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Friday March 29, 2024

Three-day conference ends at NUML

By our correspondents
May 26, 2016

Islamabad

A three-day University of North Texas-NUML Partnership Culminating Conference marking the end of a collaboration in English Studies was held from May 23 to 25 concluded at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), says a press release.

A number of sessions were held on various issues addressed mainly by the visiting scholars from the University of North Texas, USA. The inaugural session was presided over by NUML Director General Brigadier Riaz Ahmed Gondal, Registrar and Project Co-Director Brigadier Aminullah Khan, Faculty of English Studies (FES) Dean Professor Dr. Safeer Awan and the partnership's UNT Project Director Professor Dr. Masood Ashraf Raja.

The NUML DG highlighted the importance of research and spelled out the university's research policy which included incentives in terms of selections for higher service grades and monetary benefits for faculty involved in research. The DG reiterated that it was the research done at universities that guided a country's different policies.

The FES dean thanked the UNT on behalf of NUML and hoped that more such fruitful partnerships would follow. He noted with satisfaction that 58 NUML MPhil-PhD research scholars visited the University of North Texas, America, whereas around 700 were trained during in-house sessions conducted at NUML main campus and 7 regional campuses.

The session's concluding remarks were given by Project Director Professor Dr. Masood Ashraf Raja. He made an impassionate plea for a humanistic view of the issues that Pakistan confronted. He was happy to point out that this partnership was able to break certain stereotypes found in both the American and the Pakistani societies regarding the other. The day's second session was conducted by Dr. Raja who presented the University of North Texas' PhD admission policy. He invited NUML scholars to do their post-doctorate at UNT and offered his help in this regard.

The second day's two sessions focused on research libraries, research papers and syllabi designing. The resource persons were Ms. Janette Klein, Dr. Jenny Caneen and Dr. Masood Raja. These interactive sessions were attended by around 80 faculty members of NUML.

The last day sessions were conducted by Andrews Tolle on the importance of community colleges and the other by Ms. Marissa Weddle and Ms. Iqra Cheema who introduced the UNT to the audience as experienced by the students.

The conference wrapped up in the evening with a concluding session presided over by the NUML director general. Representatives from the Public Affairs Section of the US embassy were also present. The DG, along with Dean FES and Registrar, presented souvenirs and shields to the visiting guests and speakers of the conference.