Mission Promotes AIT in Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore, Pakistan
An AIT delegation led by Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, Director of Promotions Activities and Ms. Naina Shakya, Program Officer, Office of the President visited Pakistan. The delegation held meetings from July 16 to 24, 2004 with heads of various institutes in the cities of Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore.
In Peshawar, the delegation held meetings with AIT alumni Syed Imtiaz H. Gilani and Mr. M. Sarwar Khan, Vice Chancellor and Director Finance & Planning respectively and faculty members of the North-West Frontier Province University of Engineering & Technology (UET) Peshawar. In an earlier visit made by Mr. Jayasinghe to UET Peshawar on March 2004, a draft MoU between UET Peshawar and AIT was presented.
Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe (third from left) hands a token of appreciation to AIT alumni Syed Imtiaz H. Gilani (second from right), Vice Chancellor of the North-West Frontier Province University of Engineering & Technology (UET) Peshawar.
The MoU underlines a new cooperative program for the duration of five years between UET Peshawar & AIT for two non-resident Ph.D. and three full-time Doctoral programs to be sent to AIT every year beginning August 2004. Mr. Gilani and Mr. Khan will visit AIT for the signing ceremony of the MoU on 27 September 2004. Certificates of Admission was presented to two faculty members under the UET/AIT cooperation program for two Non-Resident Doctoral Program to join in August 2004 intake.
Several meetings were held with key persons in the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan in Islamabad. A meeting was first held with Mr. M. Jalil Ahmed, Director General, Strategic Vision & Quality Assurance, HEC.
Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe hands a token of appreciation to Mr. M. Jalil Ahmed (right).
AIT has an existing agreement with Strategic Vision & Quality Assurance, HEC which will end in August 2004. Under Phase I, a total of 20 Masters and 10 PhD students would be sent to AIT. In the August 2004 semester, 11 Masters and three Ph.D. students were received. The remaining five Ph.D. candidates will be filled in January 2005 as nine Masters and two Ph.D. students are already enrolled.
Phase II, the agenda of the meeting, focused January 2005 as the start for Masters Degree Program (35 students), and Ph.D. Program (10 students) in all Schools for a period of three years. Short-term training on PC Administration and LAN (Local Area Network) Management for 40 government officials/employees and long-term training programs on Specific Instrument Facilities for 20 government employed technicians in AIT Extension is targeted for October 2004.
Another meeting was held at the Curriculum and Training of HEC with Prof. Altaf Ali G. Shaikh, Adviser. A new cooperative program was discussed and an MoU between HEC and AIT for more candidates for Masters Degree Program in AIT was proposed. Prof. Shaikh proposed the period of the MoU to be six years for 40 qualified candidates to be sent to AIT to pursue their Masters Degree in various fields of study each year starting January 2005.
Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe hands a token of appreciation to Dr. S. Sohail Naqvi (left).
The final meeting with HEC was held with Dr. S. Sohail H. Naqvi, Executive Director, Member HRD & Strategic Planning. Dr. Naqvi informed AIT that HEC monitors and evaluates all educational institutes in Pakistan and identifies those institutes that need upgrading of faculty members, curriculum development and other capacity building requirements. Once identified, HEC then links an international institute to the identified national institute and provides funds to cater to its specific needs. Dr. Naqvi noted that AIT is one such international institute highly recommended by HEC.
Also in Islamabad, a meeting was held at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) where the delegates met Prof. Mukhtar Ahmed, Rector, CIIT & Chairman, Department of Management Sciences; Dr. Arshad S. Malik, Registrar; Mr. Shahid Iqbal, Deputy Registrar; Prof. A. Faiz M. Ishaq, Dean/Faculty of Information Sciences & Technology; Mr. S. Ahmed Javed Jafri, Treasurer and AIT alumni Mr. Tahir Naeem, Senior Project Manager.
At CIIT, Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe (second from right), Director of Promotions Activities and Ms. Naina Shakya (third from right) were welcomed by Prof. Mukhtar Ahmed (right), Rector, CIIT and Chairman, Department of Management Sciences; AIT alumni Mr. Tahir Naeem (left), Senior Project Manager; Dr. Arshad S. Malik, Mr. Shahid Iqbal, Prof. A. Faiz M. Ishaq, and Mr. S. Ahmed Javed Jafri.
AIT was highly recommended to CIIT for partnership by HE Prof. Atta-ur Rahman, HEC Chairman and Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Pakistan. HE Prof. Atta-ur Rahman was at AIT as guest speaker of the 99th Graduation in December 2003. The possibility of having an MoU to iterate a cooperative program was discussed. The new cooperative program proposed by CIIT focuses on AIT Doctoral Degree Program for 30 full-time faculty members from CIIT to be sent to AIT every year for three years beginning January 2005.
Prof. Muktar and Mr. Tahir will visit AIT in October 2004 to sign the MoU and also to discuss with the President, Provost and Deans about other possibilities of partnership with AIT, one area of which is curriculum development.
During the delegation's visit to Lahore they went to Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore and met with Prof. Syed Zahoor Hassan, Vice Chancellor and Mr. Mohammed Ali Khan, General Manager, Student & Alumni Affairs.
At LUMS, Prof. Syed Zahoor Hassan (second from left), Vice Chancellor and
Mr. Mohammed Ali Khan (second from right), General Manager, Student & Alumni Affairs, LUMS were joined by Ms. Maina Shakya (left) and Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe (right).
LUMS showed enthusiasm in faculty and students exchange programs with AIT noting of Prof. Hassan's earlier visit to AIT on 20 July 2004. During his visit, he met with the President, Provost and Dean of SOM to discuss on MoU and other possibilities of cooperative programs with AIT. Prof. Hassan also met Prof. Huynh Ngoc Phien, Dean, SAT at SAT
Also in Lahore, a meeting was held with Prof. Bushra Mateen, Vice Chancellor of Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) and faculty members. LCWU is a national institute identified by HEC and recommended AIT to help in the capacity building initiatives. Prof. Mateen expressed that LCWU is in a great need for curriculum development in various fields, faculty upgrading programs and special focus on training faculty in Electrical Engineering. LCWU proposed to send their faculty for the Doctoral Degree Program in AIT.
Ms. Naina Shakya is joined by LCWU top officials Prof. Dr. Farhat Saleemi (left), Director, Institute of Electronics and Information Technology and Prof. Bushra Mateen (right), Vice Chancellor