The Academic Council of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) approved a new MPhil degree programme in food safety and control on Tuesday.
The UVAS Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition is to offer the degree with the collaboration of the European Union’s Trade Related Technical Assistance-II (TRTA-II) Programme and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation.
The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences already offered a postgraduate diploma in food safety and control.
This programme has been upgraded to the MPhil level due to the increasing “research needs and demand for professionals in this field,” according to a press release from the university.
The academic council, chaired by Vice-Chancellor Prof Talat Naseer Pasha, was told that the research component of the MPhil programme would help generate data and research on the issue of food safety.
The research would help food authorities at both the federal and the provincial level to improve planning and law enforcement.
The MPhil programme would also enhance Pakistan’s trade volume in global markets, especially in food and agriculture.
The university has initiated the process of obtaining international accreditation for the MPhil programme from the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland.
Australian professor calls
Also on Tuesday, Prof John Spriggs from the University of Canberra called on the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Vice-Chancellor Pasha. The vice-chancellor briefed the visiting professor on the academics, research and extension programmes at the university.
Possible areas of collaboration between UVAS and the University of Canberra in social sciences and livestock extension were also discussed.
Deadline to apply extended to Sep 28
The deadline to apply for admission to the Nursing School at Lahore General Hospital has been extended from September 15 to September 28.
Professor Anjum Habib Vohra, the principal of the Post Graduate Medical Institute and the Lahore General Hospital, said the deadline was being extended since the results of the intermediate exams were not coming out till September 23.
He said that the admissions would be on merit, with students who passed the intermediate exams given preference. The successful candidates would be given stipends and free hostel accommodation. He added that he had directed the school administration to put data about the applications on the LGH website to make the admissions process more transparent.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2013.