Category: Education

Lahore – Huawei has recently held the regional and national finals of the ICT Skills Competition 2017. During the regional finals, the top 150 participants from three regions; North, South and Central, participated in the online tests, which were held at designated HAINA Test Centers. Each of these 150 contestants was given souvenirs and giveaways from Huawei.
After a transparent screening process through computers, the top 50 students were selected for the National Finals of this competition, which were held in Lahore and Karachi on 9th of November. The finals in Islamabad were held on 13th Nov. 2017.
The exam centers chosen for the National round were; Huawei ICT academies, University of Engineering & Technology (UET) Lahore, NED University Karachi and COMSATS Islamabad. Lab exam environment was prepared for 50 students, by the HAINA academies, to evaluate and select the contestants. Through the National Final, the top 6 out of 50 participants were be chosen to qualify for the International Final, which will be held in Shenzhen China, in early December 2017.
The winners will be given exciting prizes, mobile phones, Huawei certification, vouchers and a fully paid tour of Huawei Headquarters in China. Students qualifying in the Regional and National finals have also received exciting prizes and giveaways.

Lahore – Edexcel-Pearson recognized the achievement of young Pakistani
Scientist, Muhammad Shaheer Niazi for his research on Electric
Honeycomb. At present, he is doing his A-Levels from Lahore College of
Arts and Sciences (LACAS), Johar Town which is also Edexcel-Pearson
approved academic centre in Lahore and every year this centre stands
in the rows of distinctions at various levels.

Muhammad Shaheer is the first high school student from Pakistan who
managed to photograph the movement of ions that forms the honeycomb
besides recording the heat found on the surface of oil.

In recognition of his achievement in scientific world, being the teen
scientist Pearson awarded him a recognition award in Lahore.

On the occasion, Ms. Premila Paulraj, Director Asia, Edexcel-Pearson,
I am pleased to present a small token of appreciation to Muhammad
Shaheer on his achievement at this tender age. The students of
Pakistan are truly energetic and can do wonders if provided learning
opportunities. Pearson will ensure its continuous collaboration with
academic institutions across the country.

Dr. David Davies, International Education Consultant, Pearson said,
students like Muhammad Shaheer are a privilege for Pearson and this is
obviously proud moment for all of us. We are enthusiastic to see more
students from different fields to come forward and focus on research.
It is ensured that, schools teach new grading scale qualifications to
the students to enable greater differentiation of students.

Lahore –  Bringing forward its vision of enhanced customer-centricity, Zong 4G the country’s No.1 Data network has provided free access to the ‘My Zong’  customer care app as well as the Zong 4G website to all its customers. Whereas previously customers paid data charges on the use of these digital services, the move to provide free access has been taken to provide greater convenience alongside a greatly improved user experience for all Zong 4G subscribers.

Both services allow customers access to important information on Zong 4G’s packages and value added services as well as the ability to activate or deactivate the company’s broad range of bundles and packages. Furthermore, customers will also be able to chat with customer care officers and help resolve their issues in a timely and convenient manner all without any charges. Customer are advised to note however, that all internal and external links embedded within the APP and website will be charged as per individual package plans.

By continuing to place customers at the forefront of its decision making process, Zong 4G remains committed to delivering a rich user experience, for the fastest growing 4G network in the country.

