Prof Atta elected member of Turkish Science Academy

KARACHI: Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, a former Minster for Science and Technology, has been elected by of Bilim Akademisi, the Science Academy, Turkey (TUBA), as a Foreign Honorary Member of TUBA.

A Karachi University statement said here on Sunday that in an official letter, issued to Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman by TUBA Chairman M. Ali Alpar, it is mentioned that the Science Academy was set up on November 25, 2011 as a non-governmental organization to uphold principles of scientific merit, freedom and integrity.

It said that Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman has been selected in recognition of his services to science and higher education sector in and outside the country. Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman has 843 publications in organic chemistry including 663 research publications, 18 patents, 103 books and 59 chapters in books.

He was elected as Fellow of Royal Society (London) (2006). He won the prestigious UNESCO Science Prize (1999). He has been conferred honorary doctorate degrees by Cambridge University (1987), Coventry University (2007), Bradford University (2010), Asian Institute of Technology (2010) and many other universities.

He was elected Honorary Life Fellow Currently, Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman is serving as the Coordinator General of COMSTECH. He is President of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences. Vice Chancellor Karachi University, Prof Dr Muhammad Qaiser, and Director International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, KU, Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary congratulated him on his achievement.

News Details: Dawn News

International Arch of Europe Award for Prof Dr Ehsan Malik

LAHORE: The Madrid-based international organization Business Initiative Directions (BID) has awarded Punjab University Gujranwala Campus Director General Prof Dr Muhammad Ehsan Malik with International Arch of Europe Award in its International Quality Convention in Frankfurt, Germany in which outstanding personalities from the business world and diplomatic corps.

Prof Dr Ehsan Malik received IAE from BID President Jose E. Prieto. The BID has stated in a press release that Punjab University was made up of a team oriented towards the continuous improvement of processes, striving fro an important role in the leadership of the business world.

The BID is present in 178 countries around the world, creating a firm ground for the implementation of integral quality processes through the technology and procedures of the QC 100 model of total quality management. For selection of IAEA Award 2012, a voting process was carried out during the BID World Congress with meetings in Paris, London, Geneva, Frankfurt, Madrid and New York over the past twelve months.

The winning of IAEA award 2012 to leaders by leaders is yet another special recognition added in the list of awards achieved by University of the Punjab. PU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Mujahid Kamran has congratulated Dr. Ehsan Malik for achieving this milestone and the country was proud of him.

Four Pakistan universities in top 200 Asian universities

London: Four Pakistani Universities have been shortlisted in top 200 Asian universities by a leading educational research organization.

In its research about top Asian universities, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) found only four Pakistani universities providing state of the art educational research and facilities.
QS is the leading global career and education network for ambitious professionals looking to further both their personal and professional development.

The universities that have been included in top Asian universities are as follow:
National University of Sciences And Technology (NUST) Islamabad is given the rank of 84 with 52.4 score.

University of Karachi, second largest university of Pakistan, is at 138th position by getting 38.8 score.

University of Lahore has scored 32.5 was given rank of 177.

University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore is at 180 number with 31.8 score.
Methodology:
QS selects top universities on following metrics:
Academic Reputation remains a major component of the QS.com Asian University Rankings carrying a weighting of 30%.
Results of the Employer Reputation contribute 10% to the weighting of the overall ranking.

Faculty student contributes to 20 % weight to the ranking. QS sources data not only directly from institutions themselves but also from government ministries, agencies such as HESA, web sources and other third‐parties; where possible data are checked against multiple sources to verify their authenticity.
Bibliometrics adds 30 % to overall ranking with Paper per Faculty weights 15 % and Citations per Paper weights 15 %.
International Factors counts 10 % including 2.5 % for International Faculty, 2.5 % International Students, 2.5 % for Inbound Students Exchange and 2.5 % for Outbound Students Exchange.

News Details: The News Tribe

Pakistani student won silver medal in International environment competition

Islamabad: A Pakistani student has won silver medal by bagging second position in an international environment competition held in, Baku, Azerbaijan.

