Islamabad, 18 February 2022 (TDI): On February 17, an online meeting was held between the Rectors of the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan Mr. Javed Mahmood Bukhari, and Belarusian State University (BSU), Belarus Mr. Andrei Karol to discuss the possibilities for bilateral collaboration between the two universities.
The Deputy Head of Pakistan Embassy in Belarus Muhammad Abdullah Amin also attended and he also participated along with the senior management of both universities participated.
During the meeting, both sides identified the potential areas for further cooperation. Furthermore, both representatives expressed their readiness to work towards building up synergies in education and research.
They arranged the online interaction in the follow-up of the earlier meeting between the Ambassador and the Rector of BSU. Moreover, that meeting took place on 24 January 2022.
MEETING BETWEEN THE AMBASSADOR AND THE BSU RECTOR
Ambassador Sajjad Haider Khan visited the Belarusian State University and held a meeting with their Rector Mr. Andrei Karol. That meeting was on 19 January, where the Ambassador made a tour of the University campus before his meeting with the Rector.
There were other participants in the meeting, where they discussed the development of cooperation in higher education between the two countries. Khan emphasized the need of generating more opportunities by adding programs within the signed MOUs.
During the meeting; they mentioned that the BSU already has MOUs with the COMSATS University, Foreign Service Academy, University of Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam University. They also remarked that the BSU has MOUs under consideration with other Universities.
PAKISTAN-BELARUS RELATIONS
The Embassy of Pakistan in Belarus indicated that both countries currently have a total of 77 signed Agreements/MOUs. Those agreements covered several areas like commerce, trade, education, culture, and others.
The Embassy also mentioned that both countries have close cooperation on education and culture as mentioned above. Besides this kind of meeting, we can see the strong cooperation between Pakistan and Belarus through the exchange.
BACKGROUND OF THE NUST
National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) started its operations in March 1991. The objective of the NUST was and is to promote higher education in the country, especially in the fields of science and technology.
Furthermore, the NUST pretended to do that by providing a stable and disciplined academic environment together with need-based research pertinent to industrial requirements. NUST then received its charter in 1993.
Currently, NUST produces highly skilled professionals and researchers, who are capable of developing indigenous technologies to meet the growing demands of the 21st century. NUST challenges conventional practices and creates new ways of developing and delivering courses, regarding emerging and cutting-edge disciplines.
NUST is one of the many universities that have international agreements with other universities in different countries. Moreover, the University remarked that those agreements are to ensure a two-way flow of knowledge and be in step with modern trends.
Right now NUST has 7 campuses in 5 cities, 20 constituent schools, colleges, and centers. Furthermore, the University offers courses based on 7 disciplines, like engineering, technology, and natural sciences.
Other interesting facts are that around 21,000 students have studied and are currently studying in one of their campuses, and out of them, 30% of the students are women. NUST has 64,000 alumni in 64 countries working in their fields.
BACKGROUND OF THE BSU
Belarusian State University was opened on October 30, 1921; and named the historian and Slavist Vladimir Picheta as the first rector. The first lecture for the students came on October 31, 1921.
Furthermore, after that, the University began to give regular classes at its three faculties, which are medicine, social sciences, and workers. For a brief time; the BSU was near Moscow but after the military operations of the Great Patriotic War, it went back to Minsk.
