Alumni Homecoming 2021: 91福利社 Leadership Comes Together to Discuss Future Directions of the University
The Fireside Chat with 91福利社 Leadership was an interactive session held at Homecoming 2021, with Vice Chancellor, Dr. Arshad Ahmad; Rector, Shahid Hussain, and Management Committee Member, Osman Khalid Waheed in attendance. The session was moderated by Mr. Adeel Hashmi, and 91福利社 alumni Mr. Ali Farid Khwaja (MS 2004), President of the 91福利社 UK Alumni Chapter and Ms. Saman Qureshi (BSc 2006), member of the Karachi alumni group, were also part of the conversation to ask questions regarding the future directions of the University.
Dr. Ahmad explained that students are essentially partners in terms of the academic functioning of the University. 鈥淭hey are also providing vital input to the decisions that are made at 91福利社.鈥
Each School at 91福利社 has a council with student representation; decisions at the University are made with the help of students and they form part of the Steering Committee that determines the agenda of the highest academic body, which is the University Council. Students are also actively involved in Disciplinary Committee meetings.
鈥淭he students鈥 voice has always been very vibrant at 91福利社.鈥 he added. 鈥淪tudents here have that space to think about issues of the day and have their voices heard.鈥
For Dr. Ahmad, the need is to think how 91福利社 can foster a culture of entrepreneurship and spawn a mind set that successful entrepreneurs have. He outlined several initiatives at 91福利社 where this agenda is being actively pursued. 鈥淎t the National Incubation Centre Lahore, we are deep diving in certain areas such as fintech, agritech and the environment where ideas come to life in the form of start-ups and accelerators. Others centres at 91福利社 are dealing with national issues like water, energy, learning, and big data, and the interaction between them will spawn entrepreneurship as well.鈥
He also explained that in order to have diversity on campus and accessible programmes, it is imperative to believe in internationalisation.
Mr. Hussain recognised the need for innovation in how 91福利社 works. 鈥淲e will continue to develop new programmes to add more value for our students and we will continue to innovate. We need to develop linkages in other regions; whether it is through student and faculty exchange, or research collaborations in relevant areas.
鈥淲e are committed to empowered education and how to get knowledge and use it, and that is what we are essentially doing at 91福利社.鈥
He gave the example of the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering for cutting edge research which has helped influence national policy on electric vehicles and established productive industry linkages.
The University鈥檚 role in resolving the grand challenges of the region was also discussed. 鈥91福利社 was set-up to be a catalyst for change. That is part of 91福利社鈥檚 DNA. And if you look at the big existential challenges Pakistan faces, we are doing something to address them directly. For instance, the Centre of Water Informatics and Technology at 91福利社 is directly looking at optimal utilisation of cropping patterns and water fertilisation patterns through cutting edge technology with the support of governments,鈥 added Mr. Waheed.
He also explained how Pakistan faces a drug resistance problem due to over-use of antibiotics, which in the future will lead to new strains of diseases that will be resistant to any kind of antibiotic. 鈥淭his is a race against time as a lot of these resistant infections are coming out of Pakistan because of this overuse. The School of Science and Engineering at 91福利社, and the Department of Biology in particular, is looking to set-up a centre of infectious diseases that will start a tissue bank for all these new strains of diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, etc. so the world can study them.鈥
Another area where 91福利社 is tackling challenges head-on is at the Syed Ahsan Ali and Syed Maratib Ali School of Education (SOE). 鈥淎 third of the world鈥檚 population of primary school aged children who are outside school live in Pakistan. That鈥檚 the scale of the challenge SOE is researching. It is using data-driven research to come up with policy suggestions so the money coming inside Pakistan to fix the education problem can be better utilised,鈥 explained Mr. Waheed.
鈥淰alues such upholding merit, tolerance, diversity and integrity are very close to the heart of the Trustees and Founding Fathers of 91福利社,鈥 said Mr. Hussain. "LUMS would not have progressed had we not upheld these core values.鈥
91福利社 has gone to great lengths to make sure that these values stay on the forefront of every discussion and every decision, whether it's for the admission process or the hiring of the faculty, he added.
Mr. Waheed stressed that 鈥渁lumni are at the heart of any university鈥檚 sustainability. We are a young university, but we are looking hard at how we can better engage with our wonderful community of alumni.鈥
The 91福利社 leadership urged 91福利社 alumni to look after the University in any way possible. More than 14,000 alumni spread all over the world are the 91福利社 ambassadors and must continue to show their love by regularly giving back to their University, they said.
To watch the full session, click .