Lahore – Pakistan HUAWEI ICT skills competition workshops were successfully held at the FAST National University Islamabad, Lahore College for Women University, FAST National University Lahore in the first week, more than 300 students enrolled. The roadshow invited the HUAWEI ICT Academy Pakistan representative offices, Universities’ teachers and students attended the competition roadshows.
Pakistan HUAWEI ICT skills competition is an important regional annual World skills competition, to promote the academic enterprise cooperation in Pakistan. This is the second ICT competition in Pakistan. Based on the first editions success and high recognition in Pakistan, this year the competition brings more opportunities and awards from the very beginning.
HUAWEI ICT Pakistan skills competition aims to cultivate talents and build a talent ecological system in Pakistan’s ICT industry. With the help of the program, we aim to improve the education system for ICT personnel by providing training in Pakistan so that students can gain more knowledge and acquire more skills through the competition. And get opportunities to study in the competition, grow up in the competition.
Huawei in each workshop focuses to introduce the competitions’ features, stages and the Academy platform, and guide university students how to register. Student show great enthusiasm at the scene, and actively participate in the competition. Representative enterprise service department has also added value to the workshops by sharing the latest HUAWEI ICT technology in safe city, big data, cloud computing, the use of IOT, and let the students to understand and answer their questions.
At the same time, we hope that under the common concern in all walks of life, this competition can be successfully held. We also wish the students who participated in the Pakistan competition to get good results in the international competition.
The first week of roadshows ended successfully, while the ICT skills competition in Pakistan has just begun. HUAWEI hopes that through the current ICT skills competition, HUAWEI, institutions, educational partners and many enterprises in the HUAWEI industry chain will be organically linked. Pakistan local ICT talent ecological chain construction continues to strengthen as Huawei ICT Academy family grows.

Islamabad –  Pearson-Edexcel started free face to face trainings in Pakistan for the new international GCSEs qualifications by the UK trainers. Training on “Getting Ready to Teach the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Language B (9-1) (4EB1)” for first teaching in September 2017 was held at Islamabad Serena Hotel by Elizabeth Mangan who came from UK.Teachers from the leading private schools including Froebel’s International School, Roots IVY, City School, Roots International, PakTurk, GSIS, Beacon Light Academy, Bench Mark School, Cornerstone School Lahore participated in the training session.Training is designed to support teachers who are preparing to deliver the new International GCSE specification for first assessment in May/June 2019.Our main focused is on structure, content and assessment of the qualification, consider the key changes and explore possible teaching and delivery strategies for the new qualification- Said Elizabeth Mangan.Faisal Mahmood-Country Head Edexcel said we are planning to organize series of training sessions on different subjects by the UK trainers and these training sessoins are very useful for teachers and they have the opportunity to network, discuss best practice, take away resources to help in planning and delivery, and share ideas with other teachers. I am glad that teachers have shown much interest and participated in the trainings.These training are very important after the new grading scale is being applied to the new suite of Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs, which have been refreshed and developed to World Class Qualification standards, include more support on developing transferable skills in students and have a richer range of support available for a greater number of subjects.

For more information on the new International GCSEs and grading scale please go to: http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-international-gcses-and-edexcel-certificates/International-GCSEs-from-2016-and-2017.html

About Edexcel – Edexcel, a Pearson company, is UK’s largest awarding body offering academic and vocational qualifications and testing to schools, colleges, employers and other places of learning in the UK and internationally. In 2011, we delivered 10 million exam scripts in over 92 countries, with 4.5 million marked onscreen using the groundbreaking ePen technology. Our international general qualifications such as International GCSEs, GCE AS and A Levels and International Primary and Lower Secondary Curriculum are hugely popular and taken by learners in 92 countries. Our vocational qualifications include BTECs from the Entry Level to Higher National Diplomas. Our entire vocational portfolio has over one million registrations across 70 countries.  www.edexcel.com/international

 

 Karachi –  The Citizens Foundation (TCF) has been awarded the prestigious UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy, 2017 for their Adult Literacy Programme, Aagahi. In line with this year’s theme, Aagahi which literally means ‘awareness’ is creating meaningful interventions to impart basic reading and writing skills to older women and young girls who have never been to school before. TCF is the only organization from Pakistan to win this award, the other winners are AdulTICoProgram from Columbia and FunDza from South Africa.The UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy was established in 2005 with the support of the Government of the People’s Republic of China. It gives special consideration to literacy amongst adults in rural areas and out-of-school youth, particularly girls and women.Ms. Vibeke Jensen, Director/ Representative of UNESCO in Pakistan, stated, “The low literacy rate is a major problem in Pakistan, and I highly appreciate this initiative of TCF to educate women through their literacy program, Aagahi.”“To be truly empowering, new technologies must stand on two pillars,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova as she opened the International Conference on International Literacy Day at Paris Headquarters, which focuses this year on Literacy in a digital world. “First, they must be inclusive, bridging gaps, not deepening them. Second, they must be underpinned by respect for human rights and dignity. All this gives rise to new questions about the meaning of literacy today.”This year’s theme of UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy was ‘Literacy in a Digital World’ and TCF’s Aagahi was recognized on the basis of its effectiveness and the successful use of technology and digital tools for monitoring and evaluation of the programme. The Prize was presented at an official ceremony at UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris on International Literacy Day at 8^th September, 2017. Mr. Ateed Riaz, Co-Founder and Chairman of TCF, received the award on behalf of the organization in the presence of Amna Khalid, Executive Advisor of TCF for Community Development Programs.

