to the field of mathematics education in low-income-countries, she has been elected as the Vice President (2021-24) in the globally influential Executive Committee of the International Commission of Mathematical Instruction https://www.mathunion.org/icmi/icmi-executive-committee-2021-2024.

Anjum Halai has led large international research projects including: the EdQual project with Bristol University UK; the ESRC/UNICEF sponsored 'Education and Social Cohesion in Pakistan' with Sussex University UK; and the Canadian SSHRC sponsored project in mathematics education with University of Alberta Canada (SSHRC Award 890-210-0027). With Oxford University UK, she led in Tanzania the prestigious ESRC/DFID funded 'Assessment for Learning in Africa' (Grant Ref: ES/N010515/1).

She studied applied and pure mathematics in her undergraduate programme. She received her M.Ed., (Education) from the Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development Pakistan, and D.Phil (doctorate) in Education from Oxford University UK.

Dr Halai joined the Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development Pakistan in June 1998. She has served in positions of senior leadership at the Institute for Educational Development-East Africa in Tanzania (Sep 2009- Oct 2016) and subsequently as Associate Vice Provost (Research and Graduate Studies).