NEWS & VIEWS

Higher Education Commission, Pakistan January 2013

Regional Contests th for 15 Inter-University Debate

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Farmers Convention at University of Agriculture Faisalabad

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Virtual University Holds Convocations at Rawalpindi, Karachi

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QAA becomes Member of CIQG Scholar Completes PhD at the age of 27

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IST Holds World Space Week 2012

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Table of Contents
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Regional Contest of 15th Inter University Debate Contest

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Joins HEC as Executive Director QAA becomes Member of CIQG HEC, Microsoft Strategic Academic Alliance Progressing Fast Workshop on Plagiarism Policy at Air University HEC funded Clinical Trial Recognized by Intl Journal Scholar Completes PhD at the age of 27 Zeeshan Ahmed Completes PhD from Germany

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PIEAS Workshop on Teaching Methodologies

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Air University Signs MoU with University of Southampton

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News & Views is published every month. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the publisher. The views expressed by authors in the articles is their sole responsibility and not of HEC. The Commission would like to thank all the institutions and individuals who contributed information and photographs for this Magazine.

12 IBA Faculty Member Wins Award in USA 13 CIIT Symposium on Computational

Science

13 UoB Faculty Member Presents Posters in

Germany

15 NUST Web Portal Unveiled 16 Energy Symposium held at CECOS

Editor
Aayesha Ikram

University

21 IST Holds World Space Week 2012

Graphic Designer

Raja Ahmad Nadeem

Reporter
Waseem Khaliqdad

Publisher:

Higher Education Commission, Pakistan

News & Views

15th All Pakistan Inter-University Debate

REGIONAL CONTESTS
held at Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta & Islamabad
As many as 80 student debaters from across the universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated in the regional contest of 15th All Pakistan Inter University Debate Contest for award of Allama Iqbal Shield 2012. The contest for KPK was organized by HEC Regional Centre at Islamia College University, Peshawar. Qazi Muhammad Asad, Provincial Minister for Higher Education was the chief guest on the occasion. Dr. Noor Jehan, Vice Chancellor, Islamia College University, Mr. Farmanullah Anjum, Director General (Academics) HEC and Mr. Zaheer Ahmed Awan, Director, HEC Regional Centre were also present. The winners of English debate were Waseem Gohar of Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Shumaila Zaib of the University of Peshawar and Ramsha Javed of the Agricultural University, Peshawar. Similarly, in Urdu contest, top positions went to Rubab Tanveer of UET Peshawar, Mubashir of Islamia College University, Peshawar and Inam-ur-Rehman of Gomal University, D. I. Khan. Sindh HEC Regional Centre, Karachi organized the regional round of the Contest at Dow International Medical College, Karachi. Around 86 contestants from 24 universities of the
Sindh

province, both public sector and private sector, participated. Ms. Sharmila Farooqi, Adviser to Chief Minister Sindh, was the chief guest in the prize distribution ceremony. The first three positions in English debate were grabbed by Asma Bilal of Iqra University Karachi, Abdul Rehman of Quaid-e-Awam University of E n g i n e e r i n g , S c i e n c e a n d Te c h n o l o g y, Nawabshah and Pirbhat Shams of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro. In Urdu debate, the top three winners were Sayed Bilal Zohaib and Soban Baig of the University of Karachi and Umer Khan Ufaq of Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi. Addressing the gathering Ms. Sharmila Farooqi said that such activities enable students to become courageous and be able to confidently express themselves. Mr. Ateeq-ur-Rahman, Director (Academics) HEC and Mr. Zahid Hussain Dharejo, Director, HEC Regional Centre were also present. Balochistan At Quetta, the event was organized by HEC Regional Centre in collaboration with Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University, University of Balochistan, Iqra
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Punjab

News & Views

University and Al-Hamd Islamic University. In Urdu debates, positions were clinched by Muhammad Bilal Iqbal and Shaista Gul Khan of BUITEMS and Ammad Shakeel of Al-Hamd Islamic University. In English category, the winners were Wollan Batool and Sumbal Jameel of SBKWU and Ahmed Waqas Khan of Iqra University, Quetta.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Dr. M.A.K Malghani, Pro-Vice Chancellor, BUITEMS was the chief guest. In his address, he stressed the need for increasing budget for higher education, besides underlining the need for cocurricular activities. Mr. Habibullah Nasir, Deputy Director, HEC Centre Quetta was also present. Punjab Over 70 student debaters from 31 universities of Punjab, both public and private sector, participated in Punjab region's contest, organized by HEC Regional Centre at the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rahman, Provincial Minister for Excise and Taxation/Education and Literacy, graced the event as the chief guest. The winners in English contest were Ahmed Nadir of UET Taxila, Umar Khayam of Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi and Safia Zia of the University of Gujrat. In Urdu contest, top positions went to Hamza Hameed Tarar and Salman Tariq of University of the Punjab and Talah Wali of UET Lahore.

Addressing the gathering, the Minister praised the HEC for organizing the debating contest event at provincial level. He also appreciated the participating universities and debaters. Mr. Nazeer Hussain, Director, HEC Regional Centre highlighted the significance of the InterUniversity Debating Contest. Federal Area The contest for universities in Federal Area was held at International Islamic University, Islamabad. Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed, Vice President, IIU was the chief guest while Mr. Farman Ullah Anjum, Director General (Academics) HEC was the guest of honour at the occasion.

Federal Area

Balochistan

In Urdu Contest, winners included Usman Choudhary and Khawar Latif of Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Warda Mir of COMSATS Institute of Information Technology. In English category, the winners were Mirza Atta-ur-Rauf and Ahmad Nawaz of National University of Sciences and Technology and Shaheen Akhtar of Karakuram International University, Gilgit-Baltistan. Final round of the Contest will be held at HEC Islamabad in March/ April, 2013.

News & Views

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Joins HEC as Executive Director

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed has joined the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan as its new Executive Director. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, who has already served HEC as Member, Operations and Planning, was previously working as Deputy Director General at the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) Rabat. A PhD from University of California, Riverside, USA, Dr. Mukhtar has over 25 years of educational development and management experience including teaching, higher education management, policy development, project planning, supervising university-industry collaboration, etc. He has also worked with distinguished national and international organizations and brings with him unique expertise of educational leadership.

QAA becomes Member of CIQG

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), Higher Education Commission has become the member of CHEA International Quality Group (CIQG), which is an international group formulated by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation for colleges, universities, accrediting and quality assurance organizations and others worldwide. The main aim of the Group is to address issues and challenges focused on quality as well as quality assurance in an international setting. CIQG provides service designed to assist institutions and organizations in further enhancing capacity for academic quality, advance understanding of international quality assurance, and provide research and policy direction. This forum will provide QAA an opportunity to be recognized worldwide and will enhance its capacity to serve in more effective and efficient manner.

