Recently, a delegation of the Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, Haripur visited different universities and met the government officials in Austria. The delegation was led by Dr. Atta Ur Rahman, who is the Vice Chair of the Institute’s Board of Governors. The key meeting of the visit was held between the Pakistani delegation and the officials of MCI Innsbruck University. Andreas Altmann (Rector MCI), Alex Dumfort (Program Faculty), Werner Stadlmayr (HoD), and Vladan Antonovich (Coordinator Transnational Education and Projects) participated in the meeting.
A comprehensive engagement mechanism will be implemented to ensure Austrian degrees to the PAFIAST students. Initially, Chemical Engineering students will be selected and enrolled in the MS degree program at MCI after they have completed four years of their bachelor’s studies at PAFIAST and then they will move to Austria to receive an Austrian degree in 1-2 years’ time.
It was agreed to provide a tuition fee waiver to the PAFIAST students studying at MCI. However, details of the MS program and its duration is yet to be finalized by the faculty in the next few months. Another option for a one-year MS degree program is also being thought of at the moment. MCI has also agreed to send at least two faculty members to deliver lectures at the PAFIAST Campus in Haripur in the fall 2022 semester.
FH JOANNEUM Graz is another one of the most prestigious partner institutions of PAFIAST. It has offered to charge only the out-of-EU fees amounting to around EUR800 per student instead of EUR9,000, the actual cost. FH JOANNEUM has also agreed to offer an online German language course to the students of PAFIAST.
It was finalized that up to five students from four different disciplines will study in FHJOANNEUM for either the fourth year of their bachelor’s studies or 1-2 years of the MS program of that discipline. The one-year study of students at FH JOANNEUM will comprise two semesters, (10 months) plus one month for welcome and orientation.
Secretary Higher Education KP Dawood Khan told this correspondent that it is an event of achievement of the PAFIAST and the provincial government as different universities agreed to cut down their tuition fee and other expenses.
“The KP government strongly endorses this initiative, which will give an opportunity to the competent youth to come forward and serve the country. The students of the PAFIAST will have a great opportunity to study in the world’s best universities on nominal charges,” he said.
PAF-IAST will try to contribute to the development of a broad-based balanced industrial economy in Pakistan. It seeks to promote the expansion and betterment of higher education quality in engineering, science, and technology. It offers programs in Artificial Intelligence (AI), engineering, food technology, and various other disciplines, which are helping in producing assets for the hi-tech industry.
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