Global UGRAD-Pakistan student joins UMaine community for fall semester

Noor Ul Sabah, a junior in microbiology at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan, has joined the University of Maine community this semester as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Pakistan (Global UGRAD-Pakistan). 

The Global UGRAD-Pakistan program, which places participants at U.S. colleges and universities for one semester of non-degree academic study, is part of a broader U.S. Department of State effort to promote greater understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, including future world leaders. 

Since the program’s inception in 2010, Global UGRAD-Pakistan has provided nearly 1,800 talented, highly motivated undergraduate student leaders from underserved populations across Pakistan with the opportunity to study at a U.S. college or university.

Through semester-long academic study, exploration of U.S. culture, participation in community service projects, and interactions with Americans in their host communities and campuses, Global UGRAD-Pakistan participants develop expertise in their academic fields, gain a broad and nuanced understanding of American culture and values, and go on to share this understanding of the United States with their communities when they return home. 

The Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Pakistan is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX. More information about the program is online