Muhammad bin Qasim, a class 8 student in the Pak-Turk International School and Colleges, Peshawar got the medal in the 6th International Environmental Project Olympiad.

Over 100 projects from the students of 42 different countries were presented in the contest. Qasim 14, represented a research on a plant to find out treatment for the patients suffering from diabetes. The plant called Tecoma Stans (Yellow Elder) is found in abundance in the Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa province.

He analysed the plant in the laboratory conditions form various perspectives and eventually reached to the conclusion that the herb is very useful for the patients of diabetes.
Prof. Dr. Mirza Hakim Khan and Biology lecturer Huseyin Gursoy supervised the research.

The project was presented in the Olympiad where it was praised followed by a request to make it elaborate and more convenient.

Upon arrival to Pakistan, Qasim said that that it was the effort of my teacher and the prayers of my parents which enabled me to accomplish this hard and time consuming task.
He said that he will continue to explore for the sake of humanity under the guidance of his dedicated teachers.

At the occasion, Mr Kamil Ture, Director Education, Pak-Turk said that improving, educating and promoting the brightest Pakistani students is our mission which has helped students win 58 gold, 23 sliver and 44 bronze medals so far in the national and international Olympiads.
We have committed to empower Pakistani students to achieve the very top of their potential, and then be rewarded for that achievement.

We base our success on being a student-cantered and research-driven institution providing a comprehensive and holistic experience, said Ture.

He said that Pak-Turk will continue to bear all the expenses of training teachers and participation of students in challenges to deepen their learning, and make them more competitive and turn their visions into reality.


News Details: The News Tribe

Pakistani American receives Peace Award

DALLAS: The University of North Texas president has given the prestigious 'Staff Contribution Award' to a Pakistani American scholar and Assistant Dean at the University, Dr. Qaisar Abbas to recognize his extraordinary peace building activities.

The University President Dr. V. Rawlins gave him the prestigious award in a ceremony last week for his extraordinary contributions to peace building and research initiatives.

Dr. Qaisar Abbas developed and organized the First South Asia Peace Conference last November which brought activists, scholars, diplomats and South Asian community members to the University.

Former Ambassador Husain Haqqani of Pakistan and Ambassador Ahmed Hakimi of Afghanistan were the keynote speakers at the Conference besides activists from India and Pakistan and a large number of scholars from all over the world who presented research work at the Conference.

Dr. Qaisar is actively involved in peace building activities as a board member of the Dallas Peace Center. He is also working on a research project on media coverage of interstate conflicts in South Asia as Research Fellow of the Casselberry Peace Institute at his University.

News Details: The News

Pakistan students outshine US youth in Space Art Contest

Colorado: Capturing many of award slots, Brilliant Pakistani students outshine their counterparts from United States and Turkey in Space Foundation Student Art Contest.

The Space Foundation invited students from around the world in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade to submit original artwork depicting the theme, “Space is Infinite — Explore!”

More than 1,500 contestants from U.S. states, Turkey and Pakistan were participating in the art contest.
The foundation lauds performance of Pakistani students saying, “School children in Pakistan embraced the contest with particular enthusiasm, capturing many of the award slots.  We are genuinely impressed with how students have artistically interpreted our theme of Space is Infinite – Explore.

The students with Green Flag who clinched the grand prizes and other awards include:


Grand Prize Winners

Grand Prize, 3rd-5th Grade

Meerab Atiq, Beaconhouse School System, Lahore, Pakistan

Grand Prize, 6th-8th Grade

Syed Nofal Shah Bokhari, Army Public Schools and College, Kohat, Pakistan

Grand Prize, 9th-12th Grade

Syed Zaki Raza, Hamdard Public School, Karachi, Pakistan

Space Foundation Achievement Award Winner

3rd Place

Omer Faroaq, Roots School System, Rawalpindi, Pakistan (1st and 2nd placed reserved by US students)

