RGU–CUI Academic Collaboration Meeting
Islamabad, October 3, 2025 — CUI officials and Robert Gordon University delegates held a productive meeting at Islamabad Campus on October 3, 2025 to explore academic and research collaboration. The RGU delegation included Prof. Dr. John Isaacs, Dean of the School of Computing, Engineering and Technology, and Dr. Elliot Pirie, Associate Dean for Academic Development and Student Engagement, School of Computing, Engineering and Technology.
The CUI participants were Dr. Hammad Omer, T.I., Head International Office; Dr. Syed Junaid Nawaz, Head / Associate Professor (Tenured), Department of Computer Engineering; Prof. Dr. M. Manzoor Ilahi Tamimy, Chairperson, Computer Science; Dr. Inayat-ur-Rehman, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science; Mr. Zubair Iqbal, UK Desk Officer/SPO, International Office; and Mr. Ghazanfar Ali, Senior Administrative Assistant, International Office.
The meeting focused on student exchange programs, progression agreements, joint research projects, and virtual collaboration in the fields of Computer Science and Computer Engineering. RGU confirmed its commitment to provide tuition fee waivers for exchange students, while both universities discussed faculty exchanges, researcher-to-researcher linkages, and the possibility of organizing a virtual international hackathon.
An Action Plan was agreed to share course catalogs and syllabi, connect active researchers, arrange guest lectures, and strengthen collaboration through online platforms.
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The University of Manchester UK Extends Scholarship Opportunities to and Explores Academic Collaboration with COMSATS University Islamabad
Islamabad, October 3, 2025 — The UK Desk at the International Office of COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) arranged and hosted Mr. Chris Gibson, International Officer and Pakistan Country Manager The University of Manchester, United Kingdom, for an engaging session held at the Videoconferencing Room, Junaid Zaidi Library. The event drew a large audience of students of CUI from diverse academic disciplines, reflecting strong enthusiasm for international study opportunities. Dr. Hammad Omer, T.I., Head International Office welcomed and presented opening remarks.
Mr. Gibson introduced The University of Manchester’s global academic excellence, research strengths, and student support initiatives. He shared details of the University’s prominent scholarship portfolio, particularly the Global Futures Scholarships, which include over 100 awards for international undergraduates — with dedicated South Asia scholarships open to students from Pakistan. CUI students can avail. Each award is valued at £10,000 per year for up to three years, subject to maintaining a 60% academic average, and is awarded as a tuition fee discount based on previous academic merit. Eligible students who receive a conditional offer are invited to apply.
At the postgraduate level, the Global Futures Scholarships extend to more than 200 awards for international master’s students, each offering a £10,000 tuition fee reduction. These scholarships are open to applicants from South Asia and are assessed on academic merit and a supporting application form, with invitations issued to those securing a conditional offer. Additionally, Mr. Gibson highlighted the British Council GREAT Scholarship, offering a £15,000 tuition fee discount to one exceptional student from Pakistan.
Following the presentation, the UK Desk Officer, International Office, CUI met with Mr. Chris to discuss potential institutional collaboration and presented a collaboration model proposing a Progression Agreement between CUI and The University of Manchester, which will be designed to facilitate CUI graduates in pursuing postgraduate studies at Manchester with scholarship provisions.
Mr. Chris Gibson appreciated the proposal and assured that he would review and present it to the higher authorities at The University of Manchester.
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CUI Welcomes Azerbaijan Technical University Delegation to Foster Global Collaboration
On October 2, 2025, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) hosted a high-level delegation from Azerbaijan Technical University (AZTU), led by Prof. Subhan Namazov, Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation. He was accompanied by Dr. Bakhtiyar Badalov, Director R&D Department; Ms. Jala Karimova, Representative State Agency on Science and Education; and Mr. Fawad Kashan, Senior Manager Innovation and Commercialization, NUST.
The delegation was received by Dr. Hammad Omer, T.I., Head International Office (IO), and his team, followed by a call on with Prof. Dr. Sajid Qamar, Rector CUI, and Prof. Dr. Sohail Asghar, In-charge Islamabad Campus. Rector CUI appreciated the longstanding academic ties with Azerbaijan and recalled the services of Prof. Mais Sulemanov from Baku State University, who served at CUI as a Foreign Faculty. Both sides discussed various strength areas for cooperation, agreeing to prioritize engineering and IT as key focus fields.
Afterwards, during a working meeting joined by Dr. Bilal Ijaz, In-Charge Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC); Head IO, presented CUI’s profile and ongoing partnerships with Azerbaijani universities. Discussions focused on joint publications, faculty and student exchanges, participation in international conferences, and initiatives to enhance global university rankings. Dr. Bilal Ijaz highlighted CUI’s ranking performance in QS and THE and proposed collaborative approaches such as co-publications and joint citations and Faculty/researcher exchanges for improved international visibility of both CUI and AZTU.
The AZTU delegation shared information about their capacity-building projects, international conferences, and Winter School program, inviting CUI’s faculty and students to participate. They also introduced AZTU as one of the oldest universities in the region, established in 1887, with 16,000+ students, 400+ faculty, and 170+ MoUs worldwide. AZTU is ranked among the Top 500 in Europe, 84th in Asia, and 3rd in Azerbaijan.
The visit concluded with a tour of the Junaid Zaidi Library, where guests were briefed on its digital resources and facilities. On a constructive note, both institutions expressed commitment to pursue concrete steps for collaboration.
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Delegation from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Visits CUI
A delegation from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Malaysia visited COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) on 18 September 2025 to explore avenues of collaboration in areas of mutual interest.
The delegation was led by Prof. Ts. Dr. Muhammad Suzuri Hitam, Dean, Faculty of Computer Science and Informatics, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nazli Aziz, Dean, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Development, accompanied by Ms. Muqaddas, a PhD scholar currently pursuing her studies at UMT.
From CUI, the meeting was attended by:
- Prof. Dr. Shahid Khattak, Director, CUI Abbottabad Campus
- Prof. Dr. Jamshed Iqbal, T.I., S.I., Dean, Faculty of Sciences
- Prof. Dr. Saqib Hussain, Department of Mathematics, CUI Abbottabad Campus
- Dr. Farhana Jabeen, Head, Department of Computer Science, CUI Islamabad Campus
- Dr. Muhammad Zakariya, Chairman, Department of Economics
- Dr. Hammad Omer, T.I., Head, International Office
- Mr. Ossam Chohan, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, CUI Abbottabad Campus
- Mr. Muhammad Abbas Baloch, Senior Program Officer, International Office
- Mr. Zubair Iqbal, Senior Program Officer, International Office
Additionally, Prof. Dr. Nazir Ahmad Zafar, Dean, Faculty of Information Sciences and Technology, and Prof. Khuda Bukhsh, Dean, Faculty of Business Administration, CUI Vehari Campus, joined the meeting online to further deliberate on potential collaborations.
During the discussions, both sides explored opportunities for student and faculty mobilities, faculty exchange programs, joint supervision of PhD students, evaluation of faculty promotion dossiers, and other areas of mutual interest.
At the conclusion of the visit, Prof. Dr. Shahid Khattak presented CUI shields to the UMT Deans, followed by an exchange of souvenirs to mark the occasion and strengthen future collaboration between the two institutions.
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