Category: Education

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) is organizing CFO Conference 2022 on May 17 & 19 in Karachi and Lahore respectively.

The conference will be attended by government officials, leading economists, finance leaders, national and international key opinion leaders and subject matter experts. Since 2010, ICAP has organized 20 CFO Conferences across the country with participation of over 9,000 participants, business leaders and finance professionals. In 2020, online conference was held in which around 25,000 professionals participated from across the globe.

The world has dramatically and drastically changed and is ever- evolving with a faster pace than expected. The shifts and transformations are challenging the existing economic and business models, thereby pushing the business leaders to think differently and redefine their business strategies and leadership styles to lead and succeed. Considering the ever-evolving role of Chief Financial Officer into Chief Value Officer, the theme of this year’s Conference is ‘Embracing the role as Chief Value Officer’.

The CFO Conference 2022 will gather finance and business leaders to discuss the trends shaping the financial and economic landscape of Pakistan and the rest of the world. This year Conference agenda includes a blend of 40 international and local speakers, thought leaders sharing their experience and knowledge on CFO’s role in ESG led value creation, agile organizations, becoming a transcendent leader, the rise of high growth ventures and gaining strategic and financial leverage with technology.

The conference key note speakers are Dr. Alnoor Bhimani, Professor and Director of South Asia Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Paul Papadimitriou, CEO, Intelligencr. Mr. Farrukh H Khan, MD & CEO, Pakistan Stock Exchange, Mr. Kevin Dancey, CEO, International Federation of Accountants, Dr. Amjad Saquib, Founder, Akhuwat Foundation and Dr. Nurmazilah Dato' Mahzan, CEO, Malaysian Institute of Accountants will also share their thoughts in the Conference. Mr. Samiullah Siddiqui, Chairman, Professional Accountants in Business Committee and Council Member, ICAP and Mr. Ashfaq Tola, President ICAP will share the Conference objectives, vision and the Institute’s contribution towards the finance and economic sector of Pakistan. The conference will also feature an evening with Pakistan’s legendary poets Mr. Iftikhar Hussain Arif and Mr. Ata ul Haq Qasmi.

IBA Stock Market Learning Challenge draws to a grand finale, awarding students with cash prizes and internships

IBA students show massive interest in simulation-based competition to learn investing skills

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) With over 500 students intensely engaged and 10,000 trades executed, IBA’s Virtual Stock Market Challenge, iStockX22 came to a successful close. The closing ceremony of IStockX’22 was held at the auditorium of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). Prizes were distributed among the Top 3 IBA students and Top 30 players were duly appreciated as they all outperformed the market. The winner, Talha Zahid obtained a massive 278% return, while runner ups Ahsan Khan and Rohan Khawar obtained 189% and 158% respectively.

Attendees included Executive Director, IBA Karachi, Dr. S Akbar Zaidi; Former Chairman, PSX, Mr. Muneer Kamal; Chief Operating Officer, PSX, Mr. Nadir Rahman; CEO, Topline Securities, Mr. Mohammed Sohail; Group Director, Elahi Group of Companies, Mr. Sohail Ilahi; Head of Marketing and Business Development, PSX, Ms. Raeda Latif; and CEO, Investors Lounge, Mr. Baqar Abbas Jafri.

CEO Topline Securities, and IBA alumnus, Mr. Mohammed Sohail commenced the ceremony and shed light on the objective of the event. He said, ‘IStockX’22 provided an opportunity for students to learn how to trade and apply their theoretical learning to the real world.’ He highlighted that IBA students were provided with world-class courses on the Investors Lounge portal along with analytical tools.

He further added that this marks the end of the Phase I of the tournament. Phase II, involving investment in stock markets with real money, would start from July, 2022. Top 30 participants from Phase I will advance to the next stage where trading would continue till December 31, 2022. The winners of this stage will be rewarded with money and employment opportunities.

Mr. Jafri highlighted the high engagement of IBA students and how this demonstrated a need for continuance of such platforms. He mentioned that over the period of one month, more than 508 students registered, and more than 10,000 trades were executed which involved more than 13 million shares and portfolios worth PKR 523 million.

Mr. Jafri said, ‘Students are not able to produce desired results despite having a degree. So, we realised the need for experiential learning to be built in the academic curriculum of investment management and finance to bridge this gap. Hopefully starting with help from IBA and support of the present team, this can be propagated into other universities.’

