Author: Web Desk

Lahore, April 14, 2022 (PPI-OT):Happy faces, eager to learn, attentively listen to each word the teacher says. Mornings are always a happening affair at Al-Bayan School, a joint venture by two of our alumni. Situated on Bedian Road, Lahore, Al Bayan is a non-profit which caters to students up to 5th grade.

Navera Burki, a LUMS BSC Economics 2019 graduate, volunteered at her driver’s daughter’s school near the University while she was a student in the 9th grade. Teaching English to grade 7, she was appalled that not one student could communicate in English. Rote learning was the norm and students were punished with physical violence if they didn’t memorise the content. This is when she realized the disparity between her education and that in the country. Being a faculty member’s daughter, who grew up on campus, Burki knew that “good education can not only improve one’s future career prospects, but it can also groom one into a better person.”

Burki now works as a Data Analyst at Barnes and Noble Inc. in New York. Having experienced the LUMS education, she believes that “the open discourse in classes” makes students more tolerant and open-minded, and also instils a sense of responsibility as educated individuals of the country.

Meanwhile, Maryam Khawaja, currently a Management Science senior at the Suleman Dawood School of Business, plans to go into the education sector. At 15, she started to tutor her driver’s two sons in the second grade. While teaching them, she realised “how poor the quality of education in our country” was. She shared a post on a student’s forum asking if anyone wished to start a school called Al-Bayan. Burki jumped at the opportunity. The two ladies met, and the rest is history.

“My education at LUMS has broadened my horizons and allowed me to develop into a better human being. I came across diverse viewpoints and interesting people which allowed me to develop a tolerant mind-set. I’ve also found the most valuable friendships at LUMS and the most amazing people for Al-Bayan. The school might just have been a dream if it weren’t for the team!” says Khawaja.

Started in 2019 in a small rented premises, the School opened its doors to 25 students, two teachers, and three grades. Within a few months, they were asked to vacate the premises. Taking it all in their stride, they quickly had to find another place. Just as they settled down, COVID struck and they introduced holiday booklets to keep students in touch with their studies. Students came in batches on alternate days and remote classes on WhatsApp were started.

Today, Al-Bayan operates in a purpose-built campus with a second preschool campus just a few feet away. Run by a team of two admin members, two support staff, and ten teachers, the School has classes from nursery to grade 5. Volunteers form an important part of the network. An all-female core team takes care of Finance and Operations, Education and Research, Digital Marketing and Teacher Training and Events. Interns and team members help the organisation run smoothly as they volunteer time for the School along with full-time jobs or studying.

“We focus on activity-based learning, making sure that all mediums of teaching are used since every student is different and every student understands in different ways,” explains Burki. “We also incorporate projects, presentations, videos, group work and physical activities to reinforce content”. Competitions like spelling bees, poetry recitals and art activities are regularly held. Additionally, events to mark women’s day, climate change and others help widen the horizon of the students. A Saturday Volunteer Programme aimed at bridging the knowledge gap is conducted by students and young professionals. They also partner with student societies at LUMS for annual plays, sports day, science fairs and field trips. Teacher training is a regular practice at the School.

All this spells success at all levels. “I see the change in our students after they’ve been with us for a few months. They start understanding the importance of rules and discipline and take part in discussions. I see the girls becoming more confident and outspoken while the boys are learning basic life skills like making their own sandwiches or helping their mothers clean dishes.

One success story was when two of our older male students went home and called out their fathers on abusing their mothers because it’s wrong,” recounts Burki.

“We believe we’re making a difference, but that’s for the future to tell. Let’s see if these students grow up to break the cycle of poverty and become responsible citizens,” says a proud Khawaja.

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, April 14, 2022 (PPI-OT):To increase partnerships between Pakistani and foreign companies and to highlight the opportunities and challenges in the EV sector, LUMS hosted the second Electric Vehicles (EV) stakeholder meeting on April 5, 2022.

The session was also an opportunity to provide an update on the ‘Electric Vehicles and Battery Market Assessment’ report that was launched in late 2021 and was a joint project between LUMS and USAID.

Representing USAID at the event were Mr. David Young, Deputy Mission Director, and Ms. Jenna Diallo, Director, Office of Energy. Senior members of LUMS leadership were also present, including Rector, Mr. Shahid Hussain, and Vice Chancellor, Dr. Arshad Ahmad.

Dr. Ahmad welcomed the attendees and said, “This report is an excellent example of how your support has amplified evidence-based interventions that are having an impact at both the policy level and the ground level. We are enthusiastic and hope that we can continue to serve as a hub for innovation to achieve energy efficiency, power improvements and a focus on swappable batteries.”

