World Bank Delegation Visits USPCAS-W MUET

World Bank delegation comprising of Ms. Tazeen Fasih, Lead Economist, and Ms. Ghazala Syed, Education Training Specialist visited U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W), Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET), Jamshoro on Thursday. The two-member team visited different facilities including laboratories and had interaction with faculty, students, and management of the Center.

In a meeting held with the management and technical team of USPCAS-W MUET and the University of Utah, USA, Dr. Bakhshal Lashari, Project Director of the Center briefed the World Bank delegation about the academic, exchange, research, outreach programs of the Center. He said that the United States Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Government of Pakistan through the Higher Education Commission (HEC) have partnered together to create state of the art centers for advanced studies, and USPCAS-W was one of the three Centers established at MUET Jamshoro after thorough competitive process. Dr. Lashari said that the sustainability plan of the Center was being discussed with Higher Education Commission and other relevant government agencies.

On this occasion, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Aslam Chaudhry, the Chief of Party University of Utah (UU) said that working on applied research in water sector was one of the prime purposes behind the establishment of this a state-of-the-art water research center at MUET Jamshoro by the support of American people through USAID and technically assisted by University of Utah as a partnering university. He said that the faculty and students of the Center were being trained through the exchange program and a series of the workshops, seminars, and other capacity building programs are conducted by the UU team, who visits the MUET thrice a year. Dr. Chaudhry added that not only UU but other American universities: Colorado State University (CSU), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and City University of New York are participating in capacity building of the center in terms of research project formulation, writing research papers, using water-related software and laboratories equipment, and for filling the research gaps in water sector of Pakistan.

Dr. Rasool Bux Mahar, Deputy Director (Academics and Research) USPCAS-W MUET said that the center has established partnerships and collaborative linkages with industries to meet the water challenges and contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Water SDG-06.

The meeting was also attended by Dr. Jeffrey L. Ullman, Technical Advisor, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Munir Babar, Dr. Kazi Suleman, Manager Research, Mr. Shahid Panhwar, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and Sahib Khan Bhand, Communication, Media and Outreach Expert of the Center. The team appreciated the efforts taken by the Center management for solving the water problems of the country through applied research and by developing human capital, after meeting the souvenirs of the center were presented to the delegation.