Islamabad:With an aim to explore the reasons behind the rise of a superpower and to implement them in their very own country, as many as 100 undergraduate students would travel to the United States of America (USA) on the Global Undergraduate Programme (UGRAD) scholarships.
The students will be departing for a semester of studies at various colleges and universities in the US. An initiative of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the US Department of State, the UGRAD programme in Pakistan is an extension of the successful global exchange programme established by the Congress in 1992 under the Freedom Support Act for students from Eurasia and Central Asia.
During the Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) organised by the USEFP on Thursday night, the students appeared enthusiastic to discover the new horizons in the field of science and technology. The most encouraging fact in the DPO was the huge participation of female students and that too from areas like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“I am not going there just for educational purpose but to learn their behaviour, culture and values. What made them the superpower,” said Noor Gandapur from Peshawar while talking to this scribe.
Noor, a student of IM Sciences in Peshawar, said that more than 20 students only from her university were going to the US under the UGRAD. “We have been encouraged by those students who have already been to the US under some cultural exchange programme. They told us that how their visit to the US has broaden their vision and enhanced their creativity,” she said.
Kiran Rajput, a talented student from Hyderabad, is all set to make her country proud with her achievements. “I am going to the US with an aim to learn the traits of the people of US so that I can bring changes in my personality accordingly and contribute to the progress of my country,” she said.
Wazir Akbar, a student from Khyber Agency, is keen to change the perception of people about Pakistan. “Usually people think that people living in Pakistan, especially tribal areas, are terrorists. I want them to know that we are as peaceful people as they are. They should not perceive what the media is showing,” he added.
The one-semester programme for undergraduates was launched in the fall of 2010 with its first cohort of approximately 50 participants. Since the programme began in 2010, 300 grantees have participated.
These scholarships are fully funded including travel, boarding, lodging, stipend, health insurance and the tuition fee for the entire period of study. All students are required to return to Pakistan to complete their bachelor’s degrees.
A total of 200 participants will be receiving grants under the Global Undergraduate Programme (UGRAD) in Pakistan 2011-2012 — 100 participants are going to the US for the Fall 2011 Semester, and another group of 100 will be going for Spring 2012 Semester.
A Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) was organised by the USEFP for the departing students on Thursday night in which the grantees were briefed by USEFP officials on the programme, visa regulations, American culture, US higher education and campus life and adjusting to life as a new student in the United States.
On the occasion, US Ambassador Cameron Munter said: “We are very fortunate to have so many talented Pakistani students attending American universities through the UGRAD programme.
This is an example of the US government’s long-term commitment to education in Pakistan and to increase mutual understanding between the two countries.”
He said that there were strains in the Pak-US relations, but with the passage of time things would be ironed out. “We truly believe that together we can bring changes in various sectors of Pakistan, including health and education,” he said.
USEFP Executive Director Rita Akhtar said that the real exciting thing about the undergraduate programme is that so many of these students come from remote or economically disadvantaged areas of Pakistan.
“The group contains 36 from Punjab, 28 from KP, 19 from Sindh, 6 from Fata, 6 from ICT, 3 from Balochistan, 3 from Gilgit-Baltistan and 1 from AJK. Of these, 45% are female. These students came from a wide variety of disciplines, including humanities and social science subjects, engineering, basic sciences, law, art and design, economics, and business administration,” she added.
The selected students will go to approximately 45 different schools all over the US, including Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington State. In addition to 100 Global UGRAD grantees, six students selected for the Near East South Asia (NESA) Student Exchange Programme also participated in the PDO. Directly managed by the US Embassy in Pakistan, NESA sponsors a year of fully-funded undergraduate study in the US.The news.
No comments:
Post a Comment