The First International Collaboration between English Departments of LCWU, Pakistan and IIUM, Malaysia

Brief Overview of Collaboration between the English departments of LCWU and IIUMThe department of English, LCWU, being one of the oldest postgraduate departments in the country, has always strived for excellence. Establishing ties with International Universities and developing mutually beneficial academic relations is not only a requirement of Higher Education Commission for ranking but also our recently developed goal for academic improvement. For this, during our search in the start of 2019, we found the department of English, IIUM to be very suitable as it meets our requirements for collaboration. For the purpose of signing the first document of collaboration , namely the letter of Intent, the department nominated Mrs. Mahrukh Bokhari, the principal of Lahore College for Women, Intermediate Section and Mrs. Aaisha Umt Ur Rashid to visit IIUM and to explore possibilities of collaboration in various academic areas.  The meetings turned fruitful, hence leading to the signing of the Letter of Intent where both the departments agreed on establishing ties of friendship and cooperation for the development of both. It is a matter of great pride for the department that this collaboration happens to be the very first alliance in the history of the English department.
The immediate result of this collaboration turned out to be a Three Days International Symposium titled “The Postcolonial and the Glocal” and the launch of the first volume of The Bridge, which is a creative writing venture featuring writers from Malaysia and Pakistan.

The Letter of Intent

The Letter of Intent (signed on 18th April, 2019) states the following points:

Two Departments agree to develop the following collaborative activities but not limited to such activities in the academic areas of mutual interest on the basis of equality and reciprocity:

a) Establish ties of friendship and cooperation between academicians 

b) Promote mutual understanding and academic collaboration exchanges

c) Exchange of students for industrial training and internship

d) Access to available research facilities and training for post graduate students

e) Exchange of information and resources, promotion of joint publication and other scholar communications

f) Other academic exchange to which both parties agree