The News Education Expo begins

LAHORE: Attracting hundreds of students, parents and people from different walks of life ‘The News Education Expo 23’ began at Expo Centre, Johar Town here on Saturday.

Caretaker Minister for Livestock & Dairy Development Punjab Ibrahim Hasan Murad inaugurated the expo as a special guest while Jang Group’s Associate Director Advertising Sales Irfan Ashraf, Manager Marketing Supplements Zahid Azeem, Amjad Ali, Atif Mahmood, Sibtain Raza and others were also present.

The minister visited the stalls at The News Expo and interacted with the representatives of the participating organisations. More than 57 national and international universities, higher education institutions (HEIs), consultancy firms and national and international organisations have set up their stalls.

Talking to the media representatives, Ibrahim Hasan Murad said development of the country and the nation was impossible without the promotion of higher education.

He talked about the government's efforts to promote education. He said the aim of this education expo was to provide all educational related opportunities to our youth under one roof. He appreciated the participating organisations.

In line with its traditions of providing free and on-spot information related to admissions, academic programmes, fee structures, scholarships, career counseling, foreign qualifications, the two-day event, with absolutely free entry for students, their parents and other stakeholders, is being organised by the country’s largest media group–the Jang Media Group.

A number of leading national and international organizations are part of this year’s education expo with an aim to provide an opportunity to prospective students and their parents to directly interact with the representatives of these organisations and explore available options and wide range of opportunities vis-à-vis academic programmes, scholarships and career counseling under one roof.

Talking to The News a number of visiting students and their parents appreciated the Jang Media Group’s initiative saying that the expo provided an excellent opportunity to directly interact with representatives of the universities and HEIs and get free information.

Maham, a student, said The News Education Expo proved to be an excellent event for her as she was able to compare different academic programmes and their fee structures and especially it was great to learn about scholarship opportunities being offered by many participating universities.

Another student, Raheel, said the expo saved a lot of his time as he did not need to visit each campus and get admission related information. “You cannot get answers to all your questions on the phone or by just visiting the website of an institution,” he said while explaining how wonderful his experience had been at the expo to interact one-on-one with representatives of universities.

Rao Mudasir, Marketing Manager from Brainys, said that his organisation was a prominent education consultancy company in Pakistan with a focus on promoting educational prospects in Kazakhstan through a joint venture between the two governments. He said Kazakhstan was an ideal opportunity for Pakistani students seeking Medical, Engineering, Finance, IT and Humanities degrees not just in terms of finances but also in terms of quality education with recognised degrees.

He also termed The News Expo a great experience. Dr Muhammad Imran, Head of Business Administration Department at Pak-AIMS, said his institution was a pioneer in business management in the country and offered accredited degree programmes in Management Sciences and Computer Sciences.

Zeeshan Ahmed Qureshi from Green International University said as a Punjab government chartered university, Green International was offering several undergraduate programmes with different kinds of scholarships including need based and merit scholarships for students.

Usman Ghauri, Registrar at the Hajvery University, said that for the last two decades the Hajvery University had been offering quality education in the fields of computer sciences, fashion design, textile design and many more fields with several scholarship opportunities for the students.

He talked about his universities international linkages particularly as Erasmus Mundus partner from Pakistan.

It is pertinent to mention here that prominent among the participating organizations at The News Education Expo’ 23 are the University of Lahore, Superior University, British Council, University of Management and Technology (UMT), Hajvery University, Forman Christian College (A Chartered University), Virtual University, Lahore Leads University, Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pak-AIMS, Nur International University, Imperial College of Business Studies, TMUC, Roots IVY, PNY Trainings, PAC, Green International University, Brainys, Muslim Youth University, Informatics Group of Colleges, Beaconhouse National University (BNU), Qarshi University, Information Technology University, Unique Group of Institutions, Sharif Trust, Lahore Garrison University, Riphah International University, Ireland Education Office, Markcon, Ignition Pro, Apex, EducationLinks, Horizon International, AEO Pakistan, Edify, 5B Books, EducationLinks, Columbia School, Edulytic, Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Study ICON and Universal Study Advisors and many more. The expo will continue on Sunday (today).