By Adnan Rafique
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of the Republic of Turkiye to Pakistan, Mehmet Pacaci during a meeting with the officials of COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) on Thursday vowed to strengthen academic collaboration in research, faculty exchange and student mobility programmes. The meeting held at COMSATS University brought together senior management of CUI, Turkish alumni working at the university, and officials from the International Office.
The ambassador’s visit served as an opportunity to revive the association between CUI and the Embassy of Turkiye. Both countries share a deep cultural and religious bond and have collaborated in the past through exchange programs like Mevlana and Erasmus+. Prof. Dr. Sajid Qamar, Rector of CUI in his address said “We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with Turkish counterparts in research, faculty exchange, and student mobility programs.” Dr. Junaid Zaidi, Founder Rector of CUI: “We need to transform our excellent research into tangible products, and Turkish collaboration can be instrumental in achieving this goal.” During the meeting, Dr. Hammad Omer, Head of the International Office, gave a short presentation highlighting the CUI’s strengths, research output, and engagement with Türkiye.
He emphasized the need to developing concrete projects for collaboration in areas like research, faculty exchange, and student mobility, and come up with tangible outcomes beyond signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs). He also underlined that we need to explore potential for joint ventures in fields like commercialization of research, mathematics, computer science, and mountain research. Following the presentation, Mehmet Pacaci, Ambassador of Turkiye in his keynote address said “We need to move beyond signing MoUs and develop concrete projects that leverage the expertise and facilities on both sides.”
Both sides agreed to identify specific academics and projects for future collaborations with renewed commitment to strengthen educational ties between CUI and Turkish institutions. They also agreed to identify potential areas for collaboration in various academic disciplines. There was also an agreement to go for joint research projects and exchange programs in near future. The discussion ended up with formulation of establishing a working group to develop concrete action plan. This meeting signifies a significant step forward in the educational partnership between CUI and Turkiye.
Both institutions are committed to working together to create meaningful opportunities for students, faculty, and researchers, contributing to the advancement of knowledge and mutual understanding.
Lastly an action plan was established, including revisiting the possibility of Turkish language classes at CUI and identifying potential academic partners for collaborative projects.