In his keynote address, Mr. Young noted, “Our partnership with LUMS goes back more than three decades. Over the years, this partnership has strengthened, and this report is the latest example of our collaboration. The latest trends show that electric vehicles will become increasingly common in the future, and I believe Pakistan has great potential both as a producer and exporter of EVs to other countries.”

Three panel discussions were also held to discuss different aspects: from financing and marketing, to enabling the EV revolution. Dr. Shakeel Sadiq Jajja, Associate Professor, LUMS, explained that there are several different types of EV consumers, and each segment has their own set of expectations and constraints. This segregation must be considered as it will impact infrastructure and policy decisions.

A discussion was also held around swappable battery solutions which will require investment as well as standardisation. It was noted that to become widely acceptable, EV chargers must integrate into the existing lifestyle of users.

In his concluding remarks, Dr. Nauman Zaffar, Director, National Incubation Centre Lahore, stated, “This is the beginning of how we take the EV revolution forward in Pakistan. There is an open invitation to collaborate to innovate, and to take ideas forward in a sustainable manner.”

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, April 14, 2022 (PPI-OT):Dr. Sadaf Aziz has been appointed Dean of the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law at LUMS; making her the first female dean in the University’s history. Dr. Aziz was one of the School’s founding faculty members who helped launch the BA-LL.B programme. She has completed her PhD in Law from the University of Melbourne and her research interests lie in the areas of legal and political theory and the comparative and historical study of legal regimes in the subcontinent. She is also the author of The Constitution of Pakistan; A Contextual Analysis; a book on Pakistan’s constitutional laws and history.

We sat down with Dr. Aziz to talk about her experiences as an academic, lawyer and a woman at a leadership position at LUMS.

What was it about legal education that attracted you instead of pursuing a traditional practitioner career?

I veered between making a decision about whether to have a practitioners career or be a legal academic for a very short period of time, in the years that I was studying law. But by the end of my degree I was pretty intent on having a career as a legal academic as opposed to a practitioner. Having said that, over the years I have attempted to stay in close contact particularly with human rights practitioners and engaged in advocacy campaigns on specific issues that I am deeply concerned about.

Tell us about your experience as the first female in a senior leadership role at the Law School.

For me, as well as female faculty members and others at SAHSOL, just sheer representation at levels of institutional governance impacts how people perceive their own sense of inclusion in an institution. What kinds of interests will be voiced, what types of concerns will be brought to the front? I do believe that those kinds of concerns and considerations are more readily brought out into the open when you see female leadership within institutions. If can be an interlocutor or supportive player for those things, then I am happy that I can do that. Nonetheless, when we see women in leadership positions, it is also important to look backwards and account for why women did not rise to those positions earlier and often the answer will simply be that they were passed over and that was easier done because the qualities that women bring to leadership roles were simply not valued sufficiently.

How have you found the experience of working with NGOs and government functionaries different from working in a leadership position at a university?

There are, in many ways, stark differences. Particularly in governmental settings, much more explicit biases are operating and women often are not even spoken to even when they bring expertise, seniority and experience to the table.

On the other hand, the levels of education and human resources at LUMS are pretty unparalleled in Pakistan. This comes with sensitization and more explicit affirmation of gender equality. However, the unconscious biases that people have, make them act out in very strong ways. Even though these unconscious biases may have years and years of deconditioning, the tendency to undermine, to dismiss and to diminish females is still there. LUMS has not done nearly enough to counteract that or provide mechanisms for understanding and addressing the grievances of those who might persistently be subject to such behaviour.

Any advice you would give young women starting their careers in law.

I think women should take up as much space as they can. This is really important, because what they have to fight against is people putting them in corners. Women have to be each other’s allies in those ways and they have to be able to talk to each other. What we can do for each other is be honest about the fact that there is a cost which is extracted of women, and to be supportive of each other. It is also important to remind each other that nothing is insurmountable.

How important is it to have qualified, female lawyers for the Pakistani society?

It is incredibly important for women to be in the legal profession to foster practices that support women staying in the profession, and not having to drop out. We should see them moving up through the ranks in firms, in greater number of appointments to the bench, and in all sorts of leadership positions.

For many years it has been said that law is not a respectable field for women to be engaged in because they have to deal with all sorts of undesirable social characters, or they have to rub shoulders with men. But of course, these are just the kinds of concerns that suggest that women have a lesser stake in what happens in a public sphere and they can let men handle it for them.

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