Queen Mary, ESUP partner to boost education and research

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Queen Mary University of London has entered into prestigious partnership with the English Speaking Union of Pakistan (ESUP). As a result of this Memorandum of Understanding, Queen Mary will jointly improve access to education in Pakistan and help young people improve not only their lives, but potentially those of generations to come. 

The partnership will help to establish new programmes of study and events around areas of shared importance. These include international education, public policy studies and policy implementation, sustainability, health, business development, innovation, languages, arts and sciences. 

The partnership will also provide scholarships for students from Pakistan to study at Queen Mary. Other activities may include joint teaching and research opportunities, as well as mobility for staff, research fellows and students. 

“It is a source of great pride that everyone who sets foot on our campuses gains the chance to shape the world of tomorrow. I look forward to welcoming even more students and partners from Pakistan to benefit from this experience. Today shows us that our efforts to access to an exemplary education know no borders. It marks another shining example of our efforts to make a difference in all corners of the globe,” Professor Colin Grant, Vice Principal International, Queen Mary University of London, remarked on the occasion. 

“We are hugely excited to be working with the Mr Aziz Memon, President of the English Speaking Union of Pakistan and Mr Nayan Patel philanthropist, entrepreneur and a Rotarian. I have no doubt that together we will help create better futures through education and research,” he added. 

“The ESUP places a world of importance on education, working to give communities vital access to the oracy skills as well as the cultural understanding they need to thrive. But we know that no one organization can achieve these goals alone. We are delighted to come to these agreements today with Queen Mary, to display our shared visions, and to make tremendous strides for education across Pakistan,” Aziz Memon, President, ESUP, observed. 

Central to this work will be Queen Mary’s Global Policy Institute (QMGPI), which uses the University’s research and ensures its place in policy around the world so that impactful, real-world change can take place. Through partnerships, knowledge sharing, training, and project launches to name but a few methods as QMGPI works to transform policy and workings across every continent for the betterment of society. 

The agreement announced today bolsters Queen Mary’s longstanding commitment to Pakistan. It was among the first UK universities to establish personnel in Pakistan, creating an in-country post in 2005. It is also the number one recruiter from Pakistan in the prestigious Russell Group, with more than 1,300 Pakistani students having studied at Queen Mary. 

The ESUP aims to develop friendship and goodwill between the English-speaking people of Pakistan and other countries, by actively encouraging communication, discussion and debate through the English language. Beyond fostering cultural links between people of different nationalities, the English Speaking Union helps young people to engage with the world through its various programmes. 

Queen Mary has long been committed to engaging internationally, from education to research, partnerships and stakeholder work, to impact areas around the world. Its agreement with the ESUP will help ensure marked improvements in these areas of shared interest. Queen Mary’s work within Pakistan sits alongside other major partnership initiatives in South Asia to help address some of the biggest challenges facing the region today, including partnership to promote gender equality, public health, and the environment.