ISLAMABAD: Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmad on Monday said that the exchange of students between various countries enhanced their technical expertise and developed cultural harmony. He was talking to 10 foreign students, who are presently working as interns in Pakistan under the International Association for Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE) programme. Welcoming the students to the HEC, Dr Mukhtar Ahmad and Dr Arshad Ali, the HEC executive director, underlined the significance of student exchange programmes for promotion and internationalisation of higher education. Dr Mukhtar Ahmad wished the students a great learning experience in Pakistan. “I want you to enjoy and learn a lot being in Pakistan and feel at home,” he said. The students expressed satisfaction on facilities available to them in Pakistani higher education institutions for their internships. They termed IAESTE a very important programme which helped beneficiaries learn in dynamic environments and develop their personalities as professionals. IAESTE is an international student exchange programme launched in 1948 at Imperial College London with a vision to encourage students from all over the world for their self-development as well as promotion of good relations among different countries. It provides students with international internships in their relevant fields of study and an opportunity to understand and experience cultures of other countries. Pakistan became a member of IAESTE in 1990. Each year, IAESTE holds an annual conference, hosted by one of the member countries. It is one of the biggest events of IAESTE where over 250 delegates from across the world participate. The primary objective of this conference is to exchange internship opportunities among the member countries. This year, IAESTE annual conference was held in Seoul, South Korea. At the annual conference 2017, IAESTE Pakistan was able to secure 45 exchange opportunities from a number of countries including Austria, Vietnam, Germany, Oman, Slovakia, Thailand, Turkey, and Korea among others. So far, 14 Pakistani students have been accepted for internship in countries like Austria, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Ireland Croatia and Macedonia. Published in Daily Times, July 25th 2017.