PESHAWAR: The USAID and the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Peshawar, held a send-off ceremony on Friday to celebrate departure of 27 students and three faculty members to the US for sharing knowledge with their counterparts at the Arizona State University (ASU) and finding solutions to Pakistan’s most demanding energy-related challenges.

This is the sixth batch of energy engineering students and faculty members travelling to the United States as part of the USAID-funded US-Pakistan Centers for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E) programme.

The exchange programme students and faculty will spend four months at ASU where they will conduct research work at laboratories under the supervision of American professors.

The four-month stay at ASU will engage the students and faculty in research work in areas such as solar cells, energy conservation, batteries and energy management, said a press release issued by the US-Pakistan Centre for Advance Studied at UET on Friday.

Speaking at the ceremony, UET vice-chancellor Prof Iftikhar Hussain said, “This exchange program enables young energy engineers to address and find sustainable solutions to the energy crisis of Pakistan.”

He valued the role of United States in advancing higher education in Pakistan and encouraged exchange programme engineers to utilise this opportunity to enhance their skills of applied research work.

The statement said that the exchange programme had benefited 61 students and faculty members from UET, Peshawar, who were presently contributing to the energy sector of Pakistan.

This academic exchange is supported through the USAID’s five-year $127 million investment in the US-Pakistan Centers for Advanced Studies Programme. The aim of the programme is to find practical solutions to Pakistan’s energy and water-related challenges.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2018