PhD scholars: ‘Foreign exposure helps academics look at things critically’
Gottlieb said that these scholars were a bridge
Director of US Agency for International Development Pakistan Gregory Gottlieb speaks to alumni. PHOTO: INP
ISLAMABAD:
For four Pakistani PhD scholars who just returned from the United States with doctorates in hand, the experience abroad was ‘exceptional’.
While sharing their experiences at a panel discussion held at a hotel here on Thursday, they said the foreign exposure changed their overall approach to deal with students and curriculum design, and to look at things critically.
Prior to my moving to the US, students in my class used to be silent spectators and I thought of lecture as just a job,” said Fiazullah Jan, who currently teaches at the University of Peshawar.
Jan, who completed his PhD at American University in Washington, DC, said the foreign exposure helped him realise the true worth of teaching, which is a two-way process, where knowledge is not just shared but also shaped with the involvement of students.
The four scholars were part of a USAID-funded scholarship programme that has sent 34 Pakistani students to pursue doctoral studies in the US.
USAID Pakistan Mission Director Gregory Gottlieb and Higher Education Commission Member Dr G Raza Bhatti highlighted the US-Pakistan cooperation in the education sector.
Gottlieb said that these scholars were a bridge to the continuous improvement and modernisation of teaching and education sector in Pakistan.
“They have brought back a wealth of personal and professional experiences, which can bring about a transformative change in the education sector,” he said.
Fida Hussain Chang and Samina Nadeem, who had also studied at the Michigan State University, discussed ways to integrate internationally standardised teaching methods into Pakistani methods. The scholars also discussed the value of educational research to empower students to dig and analyse things to the full of their academic potential.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2015.
For four Pakistani PhD scholars who just returned from the United States with doctorates in hand, the experience abroad was ‘exceptional’.
While sharing their experiences at a panel discussion held at a hotel here on Thursday, they said the foreign exposure changed their overall approach to deal with students and curriculum design, and to look at things critically.
Prior to my moving to the US, students in my class used to be silent spectators and I thought of lecture as just a job,” said Fiazullah Jan, who currently teaches at the University of Peshawar.
Jan, who completed his PhD at American University in Washington, DC, said the foreign exposure helped him realise the true worth of teaching, which is a two-way process, where knowledge is not just shared but also shaped with the involvement of students.
The four scholars were part of a USAID-funded scholarship programme that has sent 34 Pakistani students to pursue doctoral studies in the US.
USAID Pakistan Mission Director Gregory Gottlieb and Higher Education Commission Member Dr G Raza Bhatti highlighted the US-Pakistan cooperation in the education sector.
Gottlieb said that these scholars were a bridge to the continuous improvement and modernisation of teaching and education sector in Pakistan.
“They have brought back a wealth of personal and professional experiences, which can bring about a transformative change in the education sector,” he said.
Fida Hussain Chang and Samina Nadeem, who had also studied at the Michigan State University, discussed ways to integrate internationally standardised teaching methods into Pakistani methods. The scholars also discussed the value of educational research to empower students to dig and analyse things to the full of their academic potential.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2015.