Pak toppers visit Cambridge varsity

LAHORE
The 35-member student delegation from Pakistan, which is on a study tour of European countries under the educational programme of Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, paid a visit to one of the oldest and most prestigious universities across the world: The Cambridge University.
According to a handout issued on Thursday, the students were warmly received at Alison Richard’s building by Dr Muhammad Irfan, PhD in Developmental Studies; Dr, David Ghosling, currently a life member of Clare Hall College and previously the Principal of Edward’s College Peshawar and Dr Shailaja Fennell, Senior Lecturer at Centre of Developmental Studies and Fellow at Jesus College.
Dr Ghosling, in his welcome address, was highly appreciative of the fact that about fifty percent of the delegation comprised females, which proved that Pakistan was making significant progress when it came to female education.
Dr. Fennell then proceeded with explaining the admission process of the university and its distinctive features. The students were told that the university conducted its graduation ceremony in Latin depicting that it valued its traditions and that students were awarded their degrees on the basis of ‘soundness of character’.
Shaleem Jacob from the Department of Biotechnology and Arsalan Ghani from manufacturing engineering shared their experience as students of the Cambridge University. This was followed by a short question-answer session after which Dr. Irfan took the group for a short campus tour.
The students were spellbound as they saw the picturesque views of King’s, Clare Hall, Trinity (where Sir Isaac Newton and Dr. Allama Iqbal studied), Westminster and St. Johns (the largest college of Cambridge as well as the institute where Dr Abdus Salam pursued his higher education). They also visited Allama Iqbal’s place of residence during his stay at Trinity as well as River Cam that flowed through the Cambridge. The students were of the view that certain things that were practised here should also be implemented in Pakistan: firstly students from different ethnic groups should be given various opportunities to interact by enrolling a diverse group of students and through social events such as fundraising. They also expressed the view that there was a need to upgrade the facilities offered at our universities and budget should be made available for this purpose. They appreciated that the British still valued their cultural heritage so much that they preserved their historical buildings, an example that our country ought to follow. The students also lauded the services of CM Shahbaz Sharif for the promotion of education.