Karachi   –  After the success of The Dawood Foundation’s (TDF) grand science exhibition last year – Magnifi Science, TDF is organizing the “TDF Magnifi-Science Exhibition 2017” from 6^th– 8^th October at Dawood Public School. The Exhibition is sponsored by Dawood Hercules Corp and Engro Corp while HUBCO is the supporting sponsor.TDF Magnifi-Science Exhibition is based on a museum model where visitors will get involved in the wonders of science through interactive experiments, exhibits developed by specialists and professionals, and expositions by renowned organizations and innovators. The Exhibition will also host various science clubs as exhibitors.The purpose of this science exhibition is to encourage people of all age groups, especially students, to explore the different aspects of science and take full advantage of the many concepts the field has to offer.Briefing about the upcoming TDF Magnifi-Science, CEO TDF Ms. Sabrina Dawood said “After the phenomenal response we experienced last year, we have planned to make this year’s exhibition bigger with more professional exhibits in each of our themes; Basic sciences, Science of Technology, Earth Sciences and Health Science.’ ‘TDF Magnifi-Science leverages fun, interactive exhibits to foster learning among students. Each exhibit aims to stimulate visitors’ curiosity, leading them to learn and retain simple but important scientific knowledge”, she added.

According to a survey conducted at last TDF Magnifi-Science, around 94% of the students learned the importance that science has in their daily lives after the exhibition.  Whereas 70% said that the exhibition stimulated them to want to apply science in a creative manner. The survey highlighted the important role of Informal Science Education (ISE) in the educational development of a nation.The Department of Education and Literacy, Government of Sindh will support the Exhibition by mobilizing public schools across Sindh and giving students a chance to be part of this initiative. Numerous private educational institutions will also be sending their students to the exhibition for an interactive exhibition field trip.In today’s age of a rapidly developing world, it has become vital for Pakistan to reintroduce the love of science in our youth so that it is able to harness its potential to find solutions to future challenges with innovative methods.

Sharing his views on TDF Magnifi-Science Chairman Dawood Group, Mr. Hussain Dawood, said “Today, many of the world’s pressing issues are science-based that can be resolved only with the help of a scientifically literate public.’

The Dawood Foundation Magnifi-Science Exhibition will open at 9:00am and close at 4:00pm on all three days.

 

Lahore – Azme-Naujawan (AeN), a collective effort of 10 civil society organizations, will officially launch their youth program for the special occasion of International Youth Day.
According to the UN, there is growing recognition that as agents of change, young people’s inclusion in the peace and security agenda and in society more broadly, is key to building and sustaining peace. Therefore 12th August marked the beginning of Azme-Naujawan, a program launched to address the disengaged state of youth in Karachi. It managed to bring together over 1000 youth from all over Karachi, as well as civil societies, and key government officials. Notable celebrities were also present to show their support for this program.
The ceremony was commenced by Sidra Iqbal, prominent journalist and activist, introducing AeN as an exemplary initiative that offers holistic training to the youth to develop their professional and entrepreneurial skills, and provide them with a platform for personal growth opportunities. The program will train 1100 youth from Karachi over a period of six months across six districts.
“AeN is not just a pledge, but a comprehensive action plan undertaken by civil society organizations to train youth, and help them find solutions in the form of social action projects and campaigns,” Iqbal stated.
Ten consortium members were invited to cite the most pressing youth issues in their understanding and also elaborated their own organization’s contributions to the Azme-Naujawan action plan. These panels also addressed any questions regarding the program by the audiences, and media present at the venue. This was followed by success stories of determined and passionate individuals, who believed in themselves, and accomplished their goals against all odds.
Dr. Nafisa Shah, the chief guest at the ceremony, launched the official website of AeN at the event. She stated, “I am proud to be part of this program as AeN is a much needed initiative that will address the issues faced by youth. I have full faith in AeN consortium to deliver what they have promised.”
The launch ceremony concluded on a high note as Kaifi Khalil, enthralled the audiences with their performances.

