ISLAMABAD, FEB 20 (DNA) – Admission Directors of 10 US universities visited the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to discuss possibilities of institutional agreements for admission and placement of Pakistani scholars in the US universities under the US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor.

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Tariq Banuri, Chairman HEC, while Dr. Mahmood-ul-Hassan Butt, Consultant HEC, Mr. Tony Jones, Deputy Cultural Affairs Attache, US Embassy, Islamabad were also present on the occasion.

The meeting was held in collaboration with the US Embassy and the United States Education Foundation of Pakistan (USEFP).

Talking to the delegation, Dr. Banuri appreciated the support and cooperation of US universities in promoting higher education and research culture in Pakistan.

He said HEC looks forwards to further enhancing collaboration with the US universities. He underlined that HEC aims at increasing the number of PhD faculty members as only 25 per cent of university faculty members in the country hold PhD degrees.

He stressed the need for exploring ways to further strengthen bilateral academic relations and research linkages.

The collaboration between HEC and US institutions will help Pakistani students have a lifelong experience of networking besides academic achievements, he observed.

Dr. Butt highlighted the role of HEC in opening up a window of opportunities for Pakistani scholars to pursue PhD studies at ranked US universities.

He said the scholarships are awarded to non-PhD faculty as well students who have completed 18 years of formal education.

He said that the Government of Pakistan extends US $ 106000 per student, adding that HEC is putting efforts to seek tuition fee waivers for the scholars who qualify for the scholarships.

He said taht since the Fall 2017, HEC has been negotiating agreements with top US universities to achieve the targets of placement of 1500 Pakistani students in PhD programmes at ranked US universities under the US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor (Phase I).

He maintained that a meeting was held with Graduate Directors of US universities, USEFP and the US Embassy officials in this connection last year.

All these efforts have resulted in partnerships and formal agreements to support this initiative, he stated.

He appreciated the US Embassy and the USEFP for bringing the US universities representatives closer to HEC for discussion on potential partnerships and placement of Pakistani scholars in PhD programmes of different US universities.=DNA

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