Muzaffarabad ( AJK )Jun 10 (APP) :: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on Friday between Turkey’s reputable USAK University and the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (UAJK), Muzaffarabad to extend academic collaboration between the two.
The MoU was signed by the USAK University Reactor Dr. Ekrem Savas and UAJK Vice Chancellor Dr. Muhammad Kaleem Abbasi.
The two institutions agreed to cooperate on the exchange of students and faculty in the framework of Erasmus while mutually committing to respecting the quality requirements of the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education in all aspects of the organisation and management of mobility, in particular the recognition of the credits (or equivalent) awarded to students by the partner institutions.
Addressing the signing ceremony, Dr. Kaleem Abbasi thanked Dr. Ekrem Savas for concluding an agreement for the promotion of research and academic activities. He expressed the hope that the agreement will open new vistas for the students and teachers of the UAJK by providing them with new opportunities in the field of higher education and research.
The USAK University, he went on to say, had also offered fellowships to the UAJK students who could join USAK University in the final semester for practical training.
He particularly thanked the Turkish government and the people of Turkey for their generous support to the people of Azad Kashmir after the catastrophic earthquake of 2005 and said that the great humanitarian spirit and Islamic brotherhood demonstrated by the Turkish government and people will never be forgotten.
“The building of City Campus of UAJK in Muzaffarabad would remain an emblem of the friendship and brotherhood between the people of Turkey and Azad Kashmir,” the vice chancellor remarked.
Dr Abbasi said that the Turkish government was gradually opening the doors to higher education for the students of Azad Kashmir as 32 students from AJK were currently pursuing PhD and undergraduate studies at various Turkish universities and this number will grow further. Time is not far off when a sustainable educational corridor will be established between the people of the two regions, he added.
Prior to the signing of the MoU, Director ORIC Dr. Muhammad Naeem Ahmed introduced the UAJK, its history, and educational programmes to President of Palestine University Dr. Amjad Baraham and presented him souvenirs.
