Last month, a team of six staff from the Civic Initiative (a business group of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Donahue Institute) were in Islamabad. They held a three-day follow-up conference for alumni from recent cohorts of the Study of the U.S. Institutes Comparative Public Policymaking program that has been held annually by the Civic Initiative since 2010. The SUSI program is funded by the US Department of State Education and Cultural Affairs Office.
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Pakistan Lecture Series
The Pakistan Lecture Series is a program designed to support academic exchange between Pakistani and US scholars and to promote the field of Pakistan Studies as a whole. As a part of this program a Pakistani scholar, artist, musician, etc., is invited to travel to the USA for two to four weeks and present lectures at a minimum of three US institutions. PLS speakers must be proposed by faculty from AIPS member institutions. Applications are reviewed and awarded based on the committee’s recommendation and are contingent upon available funds.
How to Apply:
The Trustee or Member Institution proposing a PLS speaker makes initial arrangements in terms of the speaker's itinerary and the lectures that they will present. This information should be filled out in the PLS Proposal Form and submitted by email to the AIPS President for review by the Executive Committee/Board of Trustees.
Please allow four weeks for the review process. Once the committee has approved a PLS Speaker, be aware that it can take up to three months to obtain US visa clearance. Please submit your application with sufficient time to accommodate these requirements.
Additionally, please send a proposed budget.
PLS Travel:
AIPS provides each PLS speaker a round trip, economy ticket from Pakistan, which may include US domestic air/rail travel and must be purchased prior to their departure from Pakistan. Once the itinerary has been finalized, please note that it cannot be changed without total cancellation and considerable expense. AIPS will not be responsible for any additional costs resulting from changes in the itinerary. Each PLS speaker is provided a modest honorarium that can be used for incidental expenses that are not covered by host institutions.
Expectations of the Institutions:
Each institution is expected to provide local hospitality for the PLS speaker, including accommodations, meals and local transportation. Host institutions are expected to complete evaluations of the PLS speaker.
Expectations of the PLS Awardee:
Each awardee is expected to work with the AIPS-member institutions to arrange required lectures. After each lecture, the awardee is to evaluate the host institutions.
Please email aips@pakistanstudies-aips.org with questions about applying to the Pakistan Lecture Series program.