ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) will launch special M.Phil (Professional track) degree program for the young practicing journalists from next semester.
Senior media practitioners will be invited to share their knowledge and skill with their fellow colleagues. This will enable the on-job professionals to enhance their working capability.
The Vice Chancellor Professor Dr. Shahid Siddiqui while briefing a group of columnists and writers who visited the University to get first-hand knowledge of its educational activates, said the University’s Department of Mass Communication has developed short-term courses in various mass media disciplines that will also be introduced from next year.
Dr. Siddiqui said, the AIOU, being media-based institution providing education to the people through distance-learning wished to serve the journalist community by meeting their professional requirements.
While appreciating the support of media establishments for the University, he said he believed that the mass media has now emerged as most strong social institution, and there was need that both journalists and academia work together for the cause of education.
Dr. Shahid Siddiqui gave them a comprehensive briefing on the steps being taken for the University’s development. The University is also being developed as a hub of social and literary activities, providing opportunity to journalists, writers and columnists to share their professional excellence and experience with Faculty and the students, he added.
He invited them to help the University in achieving its future goals, particularly promoting media-related activities like launching of an educational television channel and expanding FMs radio network.
The columnists, members of World Columnists Club (WCC) appreciated the Vice Chancellor for his initiatives for bringing about qualitative improvement in the University’s overall working.
They noted that the AIOU has shown a remarkable progress during the last two years for providing affordable education to the people across the country.
They also put forth some proposals for improvement of evaluation and examination system. Secretary General of the WCC Baig Raj assured that they would extend full support to AIOU for achieving its future targets.
