ISLAMABAD: Under the Undergraduate Semester Exchange (UGRAD) Program for Pakistan, the American government provided scholarships to about 50 undergraduate Pakistani students so they may spend one semester studying in the US. The students will take undergraduate courses at 42 colleges and universities while they are in the country, take part in leadership development programmes, and work on volunteer projects for the community.
Before they left Pakistan, the students attended a two-day pre-departure orientation in Islamabad hosted by the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) to learn about campus life, American culture, and visa and travel formalities. During the orientation, the acting deputy chief of mission from the American embassy in Islamabad personally met the students. While it would seem evident that you are obtaining a life-changing experience, he said, “it is actually a two-way street since the United States has a long heritage of welcoming overseas students. We in the United States also gain so much from your examples of hard work and dedication to your studies, as well as your willingness to share Pakistani culture with us.”
The students, who attend 27 public and private universities, are from all parts of Pakistan. About 2,391 Pakistani students have already been awarded this coveted one-semester scholarship to study in the United States since the UGRAD Program began in 2010. Rita Akhtar, executive director of USEFP, urged the students to fully utilise the academic, extracurricular, and community service opportunities offered in the US. “Global UGRADs are chosen from among thousands of applications from all around Pakistan based on merit.
They frequently represent the first representative of their community to visit the US. American students also gain a great deal of knowledge about Pakistan through this exchange because they spend a semester studying in colleges and universities in areas of the United States where there aren’t many other Pakistanis. When you return to Pakistan, we hope you will tell many people about your time in the United States and that you meet a lot of interesting individuals along the way. USEFP is the official U.S. – Pakistan binational Fulbright commission. It was established in 1950 by the governments of Pakistan and the United States, and is one of 49 such commissions throughout the world. Since its inception, more than 9,300 Pakistanis and over 935 Americans have participated in USEFP-managed exchange programs. Its mission is to promote mutual understanding between the people of Pakistan and the people of the United States through educational and cultural exchange programs.