Speaking to the attendees, Dr. Zaidi praised the efforts undertaken to organize the month-long online trading competition, IstockX’22 organized by IBA alumni to train the IBA students to improve their skillset which shows their dedication towards giving back to their alma mater. He further stressed the need of increased interaction between the alumni, students and faculty of IBA. Dr. Zaidi advised the IBA student body, and alumni to look beyond the FMCG and conventional Banking industries, and venture in the world of financial markets.

Mr. Ilahi applauded the efforts of the IBA Finance Club, Investors Lounge & Topline securities for educating the young investors about investing strategies and providing them a great learning platform. ‘With proper learning and guidance to the youth regarding stock trading, we can address the problem of a low investor base in Pakistan’. Mr. Ilahi believes that there are ample opportunities for the investors and new heights can be achieved if the players running the show (brokerage houses & regulators) join hands as Topline Securities and Investors Lounge did.

Mr. Rahman appreciated the collaboration and emphasised on the need of increasing the investors in Pakistan.

Mr. Kamal highlighted the importance of learning beyond the books through such competitions and appreciated the role of the IBA Karachi in providing the learning opportunities for students. 

Patron of the IBA Finance Club, Ms. Tahira Mariam Jaffery congratulated the members of the IBA Finance Club for successful execution of phase I and thanked Topline Securities and Investor’s Lounge for their corporation. Moreover, Ms. Jaffery expressed her wish to further expand the competition and include more participants from different institutes in future.

Mr. Inam Masood, Manager, IBA Finance Club emphasized upon the need for providing such platforms to students to create financial awareness and literacy among the Pakistani Youth.

Winners were given a chance to share their trading strategies, along with the technical and fundamental analysis, with the industry professionals during the event.

The event concluded with distribution of prizes to the winner and the runner ups.

Faisalabad (Nut Desk) Beaconhouse, Pakistan’s largest network of private educational institutions, has recently helped set up a community play area at the Children’s Hospital, Faisalabad. Funds for this play area were raised from an Art Exhibition, themed ‘A Brush Can Change Everything’, held at Beaconhouse Kindergarten Branch, Faisalabad, as a charity initiative.

The aim of the Art Exhibition was to hold a fund-raising activity at the school with the help of young students’ artwork, while showcasing their creative skills and learning. Artwork created by the students of Beaconhouse Kindergarten Branch, Faisalabad was sold to parents, teachers, and other stakeholders and attendees during the exhibition, which helped raise a total of Rs. 600,000. The collected amount was then used to collaborate with the Children’s Hospital in Faisalabad to inaugurate a play area at the medical facility for its young patients.

Inspiration for the project was taken from the Beaconhouse funded recreational and play facilities at Children’s Hospital Lahore inaugurated in 2017, which includes an aviary.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the play area, Kasim Kasuri, Chief Executive of Beaconhouse, stated, “At Beaconhouse, we encourage our students to act as Dignity Ambassadors and community helpers, in order to inspire within them the core values of self-worth, charity, and the spirit of giving. I am proud of our students, their parents, teachers, and everyone else from the Beaconhouse team, who came together and helped execute this noble endeavor. I would also like to thank the team at the Children’s Hospital for their support with designating ample space at their vicinity, helping us make this possible.”

The play area at the Children’s Hospital features bright, pleasing colors to lift up spirits, and is complete with a variety of swings, trampolines, and play mats for the children’s entertainment during dreary hospital visits.

The organization was established in 1975 and has been showcasing educational expertise ever since, with a current student strength of over 315,000 across Pakistan.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Infinix, a global brand, has announced their latest campaign to enable underprivileged youth to hone their skills for the fast-paced tech world under ‘Express your Generosity.’ For this CSR initiative in collaboration with SOS Children’s Villages Pakistan, one of the most prominent NGOs working for the welfare of children and youth, Infinix is equipping their new facility with a state-of-the-art computer lab by donating their latest InBook laptops. With the help of this computer lab, residents of the SOS Children’s Villages will have access to unsurmountable knowledge and a practice ground to work on developing the required tech skills for the future. These efforts come as a meaningful and prompt gesture that demonstrates the company’s concern for the social welfare of society. Insert picture Talking about this initiative, the Marketing Director of Infinix Pakistan, Mr. Saad Shams, said, “Infinix as a brand emphasizes the development of the digital economy as one of the largest contributors to our gross domestic product (GDP). We feel all of us have a part to play in developing the digital skills of our youth on a grass-root level. Our collaboration with SOS Children’s Village is a part of a larger role that these children will play for the future of our country.” “On this occasion, I would like to express my congratulations and thanks to Infinix Pakistan for successfully implementing this digital empowering initiative at SOS Children’s Villages Pakistan. During the past few years that Infinix has established itself in Pakistan, we have witnessed various telecommunications projects and CSR initiatives developed due to its support of the local economy. Now we see their contribution to the education sector to empower youth,” said Ms. Saba Faisal, National Director SOS Children’s Villages Pakistan. The company remains committed to ensuring everyone has a right to education and believes that technology can help bring learning resources to where they are needed most to support education development.

