Category: Education

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Sahir Ludhianvi, one of the key figures of progressive writers association, legendary Urdu Poet and song writer passed very tempestuous and emotional time in Lahore in pre-partition era and two initial years of independent Pakistan. Lahore, the cultural capital of sub-continent gave Sahir his first poetry book “Talkhiyan”,  Amrita Pritam’s romance with Sahir blossomed in Lahore and his bonding with peers like A Hameed, Ibn-e-Insha, Fikar Taunsvi, Qateel Shefai, Hameed Akhtar and Sadaat Hasan Manto remained integral part of Sahir’s Nostalgia in Bombay where he passed his later life as a  leading film lyricist.

Many such enlightening memories from Sahir Ludhianvi’s life in Lahore were traced and presented in amusing session at 50th Thaap Talk entitled “Sahir Ludhianvi’s Lahore, Lahore’s Sahir Ludhianvi” , held at Thaap Gulberg Lahore on Friday evening. Raza Naeem, noted translator and literary activist presented extracts from his research on 6 years of Sahir’s Ludhianvi’s life passed in Lahore from 1943 to 1949.  He gave a deep insight of Sahir’s life , his residence at Abbot Road near Lakshmi Chowk Lahore, his life style, philosophy of life. Raza  mentioned the struggle behind publishing his first poetry collection “Talkhiyan” which later became best seller poetry book and how film makers use to keep its pocket edition in their pockets.

Raza Naeem described that Sahir came to Lahore at the age of 21 when he was expelled from college in Ludhiana for romancing a girl.Young and heartbroken Sahir headed to Lahore,the cosmopolitan city and  Cultural hub of sub continent at that time. Sahir stayed with A Hameed, Ibn e Insha, Fikar Taunsvi at Abbot road and started his struggle as a poet. Although his poems were quite popular but nobody was agreed to publish its poetry collection.

Gurbaksh singh, editor of Illustrious Sawera magazine published pocket edition of Sahir’s first collection entitled “Talkhiyan” which became an instant hit and still one favourite book of Urdu Litertature lovers. Raza Naeem also narrated the incident of Sahir’s first meeting with Musician R D Burman after his migration to India in which R D Burman showed him pocket edition of Talkhiyan.

While shedding light on one of Sahir’s enduring poem Taj Mahal,Raza Naeem narrated that poem displays a unique consciousness about a cultural and civilizational asset and is also an outstanding in terms of its impact.

The talk was well attended by lovers of history, Art and poetry. Secretary to THAAP Ar Mehreen Mustafa and Hosts of the evening Professor Pervaiz Vandal and Prof. Sajida Vandal thanked the speaker Raza Naeem for presenting well informative and rich session.The speakers also answered various questions asked by participants about Sahir Ludhianvi.

***************

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The Lighthouse, a non-profit organisation formed under the Beaconhouse Group has recently been launched, aimed towards providing a loving home for orphans to nurture them into empowered and confident individuals. This project was initiated by Amina Wattoo Kasuri, Founder and Executive Director at The Lighthouse, and Project Director at Concordia Colleges in Pakistan.

Located near the Srinagar Highway in Islamabad, The Lighthouse is a boarding and education facility for orphaned and less privileged children to provide them with a home that will ensure that they receive quality education, necessary life skills, and other emotional and developmental support without discrimination.

As stated by Amina Wattoo Kasuri, Founder at The Lighthouse, “We have over the years worked tirelessly towards the development and uplifting of deserving members of our society. The Lighthouse is an extension of our efforts, and has been a dream of many years. Our vision is to invest in children’s lives today in order to transform their future, while we work to create a safe and stimulating environment where they receive adequate nutrition and are healthy, and are given ample support for their education.”

“Positive changes inevitably take time, but we are committed to improving the lives of disadvantaged children for the long haul. As our name suggests, we aim to be the guiding light that safely leads children towards a secure future,” she expressed.

The orphanage provides free lodging to children, as well as free education at The Educators, a chain of schools by Beaconhouse. The resident children at The Lighthouse will also be given necessary medical services and treatments, transportation facilities to educational and recreational institutions, nutritious meals, financial support to facilitate their marriages once they are of appropriate age, and support and guidance from trained and dedicated staff.