Pre-Kindergarten-2nd Grade Winners – Painting

1st Place

Munakib E-Noor, Roots School System, Islamabad, Pakistan

Pre-Kindergarten-2nd Grade Winners – Drawing

1st Place

Ayesha Iftikhar, The City Kindergarten Defense Campus, Karachi, Pakistan

2nd Place

Aaliyn Azhar, The City Kindergarten Defense Campus, Karachi, Pakistan

3rd Place

Maha Attique, Roots School System, Lahore, Pakistan

3rd-5th Grade Winners – Multimedia

1st Place

Shahid Wajid Ali, The Citizens Foundation School, Karachi, Pakistan

2nd Place

Taha Waqar, Roots School System, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

3rd Place

Musab Ali, Beaconhouse School System, Karachi, Pakistan

3rd-5th Grade Winners – Painting

1st Place

Meerab Atiq, Beaconhouse School System, Lahore, Pakistan

2nd Place

Salman Laiba, Beaconhouse School System, Karachi, Pakistan

3rd Place

3rd-5th Grade Winners – Drawing

1st Place

Esha Khan, Roots School System, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

3rd Place

Syed Hamza Ali Rizvi, Beaconhouse School System, Karachi, Pakistan

6th-8th Grade Winners – Multimedia

1st Place

Fareeha Awan, Army Public Junior School, Punjab, Pakistan

6th-8th Grade Winners – Painting

1st Place

Syed Nofal Shah Bokhari, Army Public Schools and College, Kohat, Pakistan

6th-8th Grade Winners – Drawing

1st Place

Mohammad Nafeel Irfan, Prep School, Aitchison College, Lahore, Pakistan

3rd Place

Zoya Baakza, The City School, P.A.F. Chapter, Karachi, Pakistan

9th-12th Grade Winners – Multimedia

1st Place

Syed Zaki Raza, Hamdard Public School, Karachi, Pakistan

9th-12th Grade Winners – Painting

1st Place

Sakina Khan, Beaconhouse School – Liberty campus, Lahore, Pakistan

3rd Place

Maliha Bangash, Beaconhouse School – Liberty Campus, Lahore, Pakistan

Details: Space Foundation Site

"Visiting Scholar Award" for Ahmad Bilal

Ahmad Bilal, a doctoral student in the Institute of Education and Research, University of the Punjab, Pakistan, was recognized with the program’s Visiting Scholar Award in recognition of his contribution to the professional development of teachers for school improvement.

Bilal’s area of research is professional development of teachers. During his six months’ visit at UGA, he has been refining his dissertation work under the supervision of Sally J. Zepeda, professor in the educational administration and policy program. He earned his master’s degree in education from the University of the Punjab in 1996.

He taught in a public school in Lahore for 12 years where he also served as a magazine editor, curricular activities leader and deputy controller examination. He received the Best Master Trainer Award 2002 by the Intel Teach to the Future Program, Pakistan. He worked with Punjab Textbook Board, Lahore and Ministry of Education, Curriculum wing, Government of Pakistan to review curriculum and textbook development. During his doctoral work, he received the Indigenous Scholarship and a foreign scholarship of the International Research Initiative Program by Higher Education Commission, Government of Pakistan.

As a teacher trainer, he conducted more than 65 training sessions on pedagogy related areas throughout Pakistan. In recent years, as a practitioner, he has focused on school improvement and teacher evaluation. He designed a module for staff development by using teaching observation. This module has been piloted in Pakistan and can be implemented in any school after having slight customization regarding contextual needs.

News Details: University of Georgia College of Education Website

Pakistan’s got heroes (not just terrorists)

  Moin Khan, who travelled half the globe on his motorbike, as part of his campaign called 'A different agenda.

Pakistan is an interesting country to say the least. We have pobably as many (if not more) news channels here than entertainment channels. Unfortunately, where other countries use their media to benefit their people and show case talent from within it, we use ours mostly to spread fear and loathing for ourselves.

