SWABI, May 19: The Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) of Sweden and the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology signed on Friday a memorandum of cooperation in engineering education.

The areas of collaboration were identified during a two-day visit of Dr Per Eriksson, former rector of the BTH and director-general of the Swedish Government Agency for Innovation Systems; Dr Jan-Olof Gustavsson, Dean of School of Engineering; Prof Lars Lundberg, Head of Undergraduate Education and School of Engineering; and Maria Engelmark, Head of International Office of the BTH; to the GIK Institute.

The academicians of the two institutions held talks concerning collaboration for promoting mutually beneficial interaction in the engineering education and research.

They discussed details of exchanging students and faculty.

The memorandum covers students and faculty exchange, research collaboration through joint PhD supervision, partnership in distance learning, BS summer internships, mutual recognition of each other’s masters programmes and exploring funding possibilities through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the Higher Education Commission and other funding agencies.

“We have inked about 60 agreements with different universities in Europe but this is the first time we reached a broader understanding with an institute in Pakistan,” said Ms Engelmark.