Tag: (LUMS)

Lahore, February 27, 2023 (PPI-OT):The National Outreach Programme (NOP) team visited Peshawar, a vibrant and culturally rich city with a wide range of education and cultural institutions. The team conducted several information sessions where students were informed about the National Outreach Programme (NOP) scholarship and were briefed on the state-of-the-art facilities at LUMS.

During the Q and A sessions that followed, the eligibility criteria for the NOP Summer Coaching Session (SCS) and the application process were discussed. The team conducted similar in-class sessions to reach students in different colleges and universities. One of the NOP scholars at LUMS and an alumnus of Islamia College Peshawar (ICP) encouraged his juniors to apply for the NOP.

The NOP team also interacted with attendees of the NOP Summer Coaching Session 2022 at different colleges in Peshawar. The attendees shared their experiences with their juniors and motivated them to apply for this year’s NOP SCS 2023.

The team also visited Pakistan’s first-ever Girls Cadet College in Mardan to talk about opportunities by conducting a similar session. The session further strengthened the team’s mission to spread awareness about the scholarship and the opportunities it provides to students across Pakistan regardless of their ethnicity or background. As a result of the visit, hundreds of students were motivated to apply for the scholarship.

For more information, contact:
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
D.H.A. Lahore Cantt. 54792
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-35608000
Fax: +92-42-35725048
Website: www.lums.edu.pk

Lahore, February 24, 2023 (PPI-OT):The LUMS University Advisory Board plays a key role in helping to shape the overall direction of the university, and in ensuring that it remains focused on its mission and goals. Comprised of renowned academics and experts from some of the best universities of the world, the group brings a wealth of experience to the table and plays a crucial role in providing guidance and support to LUMS as it strives to achieve its mission.

The 5th University Advisory Board (UAB) meeting was held in the last week of January 2023. Members came together to reflect on the learnings from the past year, share their global experiences with the LUMS leadership and also discuss current trends and opportunities in higher education to help lay the foundation of future initiatives at the University.

Joining the UAB were members of the LUMS Management Committee including Syed Babar Ali, Founding Pro Chancellor; Mr. Abdul Razzak Dawood, Pro Chancellor; Mr. Shahid Hussain, Rector and Dr. Arshad Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, LUMS.

Syed Babar Ali extended his warm welcome to the Board and conveyed his eagerness to gain insights from their experiences. Dr. Ahmad elucidated the University’s ‘Learning without Borders’ approach and outlined numerous initiatives that align with its strategic goals. “We must focus on exceptional learning which is only possible if faculty and students work together and set the bar very high,” he explained.

He also spoke about how LUMS is working to improve access to higher education in Pakistan. “The University is working to emphasise and enhance equity for women; an example is the Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB)’s scholarship for women, which provides a 50 per cent tuition waiver to all women who have been accepted for their graduate programmes. What is remarkable is that in two years we have seen the ratio of women in these programmes go from nine to 36 per cent.”

Discussion LUMS strategic priorities, both Ms. Leah Rosovsky, Stanford Calderwood Director, and Mr. Mohammed Ali Khan, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at LUMS, shared their perspectives.

Ms. Rosovsky emphasized the importance of the Advisory Board considering the long-term impact of the university and focusing on amplifying its impact both in the region and beyond. Mr. Khan, on the other hand, stressed the need for a unified view on data when planning ahead and welcomed insights from the Advisory Board on this matter.

Dr. Naveed Arshad and Dr. Abu-Bakr Muhammad, who lead the energy and water centres respectively, shared the progress made in their respective units, where they prioritize climate action. Dr. Naveed Arshad emphasized the significance of revitalizing Pakistan’s energy sector and suggested modernizing the power grid, promoting renewable energy adoption, and enhancing the skills of energy sector professionals as essential measures. Both shared salient features about their work with the government and the key interventions being made in policy.

UAB members also toured the campus and heard from Ms. Nuzhat Kamran, the Director of Advancement, about the university’s development, alumni relations, marketing, and communication work over the past five years. They discussed operational strategy, funding needs, and upcoming events for 2023. In the afternoon, the UAB met with the Deans of the five schools at LUMS, who updated them on their respective challenges and opportunities. The Board provided expertise and advice on curriculum, faculty development, student services, and alumni relations. They also gave valuable input on the schools’ direction and goals.