I was recently browsing the internet to see if we had success stories of our own, for motivating our people, when I found out about so many gifted people in our country about whom we hardly hear anything. The media shows one interesting story about these people and then goes back to how Pakistan is going to the dogs.

Unlike what our own media shows, we are not terrorists begging America to love us and show us their mercy – that’s just our government. The nation, on the other hand, is a bunch of highly gifted individuals with the potential to do great things, inspire others and perhaps be the future think tanks of the world. Here are some examples of the  individuals from Pakistan that I was able to come up with in a matter of 20 minutes on Google.

• 70-year old Mushtaq Ahmed Siyan (PhD student): This amazing person is from the small town of Gujranwala and a poor man, but one that can speak, write and read English and did his MPhil in 2010 and is currently doing his PhD in Education. Why did he do this? Only to show the world that he can, not for employment but just because.

• Two brothers make a gas powered fan:  The first time they made a gas powered fan was in 1970 and now they have perfected the design. The fan runs for up to four hours and only consumers one rupee of gas!

• Pakistan’s First Fuel Efficient Car: Made by 12 Pakistani students from NED, the car can travel 80km in a single liter. The last report on these individuals indicated that they were trying to secure sponsorship to take their car for a world competition back in 2010, whatever happened to them, is still unknown. I’m sure we can use such cars inPakistan nowadays, but unfortunately no one from the government has tried to turn this project into a reality.

• Ali Nawazish: He took 23 subjects in his A’levels and scored 21A’s, 1B and a C. He didn’t require any tuition, just a lot of hard work and energy drinks. He’s currently enrolled in the Cambridge University.

• Car + Power Generator – A Pakistani invention: Necessity is truly the mother of all inventions and we, in Pakistan, therefore have a lot of great inventors. A generator that can power your house can also be used to run a car. The person who made this invention isn’t even a college graduate. This speaks wonders for our people and yet no one from the government cares.

• Moin Khan travels the world on a motorbike: Moin Khan Traveled half the globe, from America to Lahore, on his motorbike as part of his campaign called ‘A different agenda’. He too realized that Pakistan wasn’t presented in the best of ways and wanted to do something to change that. His story is one to be shared and learned from. He was able to change the minds of many regarding Pakistan and its people during his six month trip. He can easily be used as a good will ambassador by our country for youth across the world, but then again, that would require the government to give a hoot about its people and the image of the country, which it currently does not.

With so much talent present in our country, why doesn’t our government invest in education, vocational training and infrastructure development? We need to fix our problems ourselves and not rely on the so called friendships of other nations.

We have all the potential we need, all we require now is for the government to listen and act

Pakistani students make largest painting of the world

Lahore: A group of Pakistani students have painted the largest painting of the world. A painting of Pakistani flag, also featuring  different pictures of the region, measuring 42,000 square feet was made on a canvas by a group of 1200 male and female students at Hockey Stadium Lahore.

The students claimed to have set a world record breaking a previous record of 34,000 square feet painting created in Nigeria.

Students from different educational institutions took part in creating the painting  as the nation marked Pakistan Day. The event was organised by Master Paint and Message Welfare Trust.

News Details: The News Tribe

Pakistani student clinches world mathematics competition

ISLAMABAD - A 15-year-old Pakistani student Moosa Feroz won a gold medal in an Online World Mathematics Competition held in Australia. Over one point, about 5 million children from 100 counties around the globe took part in the competition which was held in the first week of March.


News Details: Pakistan Today

LUMS Best Delegation at Turkey Model United Nations

 MUNTR is Turkey’s most prestigious Model United Nations (MUN) conference, and over the years it has gained the status of being the largest conference in Turkey and the neighboring countries. This year MUNTR 2012 was a 5-day long event held from March 3 - 9, 2012 with participation from universities all over the world. In staying true to the conference's theme of “Democratization and Conflict Resolution”, MUNTR simulated the conventional committees such as the General Assembly committees and the Security Council but also aimed to freshen the conference atmosphere through projects such as International Court of Justice, Future North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, G-20 Summit, World Health Organisation, Historical Security Council and African Union.