Lahore (Nut Desk) The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the world’s largest business education alliance, has featured the Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB) in its Innovations That Inspire member spotlight programme. SDSB is one of 24 business schools worldwide to receive this honourable recognition this year for its Women’s Scholarship Initiative.

The SDSB Women’s Scholarship is the first in the world to extend a 50-percent tuition waiver to any woman accepted to its graduate programs, advancing women’s access to higher education and creating transformative social impact. 

 Innovations That Inspire recognizes several AACSB member schools each year that are drivers of change demonstrating innovative ways to address challenges and opportunities that have a positive societal impact. This year, schools were featured based on their innovative approaches to enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), a key focus of the AACSB’s accreditation standards.  The innovations ranged from education programs, research, community engagement or outreach, entrepreneurship, and leadership initiatives.

Dr. Arshad Ahmad, Vice-Chancellor of LUMS commented, “This recognition by AACSB is an honour and it reflects our institutional commitment to building a diverse and inclusive community at LUMS by actively developing strong women leaders. The SDSB scholarship empowers more women to gain access to quality education and make a critical difference in our society through their leadership. My sincere hope is that this paves the way for others to do the same in Pakistan”

The Women’s Scholarship is unique because it reflects an ethos that fostering women’s leadership through world-class business education is essential to Pakistan’s growth. 

Dr. Alnoor Bhimani, Honorary Dean, SDSB, said, “Women are a force for innovation, growth, and positive social change. Their engagement in business at the highest level is essential.  The 50% women’s scholarship at SDSB recognises that real success for an enterprise exists only when women have the possibility to lead.” 

Increasingly, the Scholarship is making an impact at LUMS and beyond. More women are studying at SDSB in generalist MBA programmes, and specialist full-time and weekend master’s degrees in Accounting and Analytics, Finance, Healthcare Management and Innovation, Supply Chain and Retail Management, Public Policy, and Technology Management and Entrepreneurship. SDSB’s graduate programmes currently comprise between 20 and 75 percent women. This is a true testament to the impact that the School is having on closing the prevalent gender gap that exists in all sectors and is a major challenge across Pakistan.

Dr. Syed Kumail Abbas Rizvi, Associate Professor, SDSB and Director, Accreditation and Quality Enhancement at LUMS added, “SDSB’s women scholarship is a powerful and far-reaching gesture by the School’s and LUMS’ leadership to acknowledge the significant role the women of our country have been playing in advancing and improving the business sector and society, by and large.” 

The SDSB joins a community of over 200 business schools that have been honoured through the Innovations That Inspire initiative over the last 7 years for their work on transforming business education and creating social impact.  AACSB President and CEO Caryn Beck-Dudley praised the SDSB saying, “Progress toward more welcoming, inclusive spaces requires action, and Suleman Dawood School of Business demonstrates leadership in this important effort. Through collaborations—among business schools, businesses, and communities—we will create a strong global society and equip leaders for positive impact.”

A full overview of all 24 innovative initiatives from across the world can be found on AACSB’s website. 

Islamabad (Muhammad Yasir) The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFEPT) has launched an initiative to improve learning outcomes in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) in middle and high schools across the country as it will provide a chance for the school students to be university-ready.

As a step forward in this regard, the education ministry has engaged eight renowned higher education institutes by signing memorandum of understandings (MoUs) here yesterday.

These institutes include National Textile University, Faisalabad, NFC Institute of Engineering & Fertilizers Research, Faisalabad, NFC Institute of Engineering & Technology, Multan, Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design, Lahore, Federal College of Education, Islamabad, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, and National Skills University, Islamabad.

