The University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, and the University of Central Asia (UCA), whose central administrative office is located in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, signed an agreement to enable UBC to design curriculum for 22 courses that will be used by UCA faculty members to teach the Earth and Environmental Sciences Programme to UCA students.
President Santa J. Ono of UBC, and Dr Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of UCA, at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in Vancouver, Canada.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the President of UBC, Professor Santa J. Ono, and Dr Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of UCA, in Vancouver last week. “I am excited by this initiative and the chance to partner with a new university in an often underserved part of the world,” said UBC President Santa Ono.
“This partnership will not only allow UBC to have critical input into the development of new academic programmes half a world away, but will also provide UBC instructors with the chance to reflect on their own courses and how they might be improved and adapted to different learning environments. I look forward to seeing how the relationship evolves going forward. I wish UCA success, as it seeks to serve the region’s mountain societies.”
“We are delighted at this partnership”, said Dr Kassim-Lakha. “It is my hope that in time the MOU we signed will enable our two institutions to also collaborate in other academic fields, conduct joint research projects, facilitate training of UCA post graduate fellows, and encourage faculty and student exchanges.”
Faculty and Staff of UBC and UCA at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two universities. Seated L to R: President Santa J. Ono of UBC, and Dr Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of UCA. Standing L to R: Nasir Pirani (UCA), Farzana Karimhaji (AKU/UCA), Ariff Kachra (UCA), Marwan Hassan (UBC), Diana Pauna (UCA), Roger Becki, Lock Brown, Francis Jones, and Adel El Zaim of UBC.
Dr Diana Pauna, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at UCA, said she was pleased with this important collaboration as it would strengthen the academic programmes of UCA. “The enthusiasm of UBC’s faculty in helping with this endeavour is very reassuring, and we look forward to launching this programme as soon as possible.”
Source: University of Central Asia org
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