ISLAMABAD: Higher Education Commision (HEC) scholar Kashif Mehmood has made the nation proud by successfully completing two PhD degrees from France within a period of four years.

He is among those few fortunate researchers in the world who have secured double doctorates in two different disciplines (Business Administration and Computer Science) from two leading universities, says a press release issued here.

Dr. Kashif Mehmood completed four postgraduate degrees (PhD in Computer Science, PhD in Business Administration, M.Phil in Business Administration, MS in Computer Science) within the last five years.

He was awarded HEC scholarship under Overseas Scholarship Scheme for PhD in Selected Fields (Phase-1) in 2004.

Based on his education and experience, he secured admission in MS programme at the University Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) that is ranked among the best universities in the world.

During his research internship, Dr. Kashif impressed his supervisor with his technical, analytical and managerial skills for which he was offered a PhD thesis in Computer Science.

After starting PhD in Computer Science, Dr. Kashif applied for an M.Phil (Business Administration) in a leading French business school, ESSEC Business School. Getting into ESSEC was a difficult task and securing full fees waiver (worth 10,000 Euros/Year) was almost impossible.

But Dr. Kashif secured an admission along with a full fees waiver for the first year (renewable each year). He completed his MPhil (Business Administration) within two years along with working on his Computer Science thesis. After MPhil, he was offered to continue towards PhD in Business Administration from ESSEC.

Dr. Kashif defended both of his PhDs in front of a jury consisting of eight senior and eminent professors/researchers. Dr. Kashif received exceptionally good reviews for his dissertation and was highly praised during his defense presentation.

He was offered a full-time tenure track position in a leading university in Canada that he turned down to return to Pakistan and serve his country.

Selfless intellectuals like Dr. Kashif Mehmood are a true inspiration to our youth and a pride to our nation.