PESHAWAR: Social activist, policy expert and management consultant Muhammad Usman has successfully completed his PhD in Management Sciences after defending his thesis at Qurtuba University of Science and Information Technology, Peshawar Campus.

The public defense was held on Thursday, June 18, 2026. His thesis was titled “Association of Youth Employability and Training Needs Assessment with Digital Skills Training: A Case Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”

The research focused on the role of Training Needs Assessment in digital skills training programmes and its link with youth employability in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Professor Dr. Muhammad Naveed, Dean Faculty of Management Sciences at City University of Science and Information Technology, Peshawar, supervised the thesis. Dr. Ihtesham Khan, Associate Professor at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, served as external examiner.

Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister for Science and Information Technology and Higher Education Kamran Khan Bangash attended the defense, along with Professor Dr. Atta-Ur-Rehman, Joint Director at the Institute of Management Sciences Peshawar; Dr. Muhammad Abrar, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Criminology, University of Peshawar; and several PhD scholars, including Muhammad Yaqoob, Adnan Khan and Abdul Wadood.

During the defense, Muhammad Usman presented the background, scope and findings of his research and responded to questions from the examiners and audience. The examiners appreciated the research topic and methodology.

Deputy Controller of Examinations at Qurtuba University Peshawar, Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman, also appreciated the scholar’s work and said participation in public academic defenses was important for research culture and scholarly engagement.

Following the successful defense, the examiners announced that Muhammad Usman had qualified for the award of a PhD degree.

Muhammad Usman has previously contributed to youth policy development in Pakistan. He played a key role in drafting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s first youth policy in 2016 and Balochistan’s youth policy in 2024. He also served as a principal contributor to the National Youth Development Framework in 2018-19.

He is currently serving as Chief Executive Officer of Liaison Corporation, a management consultancy firm focusing on youth socioeconomic development, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

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