8th IEEE International Conference on Digital Information Management

Islamabad, Pakistan, September 10-12, 2013, http://www.icdim.org, Email: conference@icdim.org (Technically co-sponsored by the Technology Management Council of IEEE) Proceedings will be indexed in IEEE Xplore & DBLP Important Dates Submission of papers Notification of Paper Acceptance/Rejection Author Registration Camera Ready Paper Due March 28, 2013 May 30, 2013 June 25, 2013 June 28, 2013

Call for Papers

News & Views

HEC, Microsoft Strategic Academic Alliance Progressing Fast

January 2013 Update
MSP Programme Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) Programme is part of HEC and Microsoft Education Alliance Agreement. MSP is selected for one year who acts as Microsoft Ambassador in the respective university. MSP's key duty is to arrange on-campus technology sessions in collaboration with Microsoft. Each MSP is awarded a globally recognized certificate for his/her duties along with an opportunity to be part of key training programmes which are delivered online and a chance to take Microsoft certification examination for free. The month of January's MSP highlight comes from Yahiya Iqbal, Department of Information Technology, University of Gujrat. Yahiya, who has been working with Microsoft since November 2012, has changed previous trends of UoG in conducting and managing workshops related to Microsoft technology. Within a time of two months, he has arranged seven workshops in which six were conducted on campus and one was online. He has participated in the world largest hackthon named WOWZAPP. His technical capabilities include SQL server, WPF, WCF, HTML 5, CSS 3, ASP.NET, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. His Key focus area, however, remains development in Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. He is also working on some Windows Phone 8 projects with a software house. He has also attended workshops in Islamabad. SharePoint 2013 - BootCamp Continuing to add value to the educational landscape, the HEC in collaboration with Microsoft organized a five-day boot camp on SharePoint2013 in January 2013 for IT Administrators of universities all across Pakistan. SharePoint is a tool designed to help teams working on different parts of a product to collaborate effectively. Developers can build modern apps and designers can build eyecatching websites. As it is built in the cloud IT Pros can manage cost and meet the demands of compliance to manage risk. SharePoint redefines collaboration and document management and represents a new way to work together. SharePoint 2013 is the new way to work together. A simplified user experience helps to organize, sync and share all the content. New social capabilities make it easy to share ideas, keep track of what our colleagues are working on, and discover experts. The event was organized at HEC Regional Centre, Lahore. The purpose and theme of the event was to get the audience familiarized with every aspect of SharePoint 2013 in detail. The first day of the boot camp dealt with a brief introduction and overview of the product, system requirements necessary to run the software and a demonstration on its installation and deployment on several machines.
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News & Views

Second day comprised technical sessions wherein SharePoint's architecture was discussed. The next three days of the boot camp dealt with in-depth talks on technical features of SharePoint, its working in an enterprise, social features, content management, customization options, development tools involved and Sharepoint authorization and authentication overview. Over 10 IT Administrators from all over Punjab attended the boot camp, which was conducted by Shahid Aziz who is currently working at Microsoft Innovation Centre Lahore as a Technical Consultant. The boot camp ended with a general air of appreciation and the audience showed the urge to deploy SharePoint workspace in their respective institutions. Windows 8 DevCamp at University of Gujrat A noteworthy initiatives taken in January was the start of a series of sessions covering Development on Windows 8 at the University of Gujrat. This is another example of the success of MSP programme, as highlighted by the fact that these sessions were planned and executed by the Student Partner of the University himself. The series of sessions, starting with the Windows 8 development session organized at UoG with the help of MIC Lahore, are designed to get students of the Software Engineering discipline familiarized with development tools and languages required to develop on Windows 8. The sessions, which deal with the usage of XAML as a designing interface for great apps for windows, as well as HTML 5 are planned each week on Wednesdays, and are of great interest to the students. So far, three sessions have been conducted at UoG, which were attended by over 40 students of the University. The progress of the University itself in the app market is considerable, recognized from the fact that there have been two app submissions already from the University while over 10 applications are being worked on, and will be submitted for the final checks in the upcoming days. The initial session at the University was delivered by Shahid Aziz from MIC Lahore while other sessions were delivered by the University faculty. Windows 8 Workshop at NTU Faisalabad With the launch of Windows 8, and its associated SDK, interest in the development on this platform has increased twofold. In this regard, the National Textile University, Faisalabad organized a one-day workshop on Windows Store App Development in collaboration with HEC and Microsoft. A Windows Store app is a new type of app that is sold in the Windows Store and runs on Windows 8 devices. They install easily and uninstall cleanly. They run in a single window that fills the entire screen by

News & Views

default. They automatically work with a variety of input sources, including touch, pen, mouse, and keyboard. Instead of static icons, they use live tiles that can display notifications. You can write Windows Store apps in a variety of languages, such as C# and Visual Basic with XAML, C++ with XAML or DirectX, and JavaScript with HTML/CSS. The workshop dealt with the development aspects of Windows 8. Around 25 students from NTU attended the workshop. Most of the participants had already developed applications either on Windows 8 or Windows phone 7 hence workshop proved beneficial for people intending to further work in this area. This workshop was also conducted by Shahid Aziz.

~ Activities Planned for March 2013 ~

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

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On-Site
Audience: Faculty & Students Agenda: Visual Studio 2012 For: Mehran University of Science and Technology

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On-Site
Audience: Students Agenda: Visual Studio 2012 For: Quaid -i- Azam University Islamabad

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On-Site
Audience: Faculty & Students Agenda: Visual Studio 2012 For: Quaid-i- Awam University

BOOTCAMP; IT Administrators; SharePoint 2013

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On-Site
Audience: VC / Rector, HODs, Faculty, Students, IT Admins Agenda: Microsoft ICT Outreach Programme For: IBA Sukkar

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ONLINE
Audience: Students & Faculty Agenda: Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 For: North

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On-Site
Audience: VC / Rector, HODs, Faculty, Students, IT Admins Agenda: Microsoft ICT Outreach Programme For: Dawood Collage of Engineering; Karachi University

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ONLINE
Audience: Students & Faculty Agenda: Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 For: Central & South

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BOOTCAMP; IT Administrators; SharePoint 2013

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Imagine Cup ; Regional Final [Karachi]

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Imagine Cup ; Regional Final [Islamabad]

Imagine Cup ; Regional Final [Lahore]

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Event in a Box - On-site and Online]

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WORKSHOP ; Faculty, IT Administrator; Windows Azure Lahore

WORKSHOP ; Faculty, IT Adminis trator; Windows Azure Islamabad

WORKSHOP ; Faculty, IT Administrator; Windows Azure Karachi

KIU becomes Member of Talloires Network

Karakoram International University (KIU), Gilgit-Baltistan has received membership of Talloires Network of Universities. The Network includes 247 universities from 62 States. It involves only those universities which directly influence community development and have programmes of community involvement. Its members cooperate with each other to achieve common goals along with sharing information on civic engagement strategies. KIU, as an active stakeholder in Gilgit-Baltistan, is engaged in utilizing higher education for uplift of local people in all spheres of life. Talloires
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Network's membership will definitely enhance University's drive for community development. Congratulating the administrative staff, faculty members and students of universities, Dr. Najma Najam, Vice Chancellor, KIU said that the University has incorporated in its curriculum issues of local importance and paved ways for developmental projects. With cooperation of the Network, KIU will be able to act as a more organized and vibrant force directly and actively involved in the socioeconomic development of Gilgit-Baltistan, she said.

News & Views

Workshop on Plagiarism Policy at Air University

The Quality Enhancement Cell, Air University, Islamabad recently organized a daylong workshop on HEC Plagiarism Policy and Turnitin for faculty members of Air University and other local universities. Air Commodore Abdul Wahab, in his inaugural speech, said that the University is determined to implement all QA policies developed by HEC. He emphasized that faculty should innovate new ways to engage students for self-paced learning. He also stressed use of ICT tools for teaching and learning purpose. Mr. Muneer Ahmed, Deputy Director (Quality Assurance) HEC explained the plagiarism policy and demonstrated features of Turnitin. Faculty members were interested in the Turntin service and requested that HEC may devise proper teaching load and research work load for faculty members. Most of the faculty members were unaware about the PeerMark and GradeMark features of the service and their potential to improve writing skills.

HEC funded Clinical Trial Recognized by Intl Journal

A research paper entitled Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy Reduces Coronary Heart Disease Risk Markers: A Randomized Controlled Trial by Dr. S. Akhtar Hussain Bokhari from the University of Faisalabad, Dr. AA Khan and colleagues has been published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, a high-ranking journal of Dentistry. Prof. M. Tonetti, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, has declared this research a truly interesting piece of work. The research has also been selected for presentation as PubCast that is a video link where the author of high quality research work are given chance to have a talk about their research. This PubCast presentation is the first one from dental research in Pakistan. Dr. B o k h a r i s P u b C a s t i s a v a i l a b l e o n www.scivee.tv/node/53516 and has been viewed by 418 individuals within one month of uploading. This clinical trial was funded by HEC and was conducted at Punjab Institute of Cardiology with the academic cooperation of University of the Punjab and Sheikh Zayed PGMI Lahore. This is the first randomized clinical trial from Asia in the field of Perio-CHD relationship. The principal finding of this research is that treatment of periodontal disease reduces CHD risk by 12.5 per cent in CHD patients who were at high risk despite having cardiac medications such as antiinflammatory and lipid-lowering agents.