Federal Secretary Education Naheed S. Durrani, vice chancellors along with other officials of these universities and Malala Fund’s Pakistan Director Javed Ahmed Malik were present at the MoUs signing ceremony.

In her remarks, the education secretary said, “Universities, with their expertise and resources such as qualified faculty members, laboratories, maker-spaces, studios, larger academic ecosystem, and a significant geographic spread of student population present a unique opportunity that the Ministry is keen to leverage to advance STEAM education at the school level.”

She added that their aspiration is for 100,000 school children and 5,000 teachers to be directly impacted by this collaboration within the first year of the partnership.

The education secretary mentioned that a number of Pakistani universities already have interaction and outreach programs targeting schools. These range from adopting or running K-10 schools to hosting summer camps and engineering admission preparation courses. However, there is no established framework for university-school collaborations, she added.

In his remarks, Additional Secretary Education Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani said that it is for the first time in Pakistan that in line with the best international practices a framework of university-school engagements has been developed with the specific objective to target improvement in STEAM learning.

“This framework is designed to ensure that our girls are not left behind in the pursuit of modern education,” he commented.

The Vice-Chancellors from the partner universities have welcomed this move as they believe it will provide a chance for the school students to be university-ready. In the long run, such programs are also likely to strengthen the universities’ outreach and enrich their communities by attracting more students from diverse backgrounds to their STEAM programs.

This initiative is part of the STEAM Pakistan intervention for which Malala Fund is also providing support to the Federal Ministry of Education and Professional Training. As part of this support, a policy unit, led by Pak Alliance for Science & Math (PAMS) has also been established in the ministry to provide technical assistance to the government.

In his remarks on the occasion, Javed Malik underlined the need to engage high schools with a range of players including industry leaders, universities, science promotion bodies as well as media and CSOs to help promote science education in the society.

“If provided, the elements missing in high school education such as effective lab usage, remedial education, art, and sports have the potential to transform the learning experience of students, especially girls,” Javed Malik concluded.

Lahore (Nut Desk)

Systems Limited and University of Engineering & Technology (UET) Lahore collaborated for training and development of students in order to meet future talent needs. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in the presence of Toima Asghar, CHRO, Muhammad Amin, SVP Cloud Services, Adil Sikander, AVP Talent Acquisition, and Adeel Ahmed Chatha, Manager/Lead Industrial & Academia Linkages from Systems Limited, and Prof. Dr. Syed Mansoor Sarwar, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Kamran, Dean, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shoaib, Chairman, Computer Science Department, Prof. Dr. Shazia Arshad, Computer Science Department and Dr. Muhammad Shafique, Director, University Advancement & External Linkages from UET Lahore.

Systems Limited and UET Lahore joined hands to deliver technological expertise to UET students through workshops, training, and certifications. Systems will award scholarships to students to recognize their accomplishments. Systems and UET want to bridge the gap between academia and industry to impart tech-market knowledge among these students. Final-year students will be able to acquire industry insight for their final-year projects (FYPs). The collaboration’s purpose is to develop the curriculum via a joint effort of faculty and industry experts, taking current market trends and future industry demands into account.

Toima Asghar and Muhammad Amin interacted with the students and discussed essential market skills, and technological trends in areas like as information technology, healthcare, logistics, construction, and e-commerce. Muhammad Amin talked particularly about various technical streams within cloud services ranging from Amazon Services, Azure, DevOps and Google Cloud Platform.

Toima Asghar, CHRO at Systems Limited, said, “This MOU between Systems Limited and UET Lahore is a sincere effort on the part of academia and industry, for sharing knowledge, skills and resources to accomplish mutually compatible goals of training and development of students, innovation and commercialization. We will provide necessary knowledge and exposure to the students in order to develop them to cope with future industrial needs.”

Muhammad Amin, SVP – Cloud Services at Systems Limited, said, “I am very excited about this collaboration. Skill based learning focuses on increasing employability through series of input to equip students with appropriate hands-on skills which help them to be job ready.”

Prof. Dr. Syed Mansoor Sarwar, Vice Chancellor, UET said, “I am pleased that UET Lahore is one of the pioneer universities to collaborate with industry leaders like Systems Limited in order to develop our students. Our students will get mentorship from Systems’ professionals in order to compete in National as well as International Markets.”