About Azme-Naujawan
Azme Naujawan (AeN) is a program spearheaded by a consortium of civil society organizations that came together as a consequence of realizing the potential of collaborative efforts and mutual support, aims to work with like-minded civil society partners passionate about efforts targeting youth. AeN partners realize that feelings of disenfranchisement and disengagement make youth an easy prey for extremist groups whose ideologies can drive them towards violence. AeN will mitigate this risk through the provision of a platform that will allow youth to develop a sense of belonging to society. Azme Naujawan partners include civil society organizations such as Family Educational Services Foundation, Society for International Education, SEED Ventures, Rose Education Society, Pakistan Youth Alliance, Empowerment Thru Creative Integration, Taqweem-e-Pakistan, Mehrdar Art and Film Production, Pakistan Youth Change Advocates, and Women Development Foundation Pakistan.

Lahore –  With the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Small Grants and Ambassador’s Fund program, Aman Tech, Pakistan’s leading vocational training institute for the underserved youth, initiated by the Aman Foundation, aims to empower adolescent women in Karachi and uplift their role in the society.

The TRAIN (Training for Adolescents in Need) project was spread over 8 months and aims to open multiple avenues of employment for out-of-school girls who are 16 years or above and live in Karachi. This program provided them with three months technical training in a Stitching Machinist course, and five months of primary education up to Grade V. The purpose of this project is to provide the young women with a skill set that will bring them opportunities to achieve a certain level of financial independence.

The event marked the first graduation ceremony and was held at Aman Tech. The Aman Tech certificate for Stitching and Literate Pakistan certificate for primary education were given to the first batch of 39 young women who graduated from this course out of a total of 189.

The future of the program lies in the goal to train and graduate 700 young women over a period of 3 years.

Karachi  –  After working to establish three schools in Mithi, Islamkot and Thar Block II, Thar Foundation on Wednesday reached another milestone by announcing that they would run three more schools to impart quality education in district of Tharparkar.
Thar Foundation, established by the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), has signed a memorandum of understanding with Charter for Compassion Pakistan (CfCP) to run three primary schools in the area with low literacy rate.

As per the MoU, Thar Foundation will take overall responsibility of three primary schools in villages Bitra, Mansingh Bheel and Tharyo Haleepoto whereas, the CfCP will manage the day-to-day operations of the schools.

Each of the three schools constructed by Thar Foundation will be English medium having have nine rooms each, and facilities including safe drinking water, washrooms, playground with shaded area, boundary wall and solar panels for electricity supply in the classrooms.

Mr. Shamsuddin Shaikh, CEO of SECMC and Thar Foundation, and Mr. Amin Hashwani, CEO of CfCP signed the memorandum in presence of the teams from both the sides during a ceremony held here.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Shaikh said, “We are in Tharparkar not to just carry out the economic activity around the Thar Coal but also to bring about social uplift through intervening in health, education, and other sectors through Thar Foundation.

By engaging with organizations like CfCP, a professional organization in the education sector, Mr. Shaikh said they are ensuring deliverance of quality in respective fields.
Mr. Hashwani expressed his views as, “We all hear about the change that is coming to Thar, but it is also as important to know as to which kind of change and in which direction it is coming.”
He said, the more the economic activity is furthering in the area and more power plants are being established, the more jobs are created in such projects; however, he added, they also need to take into serious consideration the social development of the native communities.

Following intervening in areas like health, livelihood, and cultural preservation, Thar Foundation Thar Foundation is also working with The Citizen Foundation to impart quality education to 3000 plus children of Mithi, Islamkot and Thar Coal Block II.