Scholar Completes PhD at the age of 27

Dr. Naimat Ullah Khan has completed his PhD in Finance at an age of 27 years and six months in a span of two years and nine months from the University of Dundee, Scotland, UK. During this period, the scholar not only completed his PhD but also passed the Postgraduate Diploma in research in the field of Finance and Accounting. Dr. Naimat was awarded PhD scholarship by the University of Peshawar under the Faculty Development Programme. He has recently been appointed as Assistant Professor at the Institute of Management Studies.
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News & Views

Workshop on Emerging Trends in Computational Sciences

The Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI) in collaboration with the Learning Innovation Division, HEC conducted a two-day workshop on "Emerging Trends in Computational Sciences". The workshop aimed to spread awareness on recent trends in Computational Science including signal processing, data mining, applications of computational mechanics, and discuss their high performance computing platforms. Over 25 participants having BS/MS/PhD degrees attended the workshop. In his lecture entitled Computational Sciences at the heart of inter-disciplinary research, Dr. Suleman Mazhar talked about recent progress in machine learning applications in digital signal processing problems. He explained basic acoustics and signal analysis techniques using computer-based tools. Dr. Fawad Hussain focused on some recent trends in the field of machine learning and datamining for learning and information processing. The talk focused on ways these algorithms could be useful in different scientific and intradisciplinary engineering areas. Dr. Arshad Islam introduced the computational concepts in social networking for data analysis, especially the world map of facebook, orkut, hi5 and other social websites. Prof. Muhammad Abids talk focused on Computational Mechanics in the domain of solid mechanics, welding mechanics, computational fluid dynamics, structural mechanics and high performance computing. Dr. Masroor Hussain introduced parallel platforms and parallel programming paradigms. Mr. Shahab Ansari discussed the energy efficient techniques on hardware (static) and software level (dynamic).

PIEAS Workshop on Teaching Methodologies

An in-Service teacher training workshop on Teaching Methodologies and Presentation Skills was organized by Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) in collaboration with the Learning Innovation Division, HEC.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Dr. Mohammad Aslam, Rector PIEAS, emphasized the importance of in-service teacher trainings. He said that teachers, especially college and university teachers are the main force of quality education.

News & Views

Ms. Noreen Mirza delivered lectures on Problem Based Learning, Task Based Method. She also talked on E-Learning and Case Method. The participants were taught how to use current computer techniques, browsing websites and

using modern software programmes for effective instruction. Dr. Tariq talked on importance of communication and presentation skills. Learning material in hard copies and CDs was also provided to the participants.

NBEAC Evaluates BBA, MBA Programmes of NUML

The Accreditation Inspection Committee of H E C s N a t i o n a l B u s i n e s s E d u c a t i o n Accreditation Council (NBEAC) recently visited National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad for accreditation of BBA and MBA programmes. The Committee assessed and evaluated the current standard of BBA and MBA programmes offered by the University. NBEAC has developed quality criteria for process of accreditation for undergraduate and graduate degree programmes, which ensures competence of institutions to provide adequate level of

teaching/ learning processes and research. Prof. Amanullah Khan, Dean, Riphah International University chaired the Committee. Other members included Dr. Tashfeen Azhar from UMT Lahore, Dr. Sadia Nadeem from FAST-NU Islamabad, Dr. Safiullah Khan from KUST Kohat and Mr. Irfan Daniel, General Manager, HRCZTE Corporation Islamabad. Mr. Ahtesham Ali Raja, Programme Manager NBEAC and Ms. Sania Tufail, Programme Coordinator were also present.

Workshop on GIS/RS
A two-day Orientation and Training Workshop on Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing (GIS/RS) was recently organized by the Environmental Science Department, University of Peshawar. Mr. Zaheer Ahmed Awan, Director, HEC Regional Centre, Peshawar was the chief guest in the closing ceremony. He distributed certificate among participants and gave away shields to the workshop organizers.
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News & Views

Modern Research Procedure & Awareness of HEC Recognized Journals

HEC, IIU Joint Workshop

A workshop on Modern Research Procedure and Awareness of HEC Recognized Journals was recently organized by the Quality Enhancement Cell, International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission. Mr. Sulaiman Ahmad, Deputy Director (Academics) HEC

and Mr. Hakim Ali Talpur, Deputy Director (Quality Assurance) HEC were resource persons for the workshop, which was organized for faculty members and research students of IIU. Mr. Sulaiman elaborated HECs policy for Social Sciences, Arts, Humanities and Business Education disciplines while Mr. Talpur discussed in

detail Commissions policy for Science and Engineering disciplines.Faculty members and research-oriented staff of other universities including F a t i m a J i n n a h Wo m e n University, University of Peshawar, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar, Riphah University, IMSciences Peshawar and University of Lahore also attended the workshop.

NCRC Participants Visit ICU Peshawar

HEC Regional Centre, Peshawar recently hosted preliminary meeting of National Curriculum Revision Committee (NCRC) in Environmental Sciences. D r. N o o r J a h a n , Vi c e Chancellor, Islamia College University, Peshawar invited participants of the meeting to the University. The Vice Chancellor discussed departmental as well as

university level linkages to benefit from each other s expertise. Dr. Noor Jahan informed the guests that Islamia College University is recipient of one third of the

property of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. ICU has another distinction that its picture appears on back of Rs. 1000 currency note.

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News & Views

Zeeshan Ahmed Completes PhD from Germany

Zeeshan Ahmed, a Computer Science professional and Scientific Software Engineer at U n i v e r s i t y o f Wu e r z b u r g Germany has completed his doctorate with final grade Magna Cum Laude (with Great Honor), ECTS 4.0 CGP (100% Marks) from the University of Wuerzburg under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Thomas Dandekar. During his doctoral studies, Dr. Zeeshan produced many publications as main author including seven books, six book chapters, 26 journal manuscripts, 36 conference full papers, six scientific magazine articles, 20 conference poster papers, four supervised thesis, three workshop papers, 10 project reports and 24 seminar papers. Moreover he became the Editorial Board Member, programme committee member of several IEEE and ACM c o n f e r e n c e s . D r. Zeeshan has won a number of awards such as Best Young Researcher, Best PhD Researcher, Promising Research Student, Best Conference Paper, Potential Paper, Best Presenter, Best Editor, etc. He has also achieved University distinctions, accomplished programming contest victories, and won Talent Awards.

IBA Faculty Member Wins Award in USA

Mr. Shakeel Sadiq Jajja, Assistant Professor at Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi and a PhD Management scholar at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) won Best Student Paper Award on a refereed research paper at the 43rd Annual Meeting of Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) held at San Francisco, USA. The research paper entitled Product Innovative Supply Chains: The Role of Strategy and Buyer-Supplier Interface is co-authored by Dr. Syed Zahoor Hassan from LUMS and Dr. Shaukat Ali Brah from Karachi School for Business and Leadership. Jajja presented a refereed research paper and a nonrefereed research abstract at the world-prestigious DSI

Annual Meeting in the area of Operations Management. The award includes certificates and a prize of USD 525. HEC Pakistan provided travel grant for Jajjas visit to USA.