At the end of a wonderful week, the closing ceremony of MUNTR 2012 climaxed with a hit of the gavel declaring the LUMS team as the Best Delegation for this prestigious conference. The 12 member team comprised of Sarah Ahmad (head delegate), Anam Hasan, Sana Kamran, Imran Ahmad Khan, Sagar Jaggani, Ayesha Durrani, Zainab Cheema, Saim Sadiq, Aan Asif Cheema, Hassan Bin Haseeb, Hira Mumtaz and Rawaid Asif. As an ode to their outstanding performance at MUNTR 2012, the LUMUN team was able to bag a large number of awards including 6 best delegates, 3 outstanding diplomacy, 2 honourable mentions and 1 promising delegate.

It was  truly a proud moment when the Secretary General for MUNTR 2012 crowned the LUMS team as winners saying: ‘They come every year, they see, they conquer!’ An ecstatic response to this was by Sarah Ahmad, head delegate for the MUNTR delegation who rejoiced in the fact that amongst a room full of international students in Turkey, the most prominent thing was a group of 12 winning LUMUNites and the Pakistan flag.

News Details: LUMS official Site

NUST Launches Pakistan’s Fastest Supercomputer

National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) inaugurated its fastest supercomputing facility in a ceremony held on Tuesday at its Research Centre for Modeling and Simulation (RCMS).

The supercomputer installed in NUST is the fastest GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) based parallel computing system operating in any organization/academic institution in Pakistan till date.

The supercomputer can perform parallel computation at a peak speed of 132 Teraflops (132 Trillion Operations per second).  It is equipped with multi-core processors and graphics co-processors with inter-processor communication speed of 40 Gbps


Techinical Specifications:

Computer’s Cluster configuration:
66 NODE supercomputer with 30,992 processor cores
2 Head Node (16 Processor Cores)
32 Dual Quad Core Computer Nodes (256 Processor Cores)
32 Nvidia Computing Processors
Each processor has 960 Processor Cores (30,720 processor Cores)
QDR Infiniband Interconnection
21.6TB SAN storage

Imaginational ceremony was presided over by Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Javaid Laghari.

Speaking at the ceremony, Principal RCMS Engr Sikandar Hayat highlighted some of the unique features of this state-of-the-art computing facility recently acquired by Nust through financial grant by Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).

Hayat said that besides the supercomputer’s extensive utilisation in the computation-intensive research projects in the areas of Fluid Dynamics and Biosciences, this massively parallel facility can also be utilized to handle huge data processing applications of social sciences such as Flood and Weather Forecasting, Oil and Gas Exploration, energy efficient building designs and national transportation management.

Addressing the event, Laghari appreciated the efforts of the entire team associated with the project and encouraged all institutions to come forward and benefit from the facility acquired by Nust. He assured HEC’s full support in this regard.

Rector Nust Engr Muhammad Asghar, in his welcome address, sharing his vision, specifically mentioned that the acquisition of the supercomputing facility would be a source of inspiration for PhD scholars, abroad, to return to Pakistan.

“This will give an impetus for collaborative research between universities and other research organizations within the country and abroad.”

Dr Imran Akhtar, the key note speaker, gave a highly motivating and thought provoking speech on the occasion, encouraging young researchers to come forward and utilize the facility in solving national challenges in the areas of engineering, bio-informatics, political science, psychology and social sciences.

News Details:  Pro Pakistani

PkStories: Shabina Mustafa

 Shabina Mustafa set out to teach her maid’s daughter in her garage — 

today she runs a school with over 400 students.

  

“My husband and I used to wonder how the country’s economic and social conditions would change if the majority of Pakistan’s children were deprived of quality education,” says Shabina Mustafa, founder of The Garage School. “But it was only after his death that I got around to dedicating myself to teaching children who would otherwise not get an opportunity to go to school.”