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shoaib, Chairman, Computer Science Department, UET said, “UET has a very strong focus on industrial – academia linkages in order to foster innovation and provide quality human resources to the industry. We are glad to be on board with Systems Limited and are looking forward to a very prosperous future for both organizations.”

Lahore (NUT DESK)

Accountants’ confidence edges higher in Q1 2022, but cost concerns reach a record high Finance professionals identify the biggest risks ahead – supply chain volatility and renewed Covid restrictions The latest edition of the Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) reveals worries about operating costs, with warnings of future economic shocks and increased risks. Conducted just before and during the war in Ukraine, the results understandably point to economic turbulence in the coming months.

GECS’s index of concern about operating costs jumped again in the latest survey by nine percentage points and is now at its highest level on record at 62%. This dramatic rise has played out over the last year and tracks the effects of rising energy and transport costs caused by supply chain shortages and disruption. In the Q1 survey, global confidence and global orders were little changed, up by four points to +9 for confidence and by two points to -3 for orders. Other economic activity indicators, such as employment and capital spending improved. Overall, the Q1 survey maintains the trend of modest overall growth through to the middle of the year, well down from the strong post-pandemic recovery of 2021.

In Q1, the Middle East was the best performing region with jumps in confidence and orders, probably a reflection of the increase in the oil price. Confidence and orders fell back in North America, influenced by the effects of the spread of the Omicron COVID variant. The level of orders in advanced regions remains above that in emerging regions, as it has throughout the post-pandemic recovery. GECS’s two ‘fear’ indices – measured by concern that customers and suppliers may go out of business – were little changed in the Q1 survey, down by two points and one point respectively. Both indices have fallen back from extreme levels seen in 2020 but are still above pre-pandemic levels. ACCA’s chief economist Michael Taylor commented: ‘Given the fast-moving and unpredictable nature of the war in Ukraine, it’s important to note that the survey may not fully capture the likely effects of the invasion. But the main economic effect of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been to push oil, gas, wheat, and other commodity prices much higher.

This will propel inflation to even greater heights, squeezing real incomes and slowing economic growth. Compared with previous forecasts, global growth may be reduced by as much as one percentage point this year, to around 3.25%.’ Loreal Jiles, vice president of research and thought leadership at IMA added: ‘We again asked respondents to name their two biggest economic risks – 51% said supply chain disruption and 50% said renewed COVID restrictions. Compared with the Q4 survey, there was an increase in rising interest rates as a risk, up to 40% from 26%. We expect U.S. interest rates to rise steadily this year, and this may result in a tightening of global financial conditions.’ Both ACCA and IMA warn of the risk of policy mistakes.

Loreal Jiles explained: ‘Removing the exceptional policy ease introduced to mitigate the effects of the pandemic was always going to be tricky. Over the last year, supply shortages and now the Russia-Ukraine war have resulted in a stagflation scenario reminiscent of the 1970s which was a time of weak economic growth combined with high rates of inflation.’ Michael Taylor concluded: ‘The economic consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are yet to fully emerge. Central banks in advanced economies face a difficult judgement call that could result either in over-tight policy causing recession or too easy policy embedding inflation and inflation expectations. Policies need to be thought through and stress tested very carefully in the days, weeks and months ahead.’

Lahore (Nut Desk)

Systems Limited and the FAST-NUCES Lahore collaborated for training and development of students to fulfill future talent needs. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in the presence of Toima Asghar, CHRO, Faisal Tajammul, SVP/Head – Cloud Application Development & Maintenance, Adeel Ahmed Chatha, Manager/Lead Industrial & Academia Linkages from Systems Limited and Dr. Hammad Naveed, Director – FAST Lahore, Dr. Ali Afzal, Assistant Professor CS Department, Aqsa Sarfraz, Deputy Manager – Student Affairs and faculty members of FAST Lahore.

The leadership of Systems Limited and FAST Lahore believes in creating synergies by providing technical knowledge through workshops, trainings and certifications to the students of FAST Lahore. Systems will be providing scholarships to the students in order to recognize their achievements and talent. By providing them with tech-market experience, the group hopes to help bridge the gap between academics and industry. Students in final year will be able to gain an industry perspective for their final year projects (FYPs). The goal of the cooperation is to improve the curriculum through a collaborative effort of faculty and industry leaders, considering current market trends and future industry demands.