The Board expressed their gratitude for the special visit by Dr. Arif Alvi, the President of Pakistan. The President was engaged in an enlightening discussion that provided him with an update on the University’s current state, strategic priorities, and impactful research initiatives.

LUMS also had the privilege of hosting a distinguished delegation from the Times Higher Education during their visit to Pakistan, marking it as their first university destination in the country. The delegation was headed by Phil Baty, Chief Global Affairs at THE, and Tim Sowula, Editor of the World Summit Series.

Their visit included a comprehensive analysis of THE’s global rankings, along with insights into the ranking methodologies as well as a detailed discussion with the Advisory Board on LUMS hosting the first-ever international summit, which is currently in the works.

On the final day of their week-long visit, UAB members enjoyed a thrilling excursion led by award-winning LUMS Professor, Dr. Nadhra Shahbaz Khan in Lahore’s historic landmarks. They explored Sikhism’s world through paintings at Ranjit Singh’s Samadhi, visited the Lahore Fort, and admired the Badshahi Mosque’s engulfing beauty. Dr. Nadhra guided them on a journey of discovery, making it a memorable and exciting day.

Commenting on this year’s visit, UAB member Dr. Greg Moran said, “Any visit to LUMS excites me. Like each year, I saw a lot of enthusiasm, almost a childlike excitement among the faculty and students. This is a place where people can chase their dreams and build their futures in an environment that encourages and facilitates their efforts. This is what makes LUMS so special.”

For more information, contact:
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
D.H.A. Lahore Cantt. 54792
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-35608000
Fax: +92-42-35725048
Website: www.lums.edu.pk

Lahore, February 22, 2023 (PPI-OT):Two Electrical Engineering faculty, Dr. Hassan Abbas Khan and Professor Nauman Ahmad Zaffar at the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, LUMS, have won the European Horizon grant, funded by the European Union, to develop technology for rural energy provisioning.

This prestigious funding is aimed for a ground-breaking project titled, Low-cost, circular, plug-and-play, and off-grid energy for remote locations including Hydrogen (LoCEL-H2) a response to a call for sustainable, secure and competitive energy supply.

The project has been awarded to a consortium of ten international entities (universities and industry partners) with a total consortium funding of about 8.7 million euros for 4 years. LUMS is taking the lead in the development of a key technology and the University’s share is 1.384 million euros, including 25 per cent overhead.

Talking about the impact, Dr. Khan explains, “The funding will lead to prototype testing of a 100 per cent green energy solution in two off-grid communities in Africa by 2026. This project is proposed to impact communities, households, partner organisations and the scientific community at large.

The community members will have an improved quality of life, access to information and better economic and educational opportunities, clean drinking water, enhanced public health infrastructure, and healthier cooking practices, leading to better well-being for women and children.”

The partner organisations, including LUMS will be able to advance their research and knowledge basis, through collaborative efforts for novel technology development. All ten organisations will partake in communication and dissemination activities, showcasing their research activities over multiple platforms, ranging from renowned scientific journals to social media websites and newspapers.

While the academic partners will train their young researchers and students and ensure a satisfactory number of publications each year, the scientific community at large will greatly benefit from developing a commercially ready micro grid with high reliability, connectivity, scalability and modularity, a new commercial battery product adapted to work in hot climate locations and alternative hydrogen production technology based on recyclable and non-critical resources.

The consortium of members include: Loughborough University, UK, Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy, LUMS, Pakistan, University of Gabes, Tunisia, International Lead Association, Consortium for Battery Innovation, UK, CEA-Liten, France, Sunkofa Energy, Spain, SAS Reseaux Hydrogene Decarbone RHYDE, France, HOPPECKE Batterien GmbH and Co KG, Germany, and Hollingsworth and Vose Co Ltd (H and V) [Associate Partner], UK.

For more information, contact:
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
D.H.A. Lahore Cantt. 54792
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-35608000
Fax: +92-42-35725048
Website: www.lums.edu.pk

Lahore, February 22, 2023 (PPI-OT):Faculty at the Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences (MGSHSS) are making an impact around the world through their research, teaching, and publications. In recent news, Associate Professor of History, Dr. Waqar Zaidi was awarded the Turriano ICOHTEC Prize for Young Historians, for his book, Technological Internationalism and World Order: Aviation, Atomic Energy, and the Search for International Peace 1920-1950.

