LAHORE  - The United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP), in partnership with the US Mission to Pakistan, inaugurated its Fulbright Center at Forman Christian College (FCC) on Friday.
The center is aimed at promoting opportunities for students interested in studying in US.
USEFP Executive Director Rita Akhtar, FCC Rector Dr James Tebbe, Beaconhouse National University (BNU) Dean Faculty of Liberal Arts Salima Hashmi and others were present on the occasion.
The center’s facilities for students include an Education USA advising center, where advisors would be available to provide information free of cost to the students who are desirous to study in US. It also houses a Prometric test center, which will administer many of the standardized tests required for admission to American Universities, as well as professional exams and certificates.
The center is named after the late Senator J William Fulbright, founder of the US Department of State’s flagship scholarship program, the Fulbright Program. The mission of Fulbright is to promote mutual understandings between people of other countries and the people of US through educational and cultural exchange.  USEFP a bi-national commission established by the government of Pakistan and United States, supervises a number of programs that sends Pakistani students, scholars and professional to American campuses while bringing American scholars to the Pakistani universities.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Rita Akhtar said USEFP was here to help students learn more about these opportunities, as well as to guide them in every step of the process towards reaching their goals of studying in US universities.
She said since 1950, approximately 5,000 Pakistanis and more than 800 American had traveled to each other’s countries in USEFP administer programs. She further said USEFP was currently administering 11 exchange programs for Pakistani students as well as teachers and professionals.  Under this programme since 2005, more than 1400 students have completed or are scheduled to complete Master’s (1070 students) and doctoral degree (340 students) in a wide variety of subjects at universities in US, she added.