Dr. Khuhros Book Published

The dissertation entitled Personality as a Factor in Foreign Policy Making: a Case Study of Pak: US Relations during Benazir Bhutto Periods by Dr. Amir Ahmed Khuhro, Department of International Relations, Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU), Khairpur, which he completed from Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, has been published in a book shape by the Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany. Dr. Khuhro has tried to asses as to what extent former Prime Minister's personality contributed towards relations between Pakistan and the US.
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News & Views

CIIT Symposium on Computational Science

A symposium entitled National Symposium on Computational Biology in Pakistan, Current Status and Future Challenges was held at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), Islamabad in collaboration with Dr. Shahid Qamar from James Graham Brown Cancer Centre, Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Representatives from almost 22 universities were invited to share ideas and discuss future of Computational Science specifically bioinformatics, computational chemistry and computational biology in Pakistan. The event was sponsored by British Council under the INSPIRE Programme. In his talk on Computational Toxicology and Novel Methods in drug discovery, Dr. Shahid Qamar highlighted the in silico drug discovery methods and their application in drug development. The invited speakers were given 10 minutes to highlight their research work. The goal was to evaluate the research status and identify the needs of computational resources, manpower and expertise at each University. Every speaker briefly explained research activities at their respective centre. Around 25 students and faculty members showcased their research work in a poster session. All the posters were judged by three experts and top three posters were selected based on technical and scientific criteria. A brainstorming session was held to define future direction of computational science. Many faculty members and students took part in the discussion and presented excellent ideas to promote and support computational science at public and private universities in Pakistan. It was decided that there is an immediate need of training of young faculty members on multiple computational tools to make them master trainers so that they can apply and teach these tools at their own universities. The training has been scheduled for second or third week of April. Further, it was also decided that a national conference will be held by the end of this year where students and faculty members from all over Pakistan will be invited to present their research work.

UoB Faculty Member Presents Posters in Germany

International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) held at Berlin, Germany. This was a mega health/scientific event with 3500 registered participants from 72 countries all over the world. Several workshops and presentations were held simultaneously with poster sessions, exhibitions, and interactive discussions. Dr. Umer Jan shared his findings in his poster presentations Irrational Use of Antibiotics in Balochistan: A Warning for Health Care System and Irrational Use of Antibiotics in Children by Medical Prescribers.

Dr. Syed Umer Jan, Assistant Professor at Department of Pharmacy of the University of Balochistan (UoB), Quetta presented his work at the 15 t h Annual European Congress of

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News & Views

Air University Signs MoU with University of Southampton

Air University, Islamabad has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Southampton, UK. The agreement was signed by Dr. Ijaz Malik, Vice Chancellor, Air University and Prof. Mark Spearing, Pro Vice Chancellor International, University of Southampton. Under the MoU, which shall remain effective initially for five years, both the institutions have agreed to start an international partnership programme which will involve exchange of scientific, academic, and technical information; faculty and students exchange for pursuing research and cooperation in joint research and development in the disciplines of mutual interest.

The agreement also emphasizes identification of opportunities for commercialization of technology, and organization and participation of joint academic and scientific activities such as seminars and conferences.

BUITEMS Holds 8 Convocation

Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta recently held its 8th convocation at a time when University had just completed 10 years of its existence. Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi, Governor Balochistan, who is also Chancellor of the University, was the chief guest at the convocation. The degrees were awarded to graduating students in the fields of Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Textile Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Telecommunication Engineering, Biotechnology, Environmental M a n a g e m e n t a n d P o l i c y, B u s i n e s s Administration, Arts and Basic Sciences. Mr. Farooq Ahmed Bazai, Vice Chancellor, in his welcome address, talked about the 10-year journey of BUITEMS and the success story narrating salient developments where the University took start with only 90 students in two programmes of study while now over 6000 students are enrolled in 32 different programmes. He highlighted the steps taken to keep up the standards of university through exerted efforts. H e t h a n k e d t h e G o ve r n o r, P r o v i n c i a l Government and HEC for their all-out support in ensuring development and smooth operations of University functions. In his address, the Governor commended the accomplishments of BUITEMS for creating a difference by adding value through grooming students into useful and competent assets for the nation. He also announced cash prizes of Rs. 50,000 each for winners of Badge of Honour and Rs.100000 per student winning Gold Medals in their programmes of study.
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NUST Web Portal Unveiled

programmes and research, he s a i d . E a r l i e r, M r. A m i r Hashmi, Chief Strategy Officer NUST, apprised the audience of how the project was planned and executed. He explained though apparently this project seemed to be a monolith, it was the amalgam of multiple sub projects ranging from setting up of infrastructure for local hosting, image banking, to the development of form and content. Mr. Mubashir Ahmed, project manager, said that the key factors that guided them towards the development of this portal were unstinting support, guidance and commitment of the senior management, incorporation of PMI best practices, taking all the stakeholders on board, optimization of resources at hand and unprecedented performance exhibition through matrix structure in the local setup.

The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad recently unveiled its world-class web portal. Engr. Muhammad Asghar, Rector NUST, inaugurated the web portal. A number of dignitaries including Mr. Owais Ghani, former Governor KPK, were also present at the launch. Addressing the gathering, the Rector lauded the efforts of NUST web portal team and all the focal persons, which made

the successful culmination of the project possible. He said that NUST intended to revamp its existing website into a portal carved in conformity with world standards for university portals. This was done by first focusing on well-defined information upload and retrieval process and mechanism with a user-centric interface. Thus navigating through the web portal would allow the visitors to appreciate and understand NUST's international standing with respect to its academic

MUST Scholar Completes PhD from Austria

HEC scholar Rashida Hussain, who is a Lecturer at the Department of Mathematics, Mirpur University of Science and Technology, has recently completed her PhD from Universitat Graz, Austria. Dr. Rashida was selected under the scheme MS/MPhil leading to PhD Scholarships for Teachers of Weaker Universities and completed her doctoral research in
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Mathematical Model for Solute Kinetics and Body Composition in Hemodialysis Patients. After her return to Pakistan, Dr. Rashida has rejoined her parent institution.

News & Views

Energy Symposium held at CECOS University

An International Symposium on Energy was recently held at CECOS University, Peshawar, with an aim to spark innovative thinking and showcase examples of products that will ensure environmental, industrial and economic success in the energy sector. It served as a platform to present latest case studies, unveil upcoming innovations and projects, and to provide updates on the latest policies. Distinguished speakers from U S A , U K a n d Pa k i s t a n deliberated at the event and concluded that for Pakistan attention must be directed from thermal energy to developing and exploiting the domestically available sources of renewable energy. Dr. Riaz A Khattak, Vice Chancellor, CECOS U n i v e r s i t y, h i g h l i g h t e d achievements of University in the areas of Business, Information Technology, Engineering and Architecture. The participants showed keen interest in poster presentations of researchers from within KPK. The final year students of Electrical, Civil, Mechanical Engineering and the Architecture Department also exhibited their final-year projects on the occasion While summarizing the symposium, Prof Dr A H Zaidi concluded that ENERGY Crisis in Pakistan can be reduced or overcome by conserving Energy and by actively participating in efforts to generate Energy from Renewable Resources and finding alternate means for energy generation and to improve the efficiency of energy utilization in Pakistan.