The Lighthouse is a project established under the Mahmud Ali Kasuri (MAK) Welfare Trust, an independent non-profit organisation working towards uplifting the less privileged sector of society. The Trust and its key donors, Beaconhouse, the Kasuri family, and Beaconhouse employees, have consistently responded with meaningful contributions during national crises, including the 2005 earthquake that devastated the northern areas of Pakistan, the IDP crisis of 2009, the massive flooding of 2010 and 2014 and the Covid-19 crisis engulfing the country in 2020.

Details about the orphanage and donations can be found at www.thelighthouse.com.pk.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi and Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University (AKU), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide a fully funded, research training opportunity in Data Science and Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to four candidates. The MoU signing ceremony was held at AKU and Dr. S Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director, IBA; and Mr. Sulaiman Shahbuddin, President, AKU, graced the event as chief guests.

Dr. Shakeel Khoja, Dean School of Mathematics and Computer Science (SMCS), IBA and Dr. Adil Haider, Dean Medical College, AKU signed the agreement on behalf of their respective institutions. The collaboration aims to enable and support aspirational Data Science students interested in the research of NCDs. Selected students will be fully funded for their Master’s in Data Science from SMCS, IBA, and will be provided with the opportunity to work as a paid Research Instructor for two years at the Department of Medicine, AKU. Furthermore, the program includes mentorship by IBA, AKU and Duke University Faculty.

The IBA team included Dr. Tariq Mahmood, Professor and Program Coordinator, MS Computer Science and MS Data science programs; Dr. Shahid Hussain, Chairperson, Computer Science department; and Dr. Sajjad Haider, Professor, Computer Science department. AKU was represented by Dr. Zainab Samad, Ibn-e-Sina Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine and Director, CITRIC Health Data Science Centre; Dr. Adil Haider, Dean Medical College, and other faculty members.

The event commenced with opening remarks by Dr. Zainab Samad and Dr. Gerald Bloomfield, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine and Global Health Institute, Duke University.

A panel discussion moderated by Dr. Sarmad ensued and included the following speakers: Dr. Sajjad Haider, Professor, Computer Science Department, IBA; Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Paediatrics & Child Health, AKU; Dr. John Bartlett, Professor of Medicine, Global Health and Nursing, Duke University; Dr. Ayeesha Kamal, Professor of Neurology, AKU and Dr. Aysha Almas, Associate Professor of Medicine, AKU.

Dr. Haider elaborated that the collaboration would enable academics from AKU and IBA to investigate the applications of existing machine learning algorithms for healthcare problems such as patient stay prediction, the possibility of readmission, and early warning systems to predict patient risk at an early stage. Additionally, the joint effort would also focus on the application of computer vision techniques on medical images and text analytics techniques on clinical notes and radiologist reports. This collaboration would also provide an avenue to develop novel methods for explainable Artificial Intelligence in the health domain.

Addressing the audience Dr. Zaidi commended AKU for organizing an excellent event and for playing an integral role in this collaboration between IBA, AKU and Duke University to train researchers who can understand and contribute towards suggesting and developing low-cost solutions to NCDs. He also said that this collaboration will bring great research opportunities for his colleagues.

Sharing his views, Dr. Khoja said that “This is a unique academic partnership in Pakistan between the IBA and AKU, where academics will work in their own domains to carry out research in order to solve local problems and challenges.”

Expressing his appreciation, Mr. Shahbuddin thanked Dr. Zaidi for gracing the event with his presence. Furthermore, he said that as a proud IBA alumnus, he was delighted at this collaboration between the two finest institutes, the AKU and the IBA, which have come together to deliver this project on Data Science and building capacities for research in NCDs in Pakistan.

Speaking about the Program structure, Dr. Tariq Mahmood said, “The exact method through which this program will be executed is through first identifying the NCD health indicators. Then we are going to create problem statements and research questions pertaining to the improvement of these health indicators. We will then convert these problems to formal projects to be executed in the MSDS program as MS theses, MS projects or course projects. Furthermore, we will strive for maximum performance through aggressive hands-on activities in data science skills.”

