Seen at the accord signing, from left, Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, Director of Promotion Activities; Dr. Hameed Ahmed Khan, Executive Director of COMSATS; Prof. Jean-Louis Armand, AIT President and Prof. Mario T. Tabucanon, Provost
AIT, COMSATS sign accord
On 17 December 2005, an accord was signed to establish the cooperation between AIT and the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS).
The MoU was signed by Prof. Jean-Louis Armand, President and Dr. Hameed Ahmed Khan, Executive Director of COMSATS. Dr. Khan was a former Chief Scientist at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).
After the signing, Dr. Khan handed over some books he had published to the President for compilation at the AIT Library. He also conveyed his gratitude and appreciation to AIT's cooperation with COMSATS. The President also expressed his gratitude to Dr. Khan for his visit to AIT and reiterated that AIT is pleased to partner with COMSATS to further strengthen the ongoing cooperation between Pakistan and AIT in the future.
Valid for five years, the accord is established to provide collaborative cooperation through international workshops, seminars and symposia to be organized jointly by COMSATS and AIT focusing on science and technology development in the region and the world; faculty exchange programs between AIT and COMSATS' 21 member countries; Jointly COMSATS and AIT will approach international donor partners for support in conducting research projects and other activities focusing on Science and Technology programs in the COMSATS' 21 member countries; and provision of master's scholarships to qualified students from the COMSATS' 21 member countries for graduate studies in various fields of study through the academic program at AIT.
Established in 1994, COMSATS' mission is to bring about sustainable socioeconomic development in the South, through building indigenous capacities in, and making judicious use of, science and technology-applications, by instituting South-South and North-South collaboration and exchange. Its role as an Inter-governmental Organization of 21 Member States in the field of Science and Technology is well recognized globally. COMSATS has also established a Network of 14 Science and Technology Centers of Excellence, spread throughout the world.