This award, organised by the 2022 International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTEC) and sponsored by Fundacion Juanelo Turriano, recognises the best first/early career book in the history of technology. Dr. Zaidi was selected for demonstrating rigour, intellectual bravery, and readability in combining the history of technology with the history of international relations. The prize-winning book will be presented and discussed at a special session of the organisation’s international symposium.

According to the committee responsible for the prize, “Zaidi masterfully inscribes top-level history of technology into the most dynamic debates in political history and in the field of international relations. It is rare that a historian in the early stage of his career can so skilfully contribute to two booming, but too-often-disconnected fields of history of technology and the history of international relations, Zaidi’s work is a lighthouse that may illuminate other researchers’ path.”

“I am delighted at receiving this prestigious international award,” said Dr. Zaidi. His award-winning book, published in 2021 by Cambridge University Press, is an interdisciplinary study of the junctions of international history and international relations and explores attempts to create collective security through technology and international organisations such as the League of Nations and the United Nations.

Dr. Zaidi shared that ICOHTEC is among the world’s leading academic history of technology societies. “The prize is a recognition of the depth of my research and the hard work I have put into the book over the past 10 years. It reflects, I hope, a wider recognition of the impact of my book within this and other academic communities. I am, as far as I know, the first Pakistani to win this prize.”

Dr. Zaidi’s book, based loosely on his PhD research, was written after he joined LUMS back in 2013. He believes that the book couldn’t have been written without the support of LUMS and his colleagues. “The exacting standards and nature of academic historical work mean that it can take years of painstaking research to write a history monograph.

LUMS is one of the very few institutions in the country that currently provides academics in the humanities and social sciences, the intellectual space, and institutional and financial support, to produce and publish research such as this. For that I am grateful. I am already working on my next book projects, and I hope that the university will continue to support those in the same way it has supported my existing research.”

For more information, contact:
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
D.H.A. Lahore Cantt. 54792
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-35608000
Fax: +92-42-35725048
Website: www.lums.edu.pk

Lahore, February 16, 2023 (PPI-OT):The Office of Human Resources (HR) at LUMS participated in the Annual Career Fair. The event, organised by the University’s Career Services Office, took place at the LUMS Football ground on February 4, 2023. The career fair provides an opportunity for networking and building connections with LUMS alumni and students, leading to potential career advancement opportunities, and serving their alma mater.

This year, HR’s focus was to highlight the importance of sustainability through fun activities and giveaways, including interactive games like a Kahoot quiz and a ‘Go Green’ Dart game. Students were offered the opportunity to help raise awareness about tree plantation by adopting a plant.

LUMS is committed to providing students with the resources and guidance they need to make informed decisions about their future, and understands the importance of exposing students to the diverse opportunities that exist in the professional world. At the career fair, HR had the opportunity to interact with students and offer them opportunities like internships, research assistance, teaching assistance, full-time positions, and more.

The HR booth was also visited by members of the University’s leadership, including the Provost and Director, HR. The team’s hard work was noted and appreciated by peers, students, and officials.

For more information, contact:
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
D.H.A. Lahore Cantt. 54792
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-35608000
Fax: +92-42-35725048
Website: www.lums.edu.pk

Lahore, February 14, 2023 (PPI-OT):‘Quality Education for All’ is one of the SDGs closest to the LUMS Centre for Business and Society’s heart and vision. The Centre actively works towards creating opportunities that not only offer educational empowerment to society but also give a platform to the LUMS students to give back to the community through their dedication to the cause.

With the aim to create and inspire sustainable change, the Centre for Business and Society (CBS), LUMS, in partnership with The Citizens Foundation (TCF), recently conducted the 4th cycle of its flagship ‘CBS Ambassadors for Change Programme’. The orientation for the educational programme was held on January 15, 2023, at the Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB). The transformational three-month-long, programme is being attended by 76 TCF students, supported by a cohort of 27 volunteers, and selected by CBS from the LUMS student body, who are participating as teachers and coordinators.

Speaking about the Programme, Dr. Misbah Tanveer Choudhry, Assistant Professor SDSB and Director, CBS said that it is a first-of-its-kind volunteer-led initiative at SDSB. “It is designed to prepare underprivileged students for university applications and encourage students at LUMS to become more socially aware; cultivating within them mindfulness to become responsible citizens and leaders of tomorrow. The programme is structured on the principles of reciprocal learning, advancing agency through educational empowerment and bridging educational and knowledge-based gaps.”