CIIT Lahore Symposium on Biomedical Materials

The Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Biomedical Materials (IRCBM), COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), Lahore in collaboration with the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, King Edward M e d i c a l U n i ve r s i t y a n d Demont Morency College of Dentistry, recently organized the 3rd International Symposium on Biomedical Materials: Recent Advances and Challenges. In addition to

the symposium, training w o r k s h o p s o n A d va n c e Biostatistics, Referencing Software, Research Methodology and Paediatric Dentistry were also organized. The Symposium covered different topics including Recent advances in the field of Biomedical Materials and Tissue Engineering (BMTE), Progress on the front of BMTE in Pakistan, Pinpointing global and national challenges to
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research, Highlighting importance of BMTE research to global and national economies, Encouraging interdisciplinary research in Pakistan, and Involving Government and related entities in developing a comprehensive strategy for chartered developments in the field of BMTE. The symposium was attended by over national and international 170 professionals from different disciplines, including

News & Views

researchers from diverse backgrounds such as engineers, orthopaedic surgeons, clinicians, dentists, chemists, biochemists, and pharmacists. Well-known international participants included Prof. Sheila MacNeil, from The Kroto Research Institute, The University of Sheffield, UK, and Prof. Ferranti S.L. Wong from Centre for Oral Growth and Development, Institute of Dentistry, Bart's and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, UK. The Symposium was inaugurated by Dr. Syed Babar Ali, Pro-

Chancellor, Lahore University of Management Sciences. Dr. S. M. Junaid Zaidi, Rector CIIT, was also present on the occasion. Prof. Sheila McNeil delivered an excellent talk on tissue engineered epithelial tissues garnered a host of novel concepts for tissue engineering applications, specifically delivering cells on carrier dressings for treatment of chronic wounds. A working research group has now been established between Professor McNeil and IRCBM scientists, which will be

beneficial to the development of the IRCBM. A number of research topics were covered in keynote lectures by different national and international Professors. Around 36 presentations were made by the participants in six oral sessions in two days. Alongside the symposium proceedings, a Poster Exhibition was also arranged. The posters showcased a wide range of themes related to biomedical medicines and materials.

DUHS Organizes Faculty Research Day

The Department of Research, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) recently organized Fourth Faculty Research Day. Prof. Dr. Irshad Waheed, Principal, Jinnah Medical and Dental College, Karachi was the chief guest whereas Prof. Masood Hameed Khan, Vice Chancellor and Prof. Dr. M. Umer Farooq, Pro-Vice Chancellor, DUHS were guests of honour on the occasion. It was attended by a large number of senior faculty members as well as students. The faculty research day aimed to showcase the research in posters presentations being conducted by the faculty members of DUHS and to serve as a forum for interaction among faculty members. Fifty-nine presentations were presented focusing on research on different diseases conducted during the year 2011-12. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Irshad Waheed said that there is a need to provide platform to enhance research activities in developing countries.

He stressed on other medical universities to facilitate research work of their students and faculty members. He said that it is very important to properly follow ethics in medical research. Prof. Masood Hameed Khan, in his remarks, said that the purpose of observing faculty research day is to enhance enthusiasm towards performance of quality researches. He said that Dow University is providing platform for research activities and it is duty of young scientist to take it at highest level. Dr. Umer Farooq said that different institutions are

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recognized by their research work and here at Dow University, we have allocated special funds for research

activities. In the end, the shields for the best poster presentation were awarded to Dr. Ehmer Al Abrar of DUHS,

Ms. Afsheen Arif of University of Karachi and Dr. Masood Javaid of DUHS.

FJWU Faculty Members Complete PhD from UK

Sajida Naz, lecturer at Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rawalpindi has successfully completed her PhD from the University of Huddersfield, UK. Dr. Naz obtained faculty development scholarship from FJWU in 2009 that enabled her to pursue doctoral studies in UK. Based on her academic profile and strength of the research proposal, she was granted full tuition-fee waiver by the University of Huddersfield (UoH). In her PhD, she has probed the psychological reactions of police to potentially traumatic experiences in work. Her project has dealt in equal measure with the UK and with her native Pakistan. Dr. Naz, who completed her PhD in less than three years, found in her research that the pressure of job during an investigation did not allow police officers sufficient time to analyse psychological effect of disturbing experiences. She also found that in Britain, police forces were adopting coping strategies that included self-help techniques and occupational health units plus consultations with psychologists and psychiatrists. So far, this is not the case in Pakistan, where mental health issues are still surrounded by considerable taboos. During her three years stay in the UK, she was actively involved in research related activities, mentoring and counselling for international students, organising talks, voluntary work and research wo r k p r e s e n t a t i o n s a n d publications. Similarly, Mrs. Faiza Azhar Khan, Lecturer in Department of Economics, FJWU has completed her PhD in Economics from University of Bath, UK. She also completed her degree in two and a half years which is less than the stipulated time and has re-joined the University. During her PhD, she presented research paper in an International Conference in Italy and was also selected to attend a summer course in CEMFI, Madrid, Spain for both of which she was given funding by the University of Bath. Her paper was also accepted for presentation in a conference on Applied Economics in Spain. Besides, she has often presented her research in the Department of Economics at University of Bath. Two of her research papers from the thesis have also been accepted for publications in journals of international repute. Moreover, Dr. Faiza has also attended a number of courses and workshops in the area of Econometrics at the University of Bath and has also actively participated in the internal and external seminars held at the Department.

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FUUAST Symposium on New Horizons of Microbiology

The Department of Microbiology, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST), Karachi organized a two-day National Symposium on New Horizons of Microbiology in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, former Chairman HEC, was the chief guest in the inaugural ceremony. Speaking at the occasion, he said that a considerable development has taken place in the fields of higher education and research during the last 10 years. In 2000, there were only 200 international research thesis of Pakistani researchers but now the figure has increased to 8000. During the symposium, the participating microbiologists focused on different aspects of

Applied Microbiology in areas such as health, environment, agriculture, bio-technology, bioinformatics and proteomics, etc. Speakers emphasized that such conferences will help to share all types of research work in this field and will be helpful in new inventions.

GIKI Inks MoU with Chinese University

The Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIKI) of Engineering, Sciences and Technology has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Northwestern Polytechnical University, China. The collaboration will include student exchange, faculty e x c h a n g e , collaborative research and service for the academic exchange in general. Prof. Muhammad Abid, Dean, Faculty of M e c h a n i c a l Engineering, GIKI and the Director Huaxing Li at International Cooperation Office of NPU signed the agreement. This academic exchange programme will be administered through international offices of the two universities and will be initially for five years till December 31, 2017. Dr. Abid said that student exchange and collaborative research will be supported through China-Pakistan Exchange Scholarship and other relative programmes. The duration of the collaborative research will be for one to thirty-six months. Request for extension will require approval from both host and home university. Mr. Jehangir Bashar, Rector GIKI, lauded the agreement and said that interaction with the Chinese University would be very beneficial for both students and academia of the two institutions.

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News & Views

Dawah Academy Publishes Dr. Draiweeshs Book

The book entitled Peaceful Co-Existence with NonMuslims written by Dr. Ahmad Yousif Al-Draiweesh, President, International Islamic University (IIU), Islamabad has been published by Dawah Academy, IIU and printed at Islamic Research Institute Press. I intended to present a glimpse of Islams treatment of non-Muslims especially with people of the book. I wanted to present teachings of Quran and Sunnah and its application in the life of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and his Followers Holy Companions and their Followers, says Dr. Al-Draiweesh, who is a Saudi scholar. The book has given evidences by non-Muslim scholars who accepted Muslims treatment of non-Muslims as an exemplary act. He also gave e x a m p l e s o f I s l a m s application from the present day Saudi Arabia. The book which is spread over 130 pages has dealt with various topics of Muslims relations with non-Muslims in their societies.

Honour for BUITEMS Faculty Member

Mr. Walayat Hussain, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Science (BUITEMS), Quetta has published 23 research papers in national and international journals during 2011 and 2012. Walayat did BS (Hons) from Hamdard University Karachi, MS from BUITEMS and one-year post graduation from AIT Thailand in the field of Computer Science. He has been awarded research grants from HEC for China and Dubai to present his research papers. In a region like Quetta, where there is poor law and order situation and lack of resources, it is very difficult to do any research activity but all this has become possible due to HEC which has provided resources like digital library, travel grants and capacity building for research and innovation, says Walayat.

Dr. Ghazi Presents Paper in Kuwait

Dr. Inam-ul-Haq Ghazi, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arabic/In-Charge Department of Translation and Interpretation, International Islamic University, Islamabad presented a paper entitle Women of the Sub-continent through the Lens of Arabic Travel Writings in the international conference organized by the Faculty of Arts, Kuwait University. The theme of the conference was: Non-Arab Asia and Transformations in the Modern Arabic Culture. In addition to presenting paper, he also held meetings with eminent scholars to discuss possibilities of academic cooperation between IIUI and other Arab institutions.

