The International Office (IO for short) was upgraded in year 2013 from the International Liaison Office (ILO) which was established earlier in year 2007. The office’s new mandate includes exploration and establishment of international collaboration and partnerships with international universities, research centers and organizations around the globe. Moreover, IOs aims include facilitation of students, faculty and staff in availing international opportunities and exposure to international best practices. Likewise, IO today relentlessly strives for a holistic internationalization of all operations of the university, to truly harness internationalization and international collaboration for uplift of the quality of education, research and outreach.
The International Office focuses on all core issues of internationalization including partnerships and linkages, foreign student, foreign faculty, international mobilities and internationalization services. These activities allow IO to oversee internationalization through academic and research collaboration, while simultaneously engaging with different universities, research centers, international organizations, think tanks, doner agencies, embassies, etc. across the globe.
a) Partnerships and linkages:
CUI has developed academic linkages with prestigious universities all over the world by signing more than 250 collaborations with foreign universities and research centers. Multiple areas of collaboration are conceived including student and faculty exchange mobilities, international admissions, fellowships, undertaking joint research projects, joint publications, convening joint conferences, workshops, trainings and other collaborative activities.
b) Foreign Students:
CUI has always valued foreign students for many reasons including the richness and diversity they bring on campus. In a short span of time, CUI takes pride of training more than 1,400 international students from 35 different countries in various cutting-edge disciplines. Even at present more than 450 international students from 24 nationalities are registered in different campuses and academic programs at the BS, MS and PhD level.
IO has always endeavored for provision of state-of-the-art teaching services and rich co-curricular activities to its international students. To facilitate foreign students, two intakes are made every year and admission is offered not only on self-finance but on generous scholarships that are offered to various international organizations and friendly countries.
CUI management is cognizant of the fact that foreign students serve as ambassadors of the institution in their countries of origin and help bridge two nations together. Having foreign students on campus is the ideal implementation of soft diplomacy.
c) Foreign Faculty Hiring:
CUI has a firm conviction that foreign faculty can significantly uplift the quality of teaching, research, and overall impact. No doubt foreign faculty makes valuable contributions through their own unique world views, approach, work ethics, teaching methodologies, approaches to research problems, and overall impact. Till today, CUI takes pride of having hired more than 40 renowned Professors as full time International Faculty since inception who have and are actively contributing to quality teaching and research activities.
Hiring of new foreign faculty is a constant and year round activity and not only government funds are used, but CUI subsidizes many costs and sets aside a sizeable budget for hiring prominent foreign faculty.
d) International Mobilities:
International mobilities have always remained priority for CUI as they provide participating students, faculty and staff with a firsthand opportunity to witness a different academic and cultural environment that enables firsthand encounter with foreign academics and foreigners that have significantly different mindsets and attributes. Besides the cultural immersion, the academic gain cannot be overemphasized as many best practices are discovered while undertaking mobilities.
Till date, CUI has sent more than 100 students and faculty members on different exchange programs that were fully or significant funded by prominent programs including Erasmus Mundus (EMMA), Erasmus+, Mevlana Exchange program and funded by individual foreign universities.
CUI management always encourages availing mobilities by all individuals, be students, faculty or staff. Moreover, efforts are put in place that the experiences made by the participants are shared by a wider audience.
e) Internationalization Events:
Doing whatever possible to facilitate internationalization has always been a hallmark of IO. International Office encourages academic and cultural co-curricular activities by involving students’ and faculty members to widen the international student experience on campus. International conference, talks, guest lectures, information sessions, country focus days, musical programs, etc. are regularly organized to promote international projection of the university and cross-cultural awareness among different communities and cultures. IO invites senior dignitaries like, ambassadors, high commissioners, diplomats, heads of foreign delegations and international agencies based in Pakistan in above mentioned activities.
f) Publications:
To further project and showcase international activities, CUI publishes C- Global Newsletter. It is published biannually to highlight prominent internationalization activities of CUI. CUI Research Booklet is also publication which is updated regularly to contain latest information about the work done by the research centers of CUI. Brochure about International Office is regularly published to share important and statistical information about CUI.
g) Social Media:
Social Media is an effective platform to attract international students and international partners. It gives details about our activities, progress and happenings to the outer world and increases our prominence. Such social media provides information about the latest happenings as well as educational opportunities disseminated from time to time.
Links of all social media handles:
Webpage: http://ww2.comsats.edu.pk/internationaloffice/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IOCIIT/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/ciitislamabad
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/io_cui/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cuiofficial
h) Logistic Support:
The International Office values its foreign guests/ visitors and always facilitates them to the maximum by providing personalized pick and drop from airport, coordinating meetings with CUI officials, tailor made campus tours, site seeing etc. Similarly, IO facilitates faculty members, staff and students of CUI in their outbound official visits to different universities and research centers around the globe.
i) Dissemination of Scholarship Opportunities:
IO actively searches and disseminates information about scholarships opportunities from across the globe to its students, faculty and staff. Further, on campus awareness seminars and workshops are regularly conducted to disseminate information about various scholarships opportunities. IO has a very active webpage and social media presence through which all information regarding scholarship opportunities are widely publicized.