UNO-Pakistan Universities Academic Linkages Project was created to establish linkages with universities throughout Pakistan.
The UNO-Pakistan Universities Academic Linkages Project supports the United States’ public diplomacy program in Pakistan. This project will provide junior faculty members at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women’s University (SBBWU), and Baluchistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS) an opportunity to learn from faculty and staff at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO).
Building Enduring Connections
The project will build enduring and self-sustaining connections among UNO, QAU, SBBWU, and BUITEMS, expand the knowledge and capacity of these Pakistani institutions, and strengthen relations between the U.S. and Pakistan through shared values and interests.
As planned, 30 faculty members from Pakistani universities will visit UNO in two cohorts over two years, and two groups of four UNO faculty members will visit Pakistan each year for two years.
During their stay at UNO, Pakistani faculty members will be trained in “soft skills” of classroom teaching, community engagement, and high standards of research.
They will also be provided with opportunities to shadow their American mentors during their work. Participants will also be offered cultural experiences that will not only enrich and reinforce the academic components but also expose them to a diverse cross-section of US citizens and provide them with opportunities to speak to Americans about their home country.
While on their visit to Pakistan, UNO faculty will provide workshops for Pakistani faculty members. This workshop will assist them with further follow-on activities for their professional enrichment.
About the Grant
The Center received this grant in September 2017 and project activities will run through October 2019. UNO Center for Afghanistan and Regional Studies and UNO professors will work on the following objectives:
- Provide participants with a quality academic exchange experience
- Deliver academic activities that will expose participants to US pedagogical philosophy and practice
- Offer cultural experiences that will enrich and reinforce the academic component
- Develop and introduce participants to the UNO-Pakistan Academic Exchange website
- Encourage participants to apply their civic engagement, research, and pedagogy skills in their home institutions
- Foster increased collaborations and sustained linkages among UNO, QAU, SBBWU and BUITEMS
Our Goal
The goal of the UNO-Pakistan Universities Academic Linkages Program is to build enduring and self-sustaining connections among UNO, QAU, SBBWU and BUITEMS universities, expand the knowledge and capacity of these Pakistani institutions, and strengthen public diplomacy and relations between the US and Pakistan through shared values and interests.
Activities developed for this partnership with UNO, QAU, SBBWU, and BUITEMS are:
- Academic Training
- Cultural Programs
- Rural/Small town visit
- Academic Exchange
- Project Management