ISLAMABAD: The 21st annual Dawn Education Expo was held in Islamabad on Thursday, attracting universities and colleges from across Pakistan and abroad, as 77 educational institutions set up their stalls to help students explore opportunities.

“I explored opportunities for UK universities and received briefings from several representatives. This event is useful for students to explore options for foreign studies,” said Tayaba Zulfiqar, who attended the event along with her sister Maha.

Another student, Mohammad Talha, who was collecting information for a bachelor’s degree, said, “I am happy as I had very informative discussions with representatives of foreign universities. I also received detailed information about a bachelor’s in Artificial Intelligence in Sri Lanka, and the degree will be issued by an Australian university,” he said, adding that he also visited stalls of Malaysian, Australian and German universities.

The event was held at Serena Hotel, where foreign cricket teams are also staying, but despite security issues and road blockades, candidates managed to reach the venue after facing hardships.

Some families were seen on the roads arguing with police officials to allow them access to the hotel via the blocked route to attend the event.

The annual two-day event was held in Karachi, followed by the one-day exhibition in Islamabad, and now the expo will move to Lahore, where a two-day event will be held on November 22–23.

“I am happy that I interacted with many interested students. Today, I dealt with quality students,” said Andy R Roper from Imperial College London.

This year, besides international and local universities, there was also a stall offering short courses. At the end of the event, a student was also given a laptop by the organiser through a lucky draw.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2025