 

Startups participating in the program are receiving hands-on, practical training in preparation for their pitches to DHL, Etisalat, EY, Koç Holding, and PwC.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The second edition of Microsoft for Startups’ GrowthX Accelerator program is halfway through completion, with the cohort of 21 startups gaining invaluable knowledge aimed at helping them grow and scale their businesses.

Part of a strategic partnership between the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and Microsoft for Startups, the GrowthX Accelerator is a 12-week program designed to bridge the gap between corporates and B2B tech startups across the Middle East and Africa by enabling them to work together and solve unique challenges.

“Startups offer creative, innovative solutions to challenges faced in businesses and communities everywhere,” said Eng. Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, Acting Director General of ADIO. “Programs such as the GrowthX Accelerator offer them hands-on, practical training that will help them grow and scale their businesses in the shorter-term, and drive further impact in the long-term. It has been truly rewarding to receive positive feedback from the second cohort of startups. Through such programs, Abu Dhabi will continue to foster an enabling business environment and support startups with the access they need to grow.”

Since commencing in March 2022, the second edition of the program has empowered 21 B2B tech startups with hands-on training and mentorship from the Microsoft for Startups team, as well as the program’s Corporate Engagement Partners which include DHL, Etisalat, EY, Koç Holding, and PwC. Corporate partners are holding bi-weekly mentorship sessions with founders, giving them an opportunity to enhance their business models, modify their tech solutions and discover new customer acquisition techniques.

A notable highlight for founders has been the ‘Pitch Deck Clinics,” where they are guided on best practices to enhance their investment and sales decks. Startups have also participated in weekly sessions on topics such as Go to Market Strategy, where they explored best practices for early-stage customer acquisition, sales processes and communicating company values. Another standout session was on Growth Hacking, which offered vital information to help startups clearly structure a growth plan and always maintain a growth mindset.

In addition to these valuable teachings that founders can leverage to scale their businesses once the program has concluded, the sessions also prepare participating startups for the corporate sessions they will attend later in the program, where they will pitch their innovative business idea to the program’s participating corporates.

“Over the past few weeks, I have been excited to see how the startups have leveraged the program to engage with our knowledge partners and mentors to enhance areas of their business” said Andrew Macadam, Global Founder Success Director, Microsoft for Startups. “Our partner Stripe delivered an in-depth session on pricing and monetization which gave the cohort insights into how to test pricing, understand the competition as well as how to understand customer personas. Additionally, the startups were able to have access to interesting B2B marketing techniques through a session led by LinkedIn, which they can apply to their own marketing strategies and teams to optimise overall reach and supercharge their growth in the region.”

The GrowthX Accelerator runs until June 2022. For more information on the Microsoft for Startups, click here.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) organized CFO Conference 2022 on the theme ‘Embracing the role as Chief Value Officer’ on Thursday at a local hotel venue. Mr. Samiullah Siddiqui FCA Chairman PAIBC & Council Member ICAP in his address welcomed all the key note speakers, dignitaries, sponsors and guests. He also thanked all the sponsors for coming forward in supporting CFO conference 2022 on much needed topic “Embracing the role as Chief Value Officer. Mr. Ashfaq Yousuf Tola, President of ICAP welcomed the guests and congratulated the organizing committee, council members, sponsors, and the participants. He said that this conference is very valuable as it is providing 500 years of experience in just a single day. He said that after Covid -19 pandemic a very fast technological advancement can be seen clearly leading the world to move very fast. Mr. Tola highlighted that the economy is the key pillar of sustainability, and in order to have the value of ascertaining, one needs to be updated and make appropriate decisions towards sustainability. Mr. Paul Papadimitriou Founder & CEO of Intelligencr delivered a keynote speech on “A Peek into the the World’s Financial & Economic Landscape. He said that Pakistan has a great potential to benefit from these faster dynamics as many rural areas in Pakistan are shifting into cities. Despite increasing inflation, Pakistan being a high-potential country is an opportunity for companies looking for outsourcing. CFOs need to be transcendent leaders who empower others in order to get maximum quality output. He said that technology is a great opportunity and always creates value in an organization irrespective of the fact that the country is rich or poor. He emphasized the importance of human assets that we have in the shape of youth. Around 2.5 billion people are entering the middle class and around 1 billion women are new emerging workforce. Dr. Ahmad Junaid of KSBL presented the result of the CFO Survey 2022, the survey entailed collective insights from 300+ CFOs, Finance Directors, and Financial Controllers of diversified industries from within Pakistan. It will help businesses understand macroeconomic expectations, capital availability, tech perspective, workforce requirements, and other pressing concerns in Pakistan to make informed decisions. Sustainability is the burning topic these days and it is not a choice anymore, especially in Pakistan we have to make it available to everyone the reason to conduct this survey is to reduce the lack of communication among finance professionals.