The foundation of The Garage School (TGS) was laid in 1999 when Shabina’s maid convinced her to teach her daughter, cleaning out the garage for the purpose, as it was the only place in her house which could be dedicated to giving lessons to the little girl. But Somia wasn’t Shabina’s only student — news that she would be giving lessons for free had spread quickly in the neighbourhood and on the first day of ‘school’ 14 bright faces eagerly turned towards Shabina as she stepped into that single-room school, ready to teach.

Those were the humble beginnings of The Garage School, as it came to be called, and from that point on there was no looking back. Children who could not gain admission in a regular school and students from the nearby slums of Neelum Colony and Shah Rasool Colony flocked in droves to Shabina’s home, keen to learn. In fact, the number of enthusiastic learners who would turn up outside Shabina’s door simply kept increasing by the day.

While multiplication tables and match-the-word exercises were very much a part of daily school lessons, it was more than just book knowledge that TGS aimed to impart. It had a more holistic view to education: making these children competitive, responsible, healthy, well behaved and successful. Shabina often reminds her students of the 4 T’s on which her system is based: Taleem (education), Tarbiat (upbringing), Taur (manners), Tariqay (behaviour) — which, she believes, lead to the fifth T, that is Taraqqi (success).

“This is our motto. I always tell my students that I can only help them in obtaining the first four tools, but achieving success depends upon their hard work and determination,” says Shabina.

At the same time, Shabina also feels she has the responsibility of grooming and coaching these children so that they can be accommodated in mainstream institutions. In 2002, she approached Nasra School and prepared the students for its entrance exam. “I want them to progress to a respectable career. It makes me feel really proud that 22 of my students were accepted at Nasra School and 16 by St Patrick’s Technical College,” she says.

She loves talking about all the success that her students have achieved since the school first started. “There was Anil who passed out of Nasra, then went to Bahria College and is now a manager at a multinational company. Another boy stood first in the Aga Khan Board exam while his brother is a straight ‘A’ student who wants to be a doctor. And from our first batch of English conversation and grooming classes, eight girls are working as beauticians at leading salons.”

“Joining this school was a turning point in my life,” says Mohammed Asad, who is currently studying at Aga Khan Secondary School and plans to join the Pakistan Air Force as an aeronautical engineer. “TGS is the reason that I am studying in a good college today,” he says proudly.

With the children coming from slums, health care often emerges as a serious concern. In 2002, Dr Khalid Bhamba offered his services. Now, whenever a new student is admitted, he is medically examined. Most students are found to be malnourished. “We cannot expect unhealthy bodies to have healthy minds. So with the help of pharmaceutical companies, we give them multivitamins and vaccines of hepatitis, typhoid and flu annually. Also, the school provides food, such as milk, eggs, fruits and juices, for all the children on a regular basis.”

Brimming with new ideas and eager to expand her philanthropic activities, Shabina started the adult literacy programme in 2008, with 25 women. So far 42 students have completed the adult literacy course. The Garage School is also offering sewing classes and Shabina envisions that these will one day become the basis for the Garage School Cottage Industry where women can earn money by stitching and selling clothes. TGS also underscores the habit of saving money so that these children learn to plan for the future from an early age. Initially, they were provided piggy banks, but  now the piggy banks have been transformed into 32 separate bank accounts at Bank Al-Habib.

With enrollment increasing by the day, Shabina has had to expand her premises. “I need more space to accommodate all the projects but people are reluctant to help,” she laments. “We are in dire need of monetary help and are looking for teachers to volunteer their time too.”

While this may not be enough to solve the social and economic conditions of the country just yet, at least now Shabina knows that she is doing her bit.

Details: Express Tribune

Pakistani girl to be torch-bearer at London Olympics

Zainab Imran

KARACHI: When young Zainab Imran puts on her running shoes on June 28, she will be doing it for her country and her people. The 16-year-old Karachi girl, a student of Nasra Trust School, Malir, will be carrying the Olympic torch as it makes its way to London.