Faisal Tajammal and Toima Asghar interacted with the students at this occasion and talked about global career opportunities, required market skills, technology trends in the sectors like Information Technology, Healthcare, Logistics, Construction and E-Commerce.

Toima Asghar, CHRO at Systems Limited, shed light on the occasion, “Today marks a very exciting day when Systems is joining hands with the leading IT University of Pakistan in order to provide support to the students of FAST Lahore. We will be working with these brilliant students to improve their problem solving and technical skills in accordance to the upcoming technological needs. We have also discussed various avenues of cooperation, on which we will be working directly with the faculty of FAST to bring a technological transformation in our country.”

Faisal Tajammal, SVP/Head of Cloud Application Development & Development at Systems Limited, said, “We are excited to partner with FAST LHR with a purpose to enable our talented youth for global IT market needs. We truly believe that our IT graduates have immense potential to compete with international engineers. We will work with FAST faculty members to design courses which will not only enhance the technical competence but also focus on ‘Curiosity’ and ‘Consistency’ which are the two most important traits in learning and skill development.”

Dr. Hammad Naveed, Director, NUCES – FAST, Lahore, said, “COVID-19 was a test for most industries but for the IT industry it was a blessing. It brought about increased acceptance for remote working environments. As a result, Pakistan saw huge demand for IT services. It is imperative that the Industry and academia come together to take advantage of this opportunity. Systems Ltd has initiated today’s collaboration in this regard to strengthen industry-academia contacts and to provide students with professional development opportunities. This will result in better trained HR for the industry and more revenue for the country in the long run. NUCES-FAST is committed to partnering with industry to further all such initiatives.”

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) 28 LUMS graduates passed the recently held Central Superior Services (CSS) examinations with 3 alumni securing top positions. Hafiz Ali Naeem Sheikh, a graduate of BSc Management Science (2017) has secured a top position and has been inducted into the Pakistan Administrative Services (PAS). Hafiz is joined by Ahsan Fraz Gondal, a graduate of BSc Accounting and Finance (2019), and Haroon Sahu, BSc Economics and Mathematics (2020), who have both secured the second and third positions in the CSS exam 2021, respectively.

Congratulating the alumni on achieving top honours in their Civil Services exams, Vice-Chancellor of LUMS, Dr. Arshad Ahmad said, “We are very proud of your hard work that has resulted in this well-deserved achievement! The Central Superior Service Exams are no small feat, and it takes months (and in some cases years) of study and preparation to pass them and then eventually be placed into various posts within Pakistan’s Civil Service. This year, we are thrilled that the highest number of people to receive top marks in the exam are from LUMS. Ali, Ahsan and Haroon are among twenty-eight LUMS alumni who will enter the Civil Service to give back to Pakistan and through their work contribute to making critical changes in the lives of others.”

When asked about how LUMS helped the students in preparing for these examinations, Ahsan remarked, “LUMS played a key role in equipping me with analytical and critical thinking tools. The courses helped me become a better writer and enabled me to pass the CSS essay in the first attempt.”

Hafiz Ali Naeem Sheikh is also a National Outreach Programme (NOP) scholar. The NOP is an initiative aimed at promoting cultural diversity and inclusion by imparting world-class education to talented students from across the country with funding of over 140% for tuition and other expenses.

Crediting his achievement at LUMS, Hafiz shared, “I actively participated in extracurricular activities at LUMS and connected with peers belonging to different academic and social backgrounds. That experience helped me to get selected for the Near East and South Asia Exchange Scholarship Programme to study in the US for a year and ultimately motivated me to join the Civil Service.”

Director of Advancement Office, LUMS, Ms. Nuzhat Kamran also commented on this achievement. “In the past few years, LUMS graduates have secured positions in the CSS exams. And this year, they took the top three places! They are joining a community of over 200 alumni, who have passed these exams to date. This group mentors and guides fellow Luminites aspiring to join the Civil Services. I hope this tradition of mentorship continues and our CSS alumni inspire the community as they serve our country,” she said.  

In addition to Law and Humanities and Social Sciences students, this year many students from Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering at LUMS have passed and taken positions in the coveted exams. For the past few years, an increasing number of LUMS students and alumni are appearing for this competitive examination after graduation and have qualified. In line with the mission of the University, LUMS looks forward to its graduates contributing to the prosperity of the country through civil services.