The conference hosted various key sessions on diversified subjects and featured prominent entrepreneurs and members of the business fraternity of Pakistan.

Lahore (Nut Desk) The donor-funded Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Sector Support Programme (SSP) has handed over seven digital learning aids/ simulators to the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Mughalpura, which is an institute of the Punjab Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA).

The learning aids were produced by the graduates trained under the workplace-based training model in Sindh under TVET SSP. The Mughalpura CoE, where the handing over ceremony was held, has also been upgraded with the support of TVET SSP.

A total of 51 simulators have been produced with the support of TVET SSP in 4 institutes in Sindh. A total of 23 simulators will be delivered to Punjab TEVTA institutes in Lahore, Okara, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Lodhran and Sargodha. Private sector enterprises have played a key role in research and development, assembling as well as quality assurance of the simulators during the production process. These learning aids/ simulators will be vital for competency-based training delivery in automobile, HVAC, electrical and renewable energy related trades.

The event was attended by development partners, stakeholders from the public and private sectors, staff of the CoE and media representatives. The TVET SSP is funded by the EU, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Norwegian Embassy and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the NAVTTC.

Speaking at the ceremony, in her welcome remarks, Ms Iris Cordelia Rotzoll, Head of TVET SSP, said, “The innovative ways of promotion of TVET reforms in Pakistan is our key success factor. After a decade of operations in Pakistan, we can now clearly witness the progress by seeing TVET through competency-based training methods becoming the mainstream in the technical education arena of Pakistan. We can surely say that Pakistan is on the right path for TVET reforms”.

Speaking at the ceremony, First Secretary, Team Leader Governance and Education, European Union Delegation to Pakistan, Mr Sven RUESCH said, “The EU Delegation in Pakistan has been supporting the promotion of technical and vocational skills learning and policy reforms for more than a decade now. Our assistance to the TVET sector in Pakistan exceeds 90 million Euros and we aim to continue our support in the coming years.”

In his closing remarks, CEO Punjab TEVTA Akhtar Abbas Bharwana said the TEVTAs, in close collaboration with the TVET SSP, are equipping many young people with competency-based training and preparing them for employment opportunities for skilled workers. With the help of this learning aid in the form of simulators, young men and women can come forward and learn innovative skills.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

*International Museum Day; The power of Museums*

ICOM Pakistan organized a panel discussion to mark the International Museum Day on 18th of May 2022 at Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore. The event began with an opening note by the Principal of Kinnaird College Dr Rukhsana David who is also the Chair of ICOM Pakistan. She gave a short history of ICOM and museums in general.

She shared that each year there is a theme for the International Museum Day and this year it was the Power of Museums. This year the idea is to try bring about a positive change in the community through three lenses:
The power of achieving sustainability, the power of digital innovation and accessibility and the power of community building through education.
She said it was indeed heartening to have museum professionals on the panel to discuss and share their knowledge about museums.

Dr.Christina Menegazzi , a professional on heritage and museums delivered a talk followed by the panel discussion with former Director Lahore Museum, Dr. Saif ur Rehman Dar, Dr. Muhammad Hameed, head of Archaeology Department , Punjab University and Mr. Mujeeb Khan, keeper of pre –Islamic art collection at Lahore Museum.

