CRBC Funds 21 Engineering Scholarships for Pakistani Master's Students (Linked to Record ID#54537)

On 29 August 2019, The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) held a send-off ceremony for 21 Pakistani engineers traveling to China as part of the "Inherit Pak-China Friendship, Hundred Talents Scholarship Program" funded by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). Wang Zhuhai, the Chinese embassy's Economic Counsellor, was in attendance.

Lt.

General Muhammad Asghar, Executive Director of the HEC, and Li Zhihuai, General Manager of CRBC, were also present at the ceremony.

HEC and CRBC, a Chinese state-owned company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2017 to initiate the "Inherit Pak-China Friendship, Hundred Talents Scholarship Program". The program covers a two years Master's degree program in Transportation Engineering at Southeast University in China. The first batch of 10 Pakistani scholars were selected in 2017.

A second batch of 19 Pakistani engineers went to South East University China in 2018 (see Record ID#54537 for these scholarships). For the 2019 session, a total of 21 students were selected to attend South East University in China.

The program's aim is to train scholars on global strategies for sustainable development and on regional communication and transportation. The project further seeks to train high-end technical personnel to work in the transportation industry.

CRBC manager Li portrayed the scholarships as opportunities to learn Chinese culture and traditions, and learn about the diversity of engineering, logistics, infrastructure, and the impact of transport engineering on national development.