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News & Views

IST Holds World Space Week 2012

enlightened with scholarly views about space exploration and space for human safety and security which was the theme for this years World Space Week. The activities of the first day included, bilingual essay writing competition, space model display, painting/ sketching competition, space theatre and painting competition. Institute of Space Technology (IST) organized a three-day activity based programme to celebrate World Space Week at its campus in Islamabad, with a view to generate space awareness among general public and students from a large number of schools and colleges of the twin cities and surrounding areas. Engr. Imran Rahman, Vice Chancellor, IST presided the inaugural session. The audience was On the second day, e-poster designing competition, glider competition, space theatre and space quiz were held. The third day included aero modeling competition, continuation of glider competition and water rocket competition. Also a very attractive and unique event -the Astronomy Night was organized to encourage people to know more about the heavenly bodies.

Workshop on Solar Pumping System

A technical training workshop on Solar Pumping System was organized by Institute of Space Technology in collaboration with M/s Lorentz a leading manufacturer of solar-operated pump systems in the world and Nizam Energy Pakistan. A large number of people from government, R&D organizations, HEC, universities, students and faculty attended the workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss strategies for creating awareness which encourages wider adoption of solar power by businesses, households and agriculture, etc. The Vice Chancellor, while welcoming the delegates and experts from world renowned enterprises in Solar Energy, apprised them about possible co-ventures with international companies in order to make available import substitution through research and indigenization

of some important components, a dire need of the time for promotion of industrial-academia culture in the country. He thanked Mr. Usman Ahmed, CEO, Nizam Energy for generous donation of 2 KW of complete Solar System and to establish research laboratory facilities at IST in collaboration with world renowned companies and provide job opportunities to IST graduates.
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News & Views

US Ambassador's Fund to Support Pakistani Entrepreneurs

US Ambassador Richard Olson has said that the United States will continue to support development of Pakistan's entrepreneurs, including through US Ambassador's Fund. He said this during a visit to the Technology Incubation Centre of National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad. We all know that societies thrive when their people have ample opportunity, and this is why the United States supports young entrepreneurs in Pakistan, said the Ambassador. He announced that the US Ambassador's Fund, which supports small-scale high-impact programmes for communities throughout Pakistan, will now also focus on support to Pakistan's entrepreneurs. The Ambassador also highlighted NUST's future Centre for Advanced Studies, which will focus on Pakistan's energy needs and is being established together by the Governments of Pakistan and the United States. In addition, the United States recently launched the multi-year Pakistan Private Investment Initiative. Drawing on public-private

partnerships, this initiative will spur job growth and economic development by expanding access to capital for Pakistan's small- to medium-sized companies. The Technology Incubation Centre of NUST is the first of six TICs across Pakistan. It provides a nurturing environment to help technology-based business ideas prosper in Pakistan, and brings academia and private sector together to create a platform for commercializing research. It currently provides support to 14 new companies. The United States supports TIC by bringing its staff to the US to learn best practices of how to bring research out of the laboratory and into the market.

South Asian University

Akbar Bhawan, CHanakyapuri, New Delhi
Admissions 2013-14
Masters and PhD Programmes in

Applied Mathematics, Biotechnology, Computer Science, Economics, International Relations, Sociology, Legal Studies
Apply by: February 25, 2013 Entrance Test: March 24, 2013 Session Starts: July 2013 For more details: www.sau.ac.in

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News & Views

International Chemistry Conference at UoP

The National Centre of Excellence in Physical Chemistry, University of Peshawar recently organized 11th International and 23rd National Chemistry Conference under the auspices of the Chemical Society of Pakistan. Prof. Dr. Hasan M. Khan, Director, National Centre of Excellence in Physical Chemistry was the Chief Organizer of the Conference, which focused on different aspects of Chemistry. Senior faculty members from US, China, Turkey and various public and private sectors universities in Pakistan, scientists from various R&D organizations, industry, and MPhil and PhD scholars from different universities, including from UK and Brazil participated in the conference.Apart from oral and poster presentations, nine plenary and nine keynote lectures were also delivered by experts in the field. As many as 119 research papers were presented in technical sessions and more than 150 research papers were presented in poster sessions. All technical sessions were well attended and poster sessions also created a lot of interest and initiated useful discussions.

The conference was formally inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Qibla Ayaz, Vice Chancellor, University of Peshawar while Prof. Dr. Sakhawat Shah, Vice Chancellor, Hazara University was the chief guest at the closing ceremony. In their concluding remarks, Prof. Dr. Dion Dionysiou of University of Cincinnati and Prof. Dr. Pengyi Zhang of Tsinghua University, Beijing appreciated the standard of the conference terming it equivalent to any international conference in Europe or other technically advanced countries.

NIP Alumni Association Meets

Quaid-e-Azam Universitys National Institute of Psychology (NIP) recently organized meeting of its Alumni Association, which has made great contribution to enable alumni-to-alumni connections and foster a meaningful, lasting

relationship between alumni present far from country with each other and the Institute. A large number of alumni, current students, and faculty of NIP attended the event. Dr. Anila Kamal, Director NIP, welcomed the guests and

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highlighted the fact that Alumni Association is based on a vision to bridge and to promote the collective interests of the alumni community. Dr. Seema Pervez, President, Alumni Association shared with the audience working and progress of the Association during last year. The event included multiple activities. Ms. Irum Naqvi, General Secretary of the Association, gave details

about competition for Associations logo. The jury highly rated the logo of Ms. Seemab Rashid (MPhil scholar at NIP) At the occasion, the elections of the next Executive Board (2012-2014) were conducted. Ms. Irum Naqvi on the behalf of patron in chief thanked the Executive Board for 2011-2012 for their hard work.

NUML Seminar on Literature in Regional Languages

A seminar on Literature in Pakistani Regional Languages and Contemporary Trends was organized by Mr. Iftikhar Arif, a known Urdu scholar and poet, on behalf of Department of Urdu Language and Literature and Department of Pakistani Regional Languages at National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad. The Seminar was presided over by Mr Abdul Hameed, Chairman, Pakistan Academy of Letters. Dr. Saeeda Asadullah, former Vice Chancellor, Fatima Jinnah Women University, and Maj. Gen. (R) Masood Hasan, Rector NUML were also present. Mr. Iftikhar Arif, in his opening address, said that knowledge and learning of different regional languages of Pakistan will lead to promotion of strong centre, federation, and nationhood. He said that literature depicts the beauty and universality of those regional languages, diversity and commonalities of cultures, richness and primitiveness of societies and commonality among peoples. Therefore, the knowledge and learning of these languages will not only make you cognizant of the issues faced by these societies but will also help you to create commonness among nations and develop national integration, he added. Mr. M. R. Shafaq presented his research article on the contemporary trends in literature of Pashto

Mr. Iftikhar Arif said that knowledge and learning of different regional languages of Pakistan will lead to promotion of strong centre, federation, and nationhood. He said that literature depicts the beauty and universality of those regional languages, diversity and commonalities of cultures, richness and primitiveness of societies and commonality among peoples.
language, Mr. Washid Buzdar read his research article on Literature in Balochi Language, Mr. Hakim Ali Baru highlighted salient features of literature in Sindhi language, Dr. Humera Ashfaq presented the case of literature in Seraiki language, Mr. Haris Khaleeq presented the current trends in English literature while Dr. Abid Sial presented his research article on trends in literature of Urdu language with regards to different genres.

