A W Khan
Abdul Waheed Khan was born in 1947 of Indian nationality, holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication (1973) and a Master’s degree in Agricultural Journalism (1970) from University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA), and a Master’s degree in Agricultural Extension (1965) from Agra University (India).
Khan is the author of a number of books and articles published in various academic journals, especially on development communication, distance education and multi-media technology applications.
Academic growth
With extensive international experience in designing, planning and managing communication and information technology applications in education, sciences, culture, agriculture and rural development, Khan has worked for several international organizations including the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, the Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) and the Asian Productivity Organization (APO).
1998 to 2000
From 1998 to 2000, Khan served as President and Chief Executive Officer (Vice-Chancellor) of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), one of the largest universities in the world with an enrollment exceeding 2 million students. At IGNOU, he was responsible for strategic planning, resource mobilization and management of a knowledge network, comprising a consortium of 72 universities. He was also Chairman of the Distance Education Council of India, which coordinates all open and distance learning programmes in India.
Prior to joining IGNOU, Khan worked at Commonwealth of Learning (COL) in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, firstly as Senior Programme Officer (1992-1995), then as Acting Head of the Communications and Information Technologies Division (1995-1996), as Principal Communications Specialist (1996-1998) and as Director of Training and Development (2000-2001).
From 1986 to 1992, Khan served as the Founding Director and Professor of the Communications Division of IGNOU in New Delhi, where he developed and managed one of the largest state-of-the-art electronic media centres in Asia. He also served as a Visiting Professor/Scientist (1990 1991) at the National Institute of Multimedia Education (NIME) in Chiba, Japan.
2000 to present
Currently a member of several Board of Directors, including that of Wawasan Open University (Malaysia), and Digital Opportunities Trust (DOT) (Canada), Khan has actively contributed to the boards of various national and international bodies including the ISS INFOTECH Ltd (India), IDS International (Thailand), WETV Foundation (Canada) and the United States Educational Foundation (USEFI) (India). He has served as Chairperson of the Distance Education Council of India, as Vice President of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) and as President of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). He is a member of numerous professional associations including the International Institute of Communications of the United Kingdom (IIC).
As Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Abdul Waheed Khan has lead UNESCO’s Communication and Information Sector since 2001. In this capacity, Dr. Khan is responsible for advancing global standard setting, establishing international, regional and national policies, and coordinating the implementation of concrete projects for harnessing the power of communication and information for development. He provides global leadership in the promotion of freedom of expression and press freedom, media independence and pluralism, as well as the development of communication and access to information and knowledge through media and ICTs.
Dr. Khan, who coordinated UNESCO’s contribution to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) (Geneva 2003 and Tunis 2005), represents UNESCO at major international events and fora in the field of information and communication, such as the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for ICT for Development (GAID) and the Executive Committee of Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP).
Awards
Khan is the recipient of several distinctions such as the Kempelen Medal of the Slovak Technical University (2009) Honorary Fellow of the Commonwealth of Learning (2008), the Dayawati Modi Award for Art, Culture and Education (2006), an Honorary Doctorate of Hamdard University, New Delhi, India (2005), the India Millennium Award for Education and World Peace (2000), the Super Brain of India Gold Award (2000) , the Distinguished Service Award of the Commonwealth of Learning (1998), and the Rajiv Gandhi National Integration Award (1998).