UMA‑E‑RUBAB ASIF
Senior Higher Education Strategy & Policy Professional
Islamabad,IS
Summary
Senior strategy and policy professional with 15+ years of experience in higher education institutional development, governance, and advancement strategy, including fundraising, philanthropy, and revenue diversification frameworks within a large public-sector university. Currently based in the Office of the Rector at National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), contributing to university-wide strategy, policy frameworks, institutional growth, and alternate revenue streams, including income diversification through executive coordination and decision support.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
Deputy Director Strategic Business Development
NUST
01.2025 - Current
- Designed and coordinated a centralized institutional revenue framework by consolidating inputs from multiple academic and administrative units, enabling Rector-level visibility and informed strategic decision-making on financial sustainability and growth.
- Developed and presented a university-wide income diversification roadmap, aligned with institutional priorities and outlining new revenue models, strategic partnerships, and sustainable growth pathways for executive consideration.
- Contributed at Rectorate level to the formulation and operationalization of institution-wide policies and procedures governing business development activities, strengthening transparency, efficiency, and compliance across academic and administrative units.
- Led Rector-level strategic partnerships and coordinated operational collaborations across the university, ensuring alignment between external engagements and institutional financial and strategic objectives.
- Worked across multiple national-level initiatives engaging governments, donors, and strategic partners, ensuring alignment between institutional strategy, public policy objectives, and stakeholder expectations.
Chief Information Resource Officer
NUST
01.2024 - 01.2025
- Headed the university-wide digital resources and learning spaces ecosystem, overseeing licensed research databases, digital collections, and research training programs supporting students and faculty, with annual footfall exceeding 0.6 million users across NUST libraries and learning spaces.
- Founded Pakistan’s first university archive and led the strategic evolution of the library into a modern learning and engagement ecosystem through national and international partnerships, including serving as lead focal person with the United States Embassy Islamabad for the Lincoln Corner initiative.
General Manager Alumni & External Relations
NUST
01.2021 - 01.2024
- As the team lead of a group of three, I spearheaded the establishment of the Department of Alumni Engagement at NUST. My primary responsibility was to centrally engage graduates from 20 schools within NUST with the university’s strategic vision and mission. In this central role, I effectively tracked and engaged globally placed alumni from various programs, fostering a strategic network of NUSTIANS spread across 70 countries, and poised to contribute significantly to the institution's long-term objectives. Following the successful implementation, the alumni unit underwent an upgrade in 2015 to form a comprehensive NUST Advancement Ecosystem. Taking on additional responsibilities, assumed the role of Stakeholder Management & External Relations, ensuring alignment of alumni connectivity with both financial and non-financial contributions.
- Key Achievements:
- Established alumni office scratch and expanded the engagement from a few alumni in 2012, to a current global footprint of 50,000+ graduates in 70 countries.
- Automated alumni connectivity nodes through the development of the NUST Alumni web portal, a customized relationship and database management system to capture data and drive insights and analytics, serving as an alumni engagement tool and enhance global connectivity. As team lead I supervised complete automation process and change management steps.
- Resolved conflict and reduced complaints of alumni through launching a dedicated one-window service for alumni from across the globe in different time zones, resulting in reduced lead time of service processes.
- Strategized connectivity with alumni through 8 international and 4 national chapters, creating a network of NUSTIANS with diverse cultural and international backgrounds and expertise.
- Created collaborative avenues for alumni to give back in tangible and non-tangible terms, and ensured alumni participation in all major initiatives at NUST, including curriculum review, innovation talks, corporate training etc.
- Leveraged alumni relations for institutional benefit creating multiple B2B engagements that generated high-profit industry-academia linkages over the years.
- Played an instrumental part in the team that conceived the advancement ecosystem creating all legal, financial, and operational policies in line with international best practices.
- Carried out extensive market research and reached out to corporates, donors and philanthropists for partnerships and fundraising.
- Supervised and managed the administrative, financial and operational management of the Advancement Office units in addition to my own job role
- Managed the registration of NUST Trust Fund international fundraising channels, including USA, UK & France.
- Orchestrated the Legal registration of boards including NUST Alumni Association as a Society, and NUST Trust Fund as a 501 c 3 in USA.
- Enhanced student scholarship program, where beyond ensuring alumni participation, I played an instrumental role in designing strategies for minor and major gifts with my team. This included the complete cycle from product conception to donor stewardship.
- Managed key national & international corporate accounts in my capacity as external relations for pledge recovery and donor stewardship.
- Represented NUST as a member of top delegations in the USA, KSA & France and played an instrumental role in placing it in the international landscape including OPEN Silicon Valley, and Cisco Global Summit Paris.
- Led the collaboration that resulted in the development of NUST’s first micro-credentials program in partnership with Cisco NetAcademy.
- Developed international academic collaborations for faculty mobility, joint research projects, and student exchange.
- Panelist at multiple coveted forums to speak on career management, philanthropy, impact and the power of networks.
Manager Alumni & External Relations
NUST
01.2013 - 01.2021
Assistant Manager Alumni
NUST
01.2012 - 01.2013
Faculty of Management Sciences – NUST
01.2011 - 01.2012
- Taught 16 credit hours to 300 students across various NUST Schools.
- The subjects included Entrepreneurship, Financial Management and Principles of Marketing.
Trainer & Career Counselor
The City School
08.2010 - 01.2011
Education
PhD Scholar - Climate Change & Sustainable Development
NUST
02.2026
Professional Diploma - Project Management
NUST
01.2022
MBA - Finance & Investment
NUST
01.2009
BBA (Hons) - Finance
NUST
01.2008
Skills
- Institutional Strategy & Policy Design
- Advancement & Fundraising
- Revenue Diversification
- Higher Education Governance
- Strategic Partnerships
Websites
Timeline
Deputy Director Strategic Business Development
NUST
01.2025 - Current
Chief Information Resource Officer
NUST
01.2024 - 01.2025
General Manager Alumni & External Relations
NUST
01.2021 - 01.2024
Manager Alumni & External Relations
NUST
01.2013 - 01.2021
Assistant Manager Alumni
NUST
01.2012 - 01.2013
Faculty of Management Sciences – NUST
01.2011 - 01.2012
Trainer & Career Counselor
The City School
08.2010 - 01.2011
Professional Diploma - Project Management
NUST
MBA - Finance & Investment
NUST
BBA (Hons) - Finance
NUST
PhD Scholar - Climate Change & Sustainable Development
NUST
Trainings
· USAID-Higher Education Student Support Activities - June 2023 & July 2022
· Leadership & Management Skills for Professionals at Akhtar Hameed Khan National Centre for Rural Development - December 2021
· Market Research at Professional Development Centre, NUST - December 2019
· Winning Strategies of Leadership & Management at Higher Education Commission - April 2019
· Project Management at Professional Development Centre, NUST - October 2019
· Methods for Monitoring & Evaluation at Pakistan Project Management Institute, PPMI - April 2017