Ibrahim Nayab (left) and Imad Alam pose for a photo at Tianjin University. [Photo by Zhang Li/Tianjin Daily]

Two Pakistani doctoral students at Tianjin University are building bridges between China and Pakistan through education, research, and cultural exchange.

Imad Alam, a doctoral student at Tianjin University's School of Electrical and Information Engineering, and Ibrahim Nayab, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering, have joined a university-organized teaching program at Nanyang Middle School in Tanchang, Gansu province.

Alam turned his English classes into interactive games, while Nayab created a cultural salon, using the classroom as a space for cultural exchange.

"We hope to be ambassadors and bridges for China-Pakistan cultural exchange," they said.

After completing his PhD, Alam intends to stay at Tianjin University for postdoctoral research, focusing on new-energy motors and control technology. In the longer term, he hopes to bring China's expertise back to Pakistan and promote cooperation in energy, engineering, and talent development.

Nayab, a former principal of a public secondary school in Pakistan, admired China's rural education system and its well-equipped schools. After graduation, she plans to return home and apply what she has learned in China to benefit her students.

"I want to tell my students that the world is big, and they should go out and see it," she said.