139 Pakistanis head to US for Fulbright studies, research

Islamabad : As part of the US-Pakistan educational cooperation, 139 Pakistanis received prestigious Fulbright scholarships to pursue graduate studies and research at leading universities in the United States.,says a press release

Funded by the United States Government, the departing students attended a virtual pre-departure orientation organised by the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) to learn about the Fulbright Programme, life on university campuses, and American culture. The 2021 Fulbright cohort hails from 52 universities across Pakistan, with women representing 71 per cent of the group. This year, 93 Master’s and 39 Ph.D. students and seven Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) fellows were selected for these awards. They will attend 78 U.S. universities and pursue a wide variety of academic disciplines, including engineering, energy management, and social sciences.

“For over 70 years, Pakistan and the United States have been sending people to each other’s shores, enriching our communities and creating lasting bonds between tens of thousands of Americans and Pakistanis,” noted the US Embassy’s Acting Minister Counselor for Public Affairs, Julia Fendrick. “Through this experience, you will become envoys and bridge builders. You will connect and deepen the relationship between the United States and Pakistan.”

Earlier this year, the Higher Education Commission and USEFP signed an extension to a Memorandum of Understanding to support 125 Pakistanis to pursue Ph.D. studies in the United States, 25 per year for five years. This extends an agreement that already funded 125 Fulbright-HEC Ph.D. scholarships between 2021 and 2025.

USEFP is a bi-national commission established in 1950 by the governments of the United States and Pakistan. Since its inception, more than 9,000 Pakistanis and over 935 Americans have participated in USEFP-managed exchange programs. Its mission is to promote mutual understanding between the people of Pakistan and the people of the United States through exchange programmes. For more information, visit www.usefp.org.