CBS launched this programme in partnership with The Citizens Foundation (TCF), which is one of the country’s leading NGOs in the field of formal education. TCF has a wide nationwide network of Urdu-medium schools which go up to Matriculation level (grade 10) with over 250,000 enrolled students. While more than 3000 students complete their Matriculation from TCF schools every year, it was found that once these students become alumni, they need additional assistance and guidance with applications for tertiary level education as their test-taking skills, English language proficiency and concepts of Mathematics are not at a competitively comparable level as that of students belonging to private, English-medium schools.

CBS has completed three cycles of its Ambassadors for Change programme from 2019 to 2022, while the fourth cycle for 2023 is currently underway. The programme allows student volunteers from across the university to run classes for, mentor and manage programme logistics of this integrative pre-University programme for less-privileged students – all of whom are likely to be the first to enrol in a university in their households. Student volunteers from across disciplines and schools – from undergraduate to MBA and MS and PhD students have helped develop and deliver the programme to several cohorts of pre-university alumni from schools run by TCF. So far, the programme has benefited more than 315 TCF students by recruiting 84 LUMS students as volunteers.

Speaking about the impact of the initiative, Dr. Choudhry said, “It’s multifaceted; all cycles of the programme have consisted of a gender-diverse cohort of TCF alumni who directly benefited from the classes taught by the country’s brightest young minds. Reducing knowledge gaps increases the chances of securing admission in higher education for the TCF students, which CBS anticipates and hopes will create a long-term impact on their socio-economic opportunities, particularly by enabling social mobility and creating pathways of exit from intergenerational poverty traps.”

The programme, which spans three months, takes place every weekend, with English and Mathematics classes, on Saturdays and Sundays, respectively. By hosting the classes on SDSB’s premises, the volunteers give TCF alumni first-hand experience of the vibrant campus environment and state-of-the-art facilities offered at the business school – something they would not experience otherwise. “This immersive and inclusive experience motivates TCF students to aim for admission to universities akin to LUMS. This drive creates a ripple effect, as it was seen through the first three cycles that TCF alumni often share their experiences with their peers, which indirectly prompts these individuals to consider prospects for their own higher education,” shared Dr. Choudhry.

The model of the programme encourages one-on-one sessions among students and their designated volunteers. Volunteers hold regular counselling hours for their designated students which means that over the course of the programme cycle, they develop a strong relationship built on trust and kinship, creating an invaluable support system for the students. TCF students regularly seek guidance beyond the academic realm from LUMS volunteers, who not only help them improve their English and Mathematics skills, but also support them in navigating challenges in their personal lives as well.

The programme is structured on a two-way, reciprocal learning method, wherein both beneficiaries (the LUMS students and the TCF Alumni) take away key learnings. The most essential of it is the recognition of their agency and capability to be what the name of the programme truly represents, ‘Ambassadors for Change’, in their own lives and society. “The TCF students are re-writing their futures through their hard work, and these beautiful stories are both humbling and inspiring for our LUMS students,” observed Dr. Choudhry.

Passionate students from all programmes and all five schools sign up in one of the three roles: English Teacher, Mathematics Teacher, and Programme Coordinator. Each cycle has featured representation from all the schools and both undergraduate and graduate programmes at LUMS. The programme has now expanded its student engagement partnerships with LUMS student societies conducting sessions and workshops. The third cycle (2022) featured a workshop session by LUMS Consultancy Group (LCG). The success of that led to LCG developing a separate department to conduct social impact workshops curated especially for this programme. “The essence of the programme lies in its volunteer nature and providing an opportunity for the LUMS students to practically carry out their desire to work for the community.

From being a source of knowledge and data to a programme giving exposure to university students to an activity that changes lives-the programme has proven student volunteering to be a tour-de-force for impactful social science. The focus has remained on identifying, inducting, and supporting volunteers into the programme, remaining responsive to the needs of the partners and stakeholders, and capturing learnings as we go. Remarkably, the feedback from the volunteers themselves has been a key source of learning and innovation,” said Dr. Choudhry.

Sharing the programme’s future direction, Dr. Choudhry said, “Sustainable scaling of its work and activities is one of CBS’ key academic goals. The centre feels very passionately about scaling this programme and is currently planning to expand this beyond TCF, and initiate partnerships with educational NGOs and low-cost private schools across Pakistan.”

For more information, contact:
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
D.H.A. Lahore Cantt. 54792
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-35608000
Fax: +92-42-35725048
Website: www.lums.edu.pk