University of the Punjab and Sustainadility Launch HEC Compliant Managed Remote Internship Pilot
The Faculty of Commerce, University of the Punjab (PU), has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sustainadility LLC to pilot a fully managed remote internship model for its students. The MoU was signed by Prof. Dr. Hafiz Zafar Ahmad, Dean, Faculty of Commerce, University of the Punjab, and Sajjeed Aslam, Partner, Sustainadility LLC.
The collaboration responds to a set of reforms by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) that have reshaped what an undergraduate degree in Pakistan requires. HEC’s Undergraduate Education Policy 2023 first made a minimum of three credit hours of supervised internship mandatory for undergraduate degree programs, with flexibility for both on-site and remote/virtual formats. In September 2025, HEC reinforced that internship requirement and additionally made industry-relevant certifications a mandatory component of undergraduate degrees, in priority sectors including computing/IT, healthcare, construction, and finance.
That shift matters most for students outside Pakistan’s largest cities. A commerce student in Jhelum or Gujranwala has historically had a smaller pool of internship opportunities than a peer in Lahore or Karachi, not for lack of ability, but for lack of address. By formally permitting remote placements, HEC turned a compliance requirement into an instrument of opportunity.
Prof. Dr. Hafiz Zafar Ahmad, Dean, Faculty of Commerce, University of the Punjab, commented: “HEC has given Pakistani universities a clear and welcome instruction: that our graduates must leave us with experience, not only with degrees. Our responsibility is to meet it with substance rather than paperwork. This pilot lets us extend supervised industry exposure to students across all four participating campuses, while the faculty retains complete authority over supervision, assessment, and credit.”
This program is the brainchild of Dr. Shahid Mahmud, Honorary Senior Advisor, COMSTECH – OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, Chairman and CEO, Interactive Group of Companies, Senior Advisor, DEC40 (Digital Economy Cities 40. Dr. Mahmud has long argued that credible, genuine talent development is central to mobilizing both domestic and foreign direct investment in Pakistan. He believes that by taking an integrated approach across Pakistan’s current regulatory regimes, HEC’s requirements for internships, SECP’s ESG disclosure framework, and the State Bank of Pakistan’s green financing and green taxonomy directives, the country can deliver real value to the next generation of talent, to universities, to employers, and to investors alike. As he puts it: with the right intent, the right team, and the right partnerships, mountains can be moved.
Pakistan’s sustainability and disclosure landscape is also shifting. SECP’s ESG Disclosure are mandated for listed companies since financial year ending 2026, partnerships in such programme further strength their inclusion, women empowerment, community development and implementation of ESG mandates backed by audit-ready data.
Under the pilot, Sustainadility working with employer across Pakistan and the Middle East, converts live business requirements into structured internship roles and competency maps, and provides ARC, its digital platform for students, supervisors, and administrators, while the University retains full authority over academic supervision, assessment, and credit. Placements run year-round, typically 8 to 16 weeks, delivered remotely or on a hybrid basis, across Hailey College of Commerce, Hailey College of Banking & Finance, and the Departments of Commerce at the University’s Gujranwala and Jhelum campuses.
The University retains sole authority over its curriculum, Program Learning Outcomes (PLO) and Course Learning Outcomes (CLO) mapping, assessment, and the award of credit. Supervision is joint: an academic supervisor nominated by the faculty and a site supervisor from the host organization both retain visibility over the student’s work. Weekly logs, deliverables, and supervisor reviews are generated on the platform, producing a verified record that supports HEC reporting and accreditation. Transparency and academic control, in this design, are not constraints on opportunity, they are what make it credible.
Sajjeed Aslam, Partner, Sustainadility LLC, commented: “The constraint in Pakistan has never been talent, and after HEC’s reforms it is no longer policy either, it is infrastructure. Someone must do the sourcing, the matching, the supervision records, and the reporting, and that is the work we have taken, and the academic judgment stays exactly where it belongs.”
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