FCDO Team Visits ³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ
A meeting took place between ³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) this week at ³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ. Mr. Alex Ballinger, UK Representative to Punjab, and Ms. Amna Khan, Punjab Development Representative and ³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ alumnus, met with Dr. Arshad Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, Mr. Shahid Hussain, Rector, Mr. Osman Khalid Waheed, Member, Management Committee, Dr. Ali Cheema, Director, Mahbub Ul Haq Research Centre and Ms. Nuzhat Kamran, Director, Advancement.
The partnership between FCDO (formerly DFID) and ³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ started in 2013 with the ‘Empowerment through Education’ Initiative. It constituted a 5-year grant allocated towards providing scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds inducted in the ³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ degree programmes.
Ms. Kamran opened the discussion and gave guests an overview of ³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ – the new directions, achievements, and future plans. The National Outreach Programme (NOP) and other financial aid initiatives were also a part of the discussion during which Mr. Hussain told guests that almost 10 per cent of the students currently enrolled at ³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ have been inducted through the NOP stream and the University continues to work on capacity building and coaching of these students.
Dr. Ahmad spoke about the Schools, Centres and the various research projects being undertaken by faculty across the University that are geared towards addressing local and regional issues. He also emphasized the transformative experience of the National Outreach Programme for over 1,200 scholars who have availed this prestigious scholarship.
Mr. Ballinger commended the growth and impact of the National Outreach Programme. Both parties discussed avenues for stronger partnerships in the days to come.
