By: Shehneela Mazhar
ASG grantee Dr. Ali Hussain Kazim who is also our Fulbright alumnus successfully started his grant project titled “Reshaping STEM Workforce Landscape for Economic Growth and Development” funded by the U.S. Mission Pakistan and Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network. Under this project, the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, and Lahore College for Women University, Lahore came together for organizing a decorated seminar series titled “Inspiring STEM Careers”.
The project is led from UET Lahore by Dr. Ali Hussain Kazim who is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a Fulbright fellow. The project is led from LCWU by Dr. Aqsa Shabbir, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of Research, Innovation, and Commercialization.
In the first virtual event, accomplished Pakistani women in STEM fields working internationally, highlighted the problems women face in STEM. The participants included Ms. Sara Ilyas, technical lead Amazon, Dr. Yasmin Ansari, a researcher at the Bio robotics Institute, Italy, Dr. Sadia Shakeel Senior Researcher at the Brno University of Technology, Dr. Naila Sahar, Adjunct Faculty, University of Buffalo, and Ms. Fizza Khan, an EDF climate corps fellow.
In the second event, held in UET Lahore on 14th September 2022, Dr. Aqsa Shabbir and Prof. Dr. Amina Muazzam from LCWU along with Dr. Rabia Nazir and Prof. Dr. Saima Yasin from UET Lahore shared their journeys of becoming role model in STEM.
Vice Chancellor, UET Lahore, Prof. Dr. Syed Mansoor Sarwar, was the chief guest for the occasion. He stressed the importance of more females in the workforce and shared how several women have on merit been selected into professorial ranks at UET Lahore. He further stressed on the recurring problem of gender roles in STEM fields and asserted the need for change in this attitude.
Vice Chancellor, LCWU, Prof. Dr. Bushra Mirza also appreciated the endeavors and said that collaborative work between universities supported by such projects can be highly beneficial for improving women’s enrollment, retention, and placement in STEM fields which will ultimately prove to be a key driver of the economy.
