APPNA announces Pakistani-American University in North America

ORLANDO, Florida: President-Elect of the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA) Dr Iqbal Zafar Hamid announced that APPNA will establish a Pakistani-American University in North America. He announced this at APPNA’s 40th Annual Convention held in Orlando, Florida, from July 5 to July 9, 2017.

The university will be set up at a location considering logistics — local support and demography — of Pakistani-Americans and those of Asian origin as well. Some of the potential cities under consideration include, Washington D.C., New York, Houston, Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The university will be dedicated to advancing the frontiers of knowledge and technology as a leader of the international community of higher learning. It will insist on maintaining the highest academic standards to become a leader in higher education and research. Innovation and creativity will be the cornerstones of the university. It will also promote intellectually informed beliefs, spiritually inspired education and interfaith harmony.

The university will be different from other run-of-the-mill universities. In addition to offering the popular programmes (business, computing, information technology and management), it would also offer unique academic programmes not found in most universities, such as innovation and technology, alternate health care, sustainable development, etc. The university will use innovative teaching methodologies and cutting-edge technologies to keep the tuition cost low and make it easily accessible and affordable for all. Most courses would include creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship in their syllabi.

The research centre (think-tank) associated with the university will become a hub of intellectual activities. The university will be incorporated as a non-profit organisation.A steering committee, under the leadership of Dr Iqbal Zafar Hamid and Dr Saif Siddiki, will be established soon. Dr Javaid Laghari, the former chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan, has been asked to lead the initiative to establish the university.