First ever dual degree programme between UK and Pakistani universities launched in Lahore
Students in Pakistan offered a major new higher education opportunity with dual degree from Lancaster University/Comsats Institute of Information Technology
in August 2010, 250 Pakistani undergraduate students will start the first dual Lancaster University (Lancaster)/Comsats institute of Information Technology (CIIT) degrees delivered in Pakistan.
During a visit to Pakistan July 21-26, Lancaster University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Bob McKinlay attended the formal launch ceremony of the Dual Degree Program , meeting parents and prospective students.
Professor McKinlay visited the Lahore and Islamabad campuses and facilities and met with the Federal Minister of Science and Technology, the Chairman of the Higher Education Commission and the Chief Minister of Punjab, as well as with CIIT’s management.
This visit to Pakistan by Lancaster, comes after a launch in London in February 2010 attended by the Pakistani Federal Minister of Science and Technology, and chancellor of CIIT, Muhammad Azam Khan Swati and Sir Christian Bonington CVO CBE DL, Chancellor of Lancaster University .
Pakistani students at the CIIT Lahore campus will be given the opportunity to earn a highly regarded international degree from Lancaster, a top UK university, in addition to their degree from CIIT for a fraction of the cost of study in the UK.
Lancaster’s relationship with CIIT first began in 2007 when masters and PhD students came to Lancaster. The first joint degrees , BSc Computing, BEng Communications Systems with Electronics and BSc Business Administration, will be delivered this year in Pakistan by local academics. Lancaster will have final approval on the curriculum and the content of the degree programme and will work closely with CIIT on quality assurance of the delivery.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Lancaster University and believe that this dual degree programme, supported by two leading institutions, will benefit Pakistani students greatly,” said Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, Minister of Science and Technology for the Federal Government of Pakistan and Chancellor, CIIT.
“Our dual degree programme with CIIT showcases the international reach of Lancaster University and we are proud to provide top local learning opportunities for students abroad,” said Professor Bob McKinlay, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University.
“Lancaster University has broken into the elite group of UK Universities to be ranked 10th in The Times for the first time in 2010. We hope that these external indicators of excellence help students on the new degree in our highly competitive world.”
Staff from CIIT including the librarian, heads of academic departments and administrative staff from the CIIT Lahore campus, will visit Lancaster this year to be trained by Lancaster experts.
By the end of the first four years of the dual degree programme, an estimated 1000 students will be registered for the dual degree. Following this pilot, Lancaster aims to extend this programme to offer joint degrees with CIIT from all its four faculties including the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the School of Health and Medicine.
Lancaster University has been actively pursuing the setting up of a network of collaborative teaching and research partnerships in key countries around the world including a partnership with Sunway University College, Malaysia and has launched a new campus in India with GD Goenka Educational Trust which admitted its first cohort of 300 students in August 2009.