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Over 200 PhDs produced in a year

Punjab University Holds 121st Convocation

Dr. Mujahid Kamran, Vice Chancellor, University of the Punjab, Lahore has said that the University has set another record in academic history of Pakistan by producing more than 200 PhDs in a year. He was addressing the 121st convocation of the University held recently. As many as 206 PhD, 345 MPhil, 339 Masters and 180 undergraduate degrees were awarded at the occasion. It is worth-mentioning that the University has produced PhDs in the subjects where research

work was ignored in the past. Dr. Nadeem Shafique did his PhD in Statistics, Dr. Hafiz Rizwana did her PhD in Mathematics and Dr. Farhat Zafar did her PhD in Law. They were the only PhDs in their subjects this year. D r. K a m r a n s a i d t h a t knowledge was the source of power and respect but no nation could become knowledgeable without strength of character. He said that average educational spending of the world was around 4-5 percent of GDP but we were reducing our

spending on education. He said that Pakistans population was around 180 million and our GDP was around 200 billion dollars. He said that our population was increasing but unfortunately, our rulers had cut educational budget from two percent to around 1.5 percent of GDP. He advised students to become masters of their subject, keep an eye on their own shortcomings, praise qualities of others and help each other.

RIU Achieves ISO Certification

Riphah International University has achieved ISO 9001:2008 Certification from M/s Lloyds Register UK for a period of three years. To celebrate this achievement, the University recently held a ceremony. Universitys Pro Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Executive Director as well as Deans and Directors were present on the occasion. Prof. M. Amanullah Khan, Chairman QEC, said that this honour has been earned due to focused efforts of the dedicated staff of each department/faculty and an active role of the Quality Enhancement Cell. The Executive Director, Vice Chancellor and the Pro Chancellor appreciated the hard work of all those who had contributed to achieve the success.

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CM Inaugurates Two Projects at SALU

The foundation laying ceremony of two mega projects of Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU), Khairpur was held recently. Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Chief Minister Sindh laid foundation stone of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Chair at the estimated cost Rs. 41 million funded by Education and Literacy Department, Government of Sindh and Date Palm Research Institute at the estimated Rs.57.283 million. Speaking at the occasion, the Chief Minister said that there is no dearth of talent in Sindh as there is potential and dedication in youth. He said that after 18 th amendment education has become a provincial subject. He said that with efforts of the present Government, seven universities have been established in Sindh. The Chief Minister also announced establishment of housing society for University employees. Dr. Parveen Shah, V i c e C h a n c e l l o r, S A L U thanked the Chief Minister for taking interest in the budgetary issues of the University. We have setup the SALU Alumni Association which would play a vibrant role in shaping the future of the University. We have started linkage programme with 10 universities of Pakistan and HEC, aiming to promote academic and research activities, she said.

Alumni Meeting at SBBWU Peshawar

Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University (SBBWU), Peshawar organized the first Alumni Reunion recently. The main purpose was to strengthen the ties between alumni, graduating students and the University and ultimately improving programmes, systems and procedure through feedback. Dr. Syeda Farhana Jehangir, Vice Chancellor SBBWU, was the chief guest. She shared the Universitys success with the participants. Ms. Sehrish Zaffar, Alumni Association

Officer, gave a brief introduction of the Association office, purpose of its establishment and its importance in career development of students and achieving Universitys goals. The Alumni present on the

occasion appreciated the efforts made by the Association, and providing a platform to graduates and university management to interact with each other and w o r k f o r u n i v e r s i t y s objectives collectively.

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SZABIST Holds Convocation 2012

the potential of turning around fortune of millions of lives. The keynote speaker Mr. Mazhar ul Haque Siddiqui stressed on the importance of the State to provide justice to all, rich or poor, so that people may prosper and attain their rightful place among nations of the world. The chief guest in his address said that he felt proud to be among representatives of the young generation of Pakistan. He congratulated all graduates, their parents and faculty members.

The convocation 2012 of SZABIST was held recently. Mr. Nisar Ahmed Khuhro was the chief guest on the occasion. Dr. Azra Fazal, Chancellor and Dr. Saqib Rizavi, President SZABIST were also present. Over 750 degrees including a PhD degree were conferred to

the passing out graduates. In addition, two merit gold medals and 84 corporate gold medals were also presented to the distinguished graduates. The Chancellor, in her speech, said that the graduates should rejoice as they have now joined the ranks of those who possess

Intl Conference on Management Research

The Superior University, Lahore recently organized an international conference on Emerging Markets - Role of Education, Media, Governance, Social and Industrial Development in collaboration with IESG, France and ICRIM, Italy. The conference was attended by researchers from Australia, France, Sweden, UAE, India, Kazakhstan, USA, UK and Pakistan. A distinguishing feature of the conference was Italian and French trade forums which were attended by Italian Ambassador and diplomats, French diplomats and many overseas Pakistani businessmen. A panel discussion was held on the role of governance in education in emerging markets. Three parallel workshops on Women Entrepreneurship, Knowledge Management, and Research Tools and Techniques were also conducted by seasoned trainers. As many as 140 papers on governance, education, human resource management, media, technology, and social and industrial developments in emerging markets were presented by national and international presenters.

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Jalal Arif has been appointed as Chairman, Department of Agricultural Entomology at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Dr. Arif, who also holds office of Principal Officer, Public Relations and Publications, and Information Technology Resource Centre and Data Bank (ITRCDB) for the last four years, is also looking after the affairs of bi-annual scientific journal Pakistan Entomologist as Editor-in-Chief. Dr. Arif has produced two PhDs under his supervision and remains on the advisory board of numerous PhD scholars.

News Flash

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FUI Signs MoUs with CIIT, NUST & MAJU

Foundation University Islamabad (FUI) and National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim to benefit from each other's initiatives, expertise and to support researchers associated with both the universities. Engr. Muhammad Asghar, Rector NUST and Maj. Gen. (R) Gul Muhammad, Rector, FUI signed the MoU. The mutual areas of interest include Business Management, Information/ Communication Technology T o o l s , W i r e l e s s Communications, Software D e ve l o p m e n t P l a t f o r m s , Multimedia/Graphic Technology and, Tele Surgical Tr a i n i n g , R o b o t i c s a n d Simulation. Similarly, another MoU was signed by Dr. S. M. Junaid Zaidi, Rector COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) and Rector FUI. Lt. Gen. (R) Asif Yasin Malik, Secretary Defence and Lt. Gen. (R) Muhammad Mustafa Khan, Managing Director, Fauji Foundation were also present at the occasion. The purpose of MOU is to define training, joint

research and other academic services including faculty development programme, supervision and evaluation of PhD research work, guest speaker sessions and seminars. Likewise, FUI has also reached an agreement with Mohammad Ali Jinnah University (MAJU), Islamabad on the same pattern as NUST and CIIT. Dr. Muhammad Mansoor Ahmed, Executive Vice President, MAJU and Rector FUI inked the MoU.

The Department of English, Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) organized a one-week International Resource Person Workshop on English Language Teaching in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission and US Embassy, Islamabad. Around 30 participants from the university and government colleges in the adjoining areas of Bahawalpur attended this

IUB Workshop for Faculty Members

workshop, which aimed to enhance pedagogical skills of English language teachers.

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The workshop was conducted by the International Resource Person Mr. David Bohlke.

