HYDERABAD: Professor of South Asian and Post-colonial Pakistan Studies, North Carolina Central University and President, American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS) USA Dr Matthew A. Cook has said that the American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS) will assist the Pakistan Study Centre (PSC), University of Sindh in bringing US faculty for conduct of training and development of strong academic linkages with the US varsities.
He said that the teachers and scholars of Sindh University should send the manuscripts regarding Sindh, its culture, heritage and civilization, which will be published in Scopus verified Journal of Pakistan Critical Studies. This he said while talking to an interactive session at the Pakistan Study Centre, University of Sindh Jamshoro on Monday.
Dr. Matthew A. Cook hoped that the session would be a first step towards establishing academic linkages and research cooperation between the American Centre and the University of Sindh. He said that such sessions will ensure people to people contact between the USA and Pakistan. “There is great potential and talent in the faculty members and PhD scholars of the University of Sindh Jamshoro”, he said and added that the SU faculty members were highly qualified from abroad but they needed further opportunities of training and research collaborations.
Dr Matthew A. Cook, who is a PhD in Sociocultural Anthropology, said that he wanted to collaborate with the SU faculty members on research projects, adding that though the Universities in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore were included in mainstream, yet better would be to establish academic linkages with the University of Sindh as it housed 48000 students simultaneously.
SU’s Dean Faculty of Social Sciences Professor Dr. Hamadullah Kakepoto said that the main purpose of the session was to explore the various opportunities for research collaboration, bring the US senior faculty for conducting training workshops at SU, teachers & students exchange programmes and to develop academic linkages with American varsities.
He welcomed the US delegate and thanked the chairpersons and faculty members of various departments, scholars and researchers for their participation in the interactive session organized by SU’s Pakistan Study Centre. He appreciated the efforts of Director Pakistan Study Centre Professor Dr. Shuja Ahmed Mahesar for organizing such a wonderful event coupled with knowledge for the benefit of the research community.
Director Pakistan Study Centre Professor Dr Shuja Ahmed Mahesar highlighted the importance of developing linkages with the American Institute of Pakistan Studies and other educational institutions. He said that the linkages and research collaboration will prove vital for enhancement and development of research culture at the campus.
“Such scholarly sessions, he believed will increase the understanding of the USA scholars about Pakistan as a moderate and tolerant country of South Asia. He explained that the session was designed to optimize intellectual discourse and mutual learning of the faculty of the University of Sindh who experienced enriching interaction with the US scholar.
“Dr Matthew shared new research ideas about democratization, climate change and he discussed various other research areas like culture, history, anthropology, society and civilization of Sindh”, Dr Mahesar said.
A number of senior faculty members of the University of Sindh and eminent scholars as well as civil servants attended the interactive session.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023