Students, faculty and guests showed a keen interest in the panel discussion on museums and appreciated Kinnaird College for Women and ICOM Pakistan to have arranged this very interesting and informative session on museums.

************

Lahore (Nut Desk) Possibilities of increasing Educational exchange and strengthening the existing ties discussed. Lahore 17th May Higher Education Attaché Of French Embassy in Pakistan Visited Kinnaird College for Women in Lahore . Ms Sabine Vermillard visited Kinnaird college for women and met with the Principal Dr Rukhsana David , Rizwan Anwar Executive Director of Centre for Learning and Cultural Development at Kinnaird and Director Ms Maha Jamil .

During the meeting, the Higher Educational Attaché of French Embassy talked with the Executives of Kinnaird about the possibility of increasing educational exchanges and strengthening the Existing ties with French Varsities including the University of Catholique De Lille and other initiatives. Ms. Sabine also share the ideas about educational opportunities for Pakistani Students to Provide them facilities to engage with French Universities. Sabine Congratulated the Kinnaird Officials for the Recent successful tour to the Erasmus + Week in Lille , France for establishing Collaborations with French and European Institutions.

They also discussed about the Upcoming Educational activities , French Language Summer Camp at Kinnaird and Students Exchange Program with France and Faculty Engagement with French Institutes.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi and the Sumitomo Corporation signed an MoU to financially support aspirational students in their academic journey. The agreement was signed by Executive Director, IBA Karachi, Dr. S Akbar Zaidi and General Manager, Pakistan Office, Sumitomo Corporation Asia & Oceania Pte Ltd, Mr. Kazuteru Mihara on behalf of Sumitomo Corporation.

Participants included, Mr. Shahzad Ali, Assistant General Manager, Sumitomo Corporation Asia & Oceania Pte Ltd and Ms. Malahat Awan, Director, Alumni Communications and Resource Mobilization (ARC), IBA. The objective of this agreement is to nurture and foster the education of capable young leaders attending the Institute, who shall be entrusted with the future of Pakistan. The corporation will support 3 MBA students each year. The selected students will receive individual grants to cover their tuition fees. 

Sumitomo Corporation is one of the largest global general trading companies, working towards making education accessible for deserving and ambitious students. This MoU will create opportunities for local students to attain the financial support needed to pursue their educational goals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) United Charter Schools (UCS), a project of Beaconhouse Group, has successfully signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with leading educationists to franchise seven more facilities of the UCS with the aim to play an important role in the provision of quality education of an international standard to generations of young Pakistanis. To celebrate the occasion, a dinner was hosted by United Charter Schools at the Pearl Continental, Karachi.

Fatima Kasuri, Project Director at the United Charter Schools presided over the signing ceremonies, along with Naveen Shahid Butt, Deputy Director; Omar Mushtaq, Senior Manager Business Development; and Haseebullah Qureshi, Regional Head at UCS. The MoUs were signed between United Charter Schools and seven franchisees: Salman Ashfaq from Gulshan-e-Maymar Campus, Irfan Qureshi from Gulshan-e-Iqbal Campus, Adnan Kazi from F.B Area Campus, Furqan Kazi from Gulistan-e-Jauhar Campus, Imran Ansari from Rafaye-e-Aam Campus, Zeeshan Yousuf from M.A Jinnah Campus, and Erum Farooq Edhi from Clifton Campus.

Fatima Kasuri appreciated the efforts of all stakeholders in transforming United Charter Schools from a handful of campuses into an expanding network of leading schools in Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion, she stated, “At UCS, we believe that every child has a right to quality education in line with international standards, enhanced with latest technology use. Our education model enables our students to become confident, creative, independent, and critical thinkers enriched with knowledge, skills, and attitudes that empower them to become responsible global citizens. These partnerships with our franchisees reiterate our consolidated efforts in building a solid foundation for students’ successful futures.”

United Charter Schools offers an Oxford-based high quality curriculum that is also in sync with the objectives of the government mandated Single National Curriculum. UCS follows a hybrid learning system made possible with its proprietary online portal system INFINITY – a comprehensive dashboard for school management, administration, and faculty. It offers a holistic teaching and learning methodology that promotes social and cultural development of young minds.