Zainab, who has only recently done her Matric, is one of 21 people selected as torch-bearers from Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Palau, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and Zambia through the International Inspiration programme.

The programme looks to use the power of sport to enrich the lives of tens of millions of children, young people and grown-ups, too, of all abilities in schools and communities across the world, particularly in developing countries, by offering them the opportunity to access and participate in high-quality and inclusive sport, physical education and play.

“There are young as well as older people [who have been] selected as torch-bearers through the programme and I’m the only one from Pakistan,” teenaged Zainab, who will be flying off to Nottingham on Sunday, excitedly told Dawn. “The oldest person selected as torch-bearer through the programme is a 53-year-old,” she added.

Each International Inspiration torch-bearer was selected either for their dedication and commitment to inspire children and young people in their communities through the power of sport or for the personal challenges they have overcome in their lives.

Zainab, who was nominated by the Nasra Trust School after she demonstrated strong leadership qualities, is also a member of the Young Leader of International Inspiration Club. She has taken Young Sport Leadership training and is also very active to cascade this training in her local community.

The spirited all-rounder enjoys playing netball for her school team. She has also done volunteer work as coordinator for the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), she said. “Then I regularly take part in Dawn’s Spelling Bee competitions, although I’ve yet to win it,” she chuckled. “But I got a position in the Pak-Turk Math Olympiad. I was 20th,” she said with pride.

About her selection, the young leader informed that she had to go through an entire process. “My school, as you may know, is one of British Council’s partner schools also taking part in the International Inspiration programme. So we, the students of Nasra Trust School, were given questionnaires to fill out. From there I was shortlisted for interviews, and I guess my interview must have gone pretty well because I got selected,” she remarked. The school partnerships are managed by the British Council, which has extensive experience of linking schools internationally, working in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, which utilises its expertise in developing teachers and young leaders through sport.

Asked if she has trained well for the Olympic relay, Zainab laughed, saying: “Well, I think so. Although I am not as yet sure what distance and exact route I’ll be taking. That will be disclosed to me after I reach Nottingham.”

But what she is sure of is that she will be running in an area in Nottingham, which has a big Pakistani community, who will be cheering her all the way. She would be needing that, too, as she is travelling alone to the UK, and that, also, for the very first time.

News Details: Dawn News

Mobilink Partners with DIL for Literacy Initiative

Mobilink has partnered with Developments in Literacy (DIL) to set up a Computer Lab at the DIL Model School in the Khuda ki Basti community in Kala Shah Kaku near Sheikhupura.

As part of the partnership, DIL will provide the IT curriculum and teacher training, while Mobilink has provided the hardware and equipment for this.

Mobilink has sponsored a total of ten computer systems, one printer, twenty audio headsets and ten webcams for online lessons. This hardware was handed over to the school management by Mobilink Torchbearers during a brief ceremony, with the Torchbearers also utilizing the opportunity to interact with students and emphasize the importance of IT literacy.

On the occasion, Omar Manzur, Director Public Relations and CSR Mobilink highlighted, “As Pakistan’s premier cellular services provider, we are fully cognizant of the importance of IT literacy for the economic development of the country and bridging the digital divide. It is indeed an honor to provide this support for IT education at the very basic level, where it is needed the most.”

The DIL Model School is located in Khuda Ki Basti, which is a community housing project of “Saiban” a local NGO. The housing scheme is for the low income group of Sheikhpura, located in Kala Shah Kako. DIL establishes, adopts and manages primary and secondary schools for underprivileged children in partnership with non-governmental organizations in all four provinces of Pakistan.

The Mobilink Foundation remains committed towards leading social responsibility in Pakistan, with a history of helping the deserving across the country. The Mobilink Foundation has a dedicated and efficient team of Torchbearers; trained employee volunteers who enable the Foundation in the various causes it identifies for the relief of the underprivileged across Pakistan. Each Mobilink Foundation Torchbearer is empowered to clock an average of five (5) dedicated hours per month during official working hours.

News Details: ProPakistani