ULAB and University of Portsmouth Launch Landmark British Council-Funded Project to Strengthen Doctoral Training in Bangladesh
The University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth (UoP), United Kingdom, will officially launch the project "Cocreating Contributions to Knowledge: Applying Transnational Education (TNE) to Strengthen Doctoral Training Capacity in Bangladesh" on 6 August 2026 through an online workshop.
Funded by the British Council under its Going Global Partnerships programme, the initiative aims to strengthen doctoral education in Bangladesh by developing a high-quality, dual interdisciplinary doctoral degree in the Social Sciences jointly offered by ULAB and the University of Portsmouth.
Doctoral training in Bangladesh has traditionally been offered almost exclusively by public universities. With recent regulatory changes allowing private universities to introduce doctoral programmes, the project seeks to ensure that such programmes are carefully co-designed, internationally benchmarked, and supported by robust quality assurance mechanisms. Beyond establishing a joint doctoral programme, the project will document its development process to provide a model that other private universities in Bangladesh can adapt.
The online launch, scheduled from 2:30 PM to 4:15 PM (Bangladesh Standard Time), will feature welcome remarks from senior leaders of both universities, including Prof. Shamsad Mortuza, Vice Chancellor of ULAB, and Bobby Mehta, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement) of the University of Portsmouth. Participants will also hear project overviews from Dr. Jacqueline Priego, Associate Dean (Global Engagement) at the University of Portsmouth, and Prof. Jude William Genilo, Pro Vice Chancellor of ULAB. The programme will include remarks from project partners and conclude with a stakeholder workshop exploring the opportunities and challenges of implementing TNE doctoral programmes in Bangladesh.
ULAB invites academics, higher education leaders, policymakers, researchers, and other interested stakeholders to participate in this important milestone for higher education in Bangladesh. The launch represents a significant step toward expanding access to internationally collaborative doctoral education while enhancing research capacity, institutional partnerships, and academic excellence across the country's higher education sector.