News & Views

LCWU Conference on Language Sciences and Developing World

The International Conference on Language Sciences and Developing World has opened new horizons to provide a foundation to the stakeholders for an effective policy formation regarding languages and linguistics in the developing countries. This was the message of the Governor Punjab delivered by Dr. Khaleeq-ur-Rehman, Vice Chancellor, GCU Lahore on the occasion of the three-day conference recently organized by the Department of English, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) in collaboration with the University of Sydney, Higher Education Commission, British Council and the National Talent Pool, Government of Pakistan. The main objective of the Conference was to focus on the understudied area of how language sciences relate to the developing world. As many as 23 papers were presented in the conference including those of foreign delegates from more than 12 countries. Dr. Sabiha Mansoor, Vice Chancellor, LCWU said that the main outcome of the Conference, b e s i d e s g i v i n g recommendations to the federal and provincial governments for a language policy in education, is to compile a book containing the work of participants of the

conference which in result will help the policy makers in reforming the curriculum. In his keynote address, Dr. Ahmer Mahmoob, Coconvener of the conference from University of Sydney, emphasized the need for experts associated with languages to explore relationship between minority and disadvantaged languages with the dominant languages and consider the opportunities of development for speakers of these languages. The Vice Chancellor Panel discussion, chaired by Dr. Samina Amin Qadir, Vice Chancellor, Fatima Jinnah Women University, agreed on the need to emphasize and integrate local and regional languages in the higher education curriculum. Dr. Naz Rasool from the University of Reading presented her paper on Making Language Policy Choices for Social Development in 21st Century: Dilemmas and Possibilities. Dr. Brian Morgan of Glendon College/York University in Toronto presented his paper on I d e n t i t y, A g e n c y a n d

Language Teacher Education: Horizons of possibility in/for the developing world. On the second day, Dr. Angel Lin from the University of Hong Kong presented a paper o n A s i a a s M e t h o d : Postcolonial Epistemologies and Implications for Linguistics and Education R e s e a r c h a n d D r. J o h n Gibbons, Monash University, Australia presented his work on A Technique for Revealing the Language Demands Made by School Textbooks. Mr. Zaeem Qadri, Minister for Higher Education, Punjab was the chief guest in the concluding ceremony. Mr. Qadri said that the Provincial Government would actively consider and implement all recommendations given by the experts panel. Dr. Fayyaz Ranjha, Director General, National Talent Pool, pledged support for future academic activities and conferences, alongside scholarships for PhD scholars. Dr. Ijaz Muneer, Secretary Higher Education, Punjab also spoke at the occasion.

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Farmers Convention at UAF

Faculty of Agriculture said that per capita consumption of edible oil in Pakistan was declining due to increasing poverty, presently it was at 1024 kg. Promoting cultivation of oilseeds will also be a great remedial measure to help masses reeling under poverty. He urged the farmers to adopt UAF-11 which has 49 per cent oil contents and 40-50 seeds in each pod having great potential for productivity. Dr. Hafeez Sadaqat, Breeder of the UAF-11, said that there was a dire need to concentrate on developing high yielding oilseed variety. Realizing this fact, oilseeds research team of UAF has developed and produced Brassica type new variety. This variety matures early than all other domestic varieties and fits in our cropping pattern.

University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF) has developed a new variety of Brassica oilseed (Desi Sarson) with the potential of 30-40 mounds per acre yield and maturity time 4-months. This will become a milestone for self-sufficiency in edible oil in the country. This was stated by Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Vice Chancellor UAF while addressing Farmers Convention on Physiological Maturity of UAF-11 Brassica Oilseed (Sarson) as a chief guest

recently. Farmers from all over the province, scientists, experts and students attended the Convention. Dr. Khan said Pakistan was importing over two million tons of edible oil worth of $2.4 billion annually making it the second largest import after petroleum products. He was of the view that proper farming, production, processing and marketing of oilseeds can not only reduce dependence on imports but also help earn f o r e i g n e x c h a n g e . D r. Muhammad Arshad, Dean,

UoP Symposium on Frontiers in Physics

The 13th National Symposium on Frontiers in Physics was recently held at University of Peshawar. The three-day event was organized by the Institute of Physics and Electronics, UoP in collaboration with Pakistan Physical Society, HEC, Abdul Wali Khan University, Kohat University and Islamia College University, Peshawar. Fourteen technical sessions were held in the event. Forty-three scientists presented papers in three different fields, including Condensed Matter Physics, High Energy/ Particle Physics and Plasma Physics. Speaking as chief guest at the opening ceremony, Ms. Farah Hamid, Provincial Secretary, Higher Education said that participation of a number of scientists from across the country reflects the fact that intellectuals and scientists are ready to offer their services for wellbeing of the country.Veteran Plasma Physics

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scientist Dr. Ghulam Mustafa, in his keynote address, talked about recent developments in the world of physics. He said that field of Plasma Physics promises a lasting solution to the energy problem of mankind through development of fusion based power reactors and its world market is estimated to have grown up to 200 billion dollar a year. Dr. Qibla Ayaz, Vice Chancellor UoP, termed the role of universities as a direction setter for the society. He said that many ideas and research projects over the years have emerged from discussants of conferences and seminars. He

hoped that the participants would put their heads together for inventing new technologies for the benefit of mankind. Syed Masood Kausar, Governor KPK, was the chief guest of the closing ceremony. He termed the event as a morale booster for the people of this province. He said a series of events over the past few days have portrayed a very dangerous picture of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In such a situation, presence of renowned academicians and highly productive researchers from all over the country is a balancing impact on contemporary developments.

UDL Workshop on Avian Mycoplasmas

The University Diagnostic Laboratory (UDL), University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore recently organized a training workshop entitled Current Approaches for Diagnosis and Control of Avian Mycoplasmas under the HEC-US Cooperation Programme Characterization of Mycoplasma Gallisepticum Isolates from Pakistan and their Use in Biologics Production funded by the National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC, USA. The workshop focused on modern techniques used to diagnose and control avian mycoplasmas, which is causing devastating disease not only in commercial poultry but also house finches. Professionals from KPK A g r i c u l t u r e U n i v e r s i t y, Peshawar, University of

Agriculture, Faisalabad, National Reference L a b o r a t o r y f o r Po u l t r y Diseases, Islamabad, Poultry Research Institute, R a wa l p i n d i , C o l l e g e o f Ve t e r i n a r y a n d A n i m a l Sciences, Jhang, faculty members and postgraduates of UVAS participated in the twoday workshop. Dr. Mazhar I. Khan from from the University of Connecticut, USA delivered lectures on updated worldwide aspect on avian mycoplasmosis and approaches used to diagnose and control this disease.

In his welcome address, Dr. Masood Rabbani, Director UDL, updated the audience about activities carried out under this project and also informed them about tools and techniques on which trainees will be trained. Dr. Talat Naseer Pasha, Vice Chancellor, UVAS, urged the participants to learn with true spirit and serve in their domains. We should improve our quality of services remarkably as poultry sector is contributing a major portion in the economy of Pakistan.

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News & Views

Convocations of Virtual University held at Rawalpindi & Karachi

Separate ceremonies for third convocation of the Virtual University of Pakistan were recently held at Rawalpindi and Karachi. At Rawalpindi, degrees were conferred on 1056 graduates who acquired their Bachelors and Masters from the University. Merit certificates were also awarded to the outstanding graduates. Dr. Naveed A. Malik, the founding Rector of the University, was the chief guest on the occasion. Mr. Tajdar Alam, Rector of the University, highlighted achievements of the University, its lead role in delivering technology-based education and contribution in the provision of quality education even to the remotest areas of the country. He also mentioned VUs future ventures and the highly anticipated VUs Institute of Media Arts for aspiring media professionals. A similar ceremony was organized for graduating students of Sindh and Balochistan at Karachi. As many as 280 degrees were conferred on graduates who successfully completed their Bachelors and Masters programmes. Gold medals and merit certificates were also awarded to the outstanding graduates. Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Director, Institute of Business Administration,

Karachi was the chief guest on the occasion. He appreciated achievements of the Virtual University and also congratulated successful graduates and high achievers. Dr. Naveed A. Malik said that VU is the true leader in education technology spreading higher education all over the country. The confidence by prospective students is reflected in the fact that the enrolment of the University has crossed well over 100,000.

VUs Innovative Use of Technology for Conducting Exam

A revolutionary innovative system was introduced by the Virtual University of Pakistan while conducting Fall-2012 Mid-term Examination throughout the country and abroad. Around 30,000 students appeared in 113 examination centres in more than 100 cities within the country while 1100 students appeared in their examination abroad in 57 countries.
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In this unique examination system, each student is given a different question paper designed from a pool of over 160,000 papers of Question Bank. Being the leader in ICT-based education, Virtual University, through its innovative technology, has ensured the quality of all the examination procedure.