AWKUM-UA&CDC hosted a one-day seminar on Consultation with Stakeholders: Students’ Perspective on BS Program in Higher Education Institutions

 

A one-day seminar on Consultation with Stakeholders: Students’ Perspective on BS Program in Higher Education Institutions was jointly organized by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Foundation (KPEF) and Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM). The seminar was hosted by the University Advancement and Career Development Centre (UA&CDC) at the IBL Hall of AWKUM. The students and faculty of AWKUM and Women University Mardan attended the seminar. The principals, BS-Coordinators, and students from different government and private colleges of Mardan also participated in the event. It was a thorough session wherein the participants were given sufficient time to share their experiences with the BS program openly.

In the opening remarks, Professor Dr. Jameel Ahmad, Vice Chancellor of AWKUM, the Chief Guest, discussed the various education systems existing across countries. He emphasized the need to adapt and revise the curriculum's contents to meet the modern needs of society. The Vice Chancellor also spoke about modern methods of teaching, which are in great demand today. He further added that we need to follow a modular system of education, which is a flexible and student-centered approach. With this approach, students will find it easy, as it breaks down the learning process into smaller and manageable learning tasks.    

Dr. Bilal, Director of University Advancement and Career Development Centre, being the host of the seminar, spoke about promoting the culture of academic democracy in higher education institutions. He added that AWKUM believes in the learning-by-interaction process, which is why it hosted this seminar on the BS program to bridge the gap between the KP Education Foundation and government and private colleges in the Mardan periphery. 

Mr. Arif Shah, the Director of KP Education Foundation, welcomed the participants and appreciated their interest in attending the seminar. He thoroughly explained the aims and objectives of the KP Education Foundation in promoting higher education in the province. Mr. Arif Shah also showed some videos and pictures of the ongoing projects of KPEF, including the provision of scholarships to needy students and seminars aimed at strengthening the BS program in colleges across the province. 

In the closing remarks, Mr. Zariful Mani, the Managing Director of KP Education Foundation, appreciated the active participation of the participants, especially the students. He added that such debates are necessary to enhance students’ confidence level and can easily express their views on the problems they face in the BS program. Mr. Zariful Mani emphasized that the higher education ratio in the province is very low, with only six percent of students opting for higher education. He added that we need to do serious work on this to attract a larger number of students to higher education.

UA&CDC TEAM of AWKUM

Mr. Usman Shamrooz, Assistant Director UA&CDC

Mr. Attaurehman, Assistant Director UA&CDC

Dr. Muhammad Bilal, Director UA&CDC

 

One day seminar on "Mental Health Awareness" organized by Department of Psychology

 

The Department of Psychology Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan arranged a one day seminar on mental health, Mental Health Awareness. Walk, Poster Presentation and Free Counselling Camp at main campus of university on the occasion of mental health day. Dr. Tahir Farid, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, enriched the participants about the knowledge on mental health and well being. At the end of the seminar, a walk was arranged in supervision of the Head of the Department of Psychology, Dr. Syed Rashid Ali along with faculty and students. The students and faculty displayed playcards regarding Mental health awareness. Furthermore, Coordinator Main Campus, Syed Ali Shah, inaugurated the poster presentations and free counselling camp ceremony. The students presented different Psychological disorders through  poster presentations. At the end both the faculty and students  administered free counselling sessions for the students and employees. 

World Water Day 2023 Celebrated at The Department of Environmental Sciences, AWKUM

 

Department of Environmental Sciences, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan with the financial support from WaterAid Pakistan organized one day seminar after concluding a week-long awareness campaign in Schools and Colleges in District Mardan to commemorate and contribute the global movement for accelerating change to achieve SDG 6 – clean water and sanitation for all.  This was a part of the series of events organized by WaterAid Pakistan across the country to celebrate and contribute toward the global observance to raise awareness about the importance of fresh water and issues around poor WASH services. Participants from academia, civil society organizations, NGOs, water and sanitation service providers, practitioners and government line department officials attended the event.

Dr. Dilawar Farhan Shams, Chairman Department of the Environmental Sciences, AWKUM welcomed the participants and discuss the aims and objectives of the seminar. It was revealed that globally over 3.6 billion people, almost half of the world population, do not have access to safely managed sanitation at their home. Similarly, in Pakistan 4.5 million population don’t have access to drinking water along with 141 million to safe drinking water and 70 million people have limited access to sanitation facilities. Dr. Shams Ali Baig delivered a keynote talk on the theme of accelerating change to achieve the SDG targets. He highlighted the reason of the off track in achieving SDG 6 and linked with the climate change induced disasters. The importance of adequate WASH services in adhering good hygiene practices to improve the overall quality of life were briefly discussed by the panelists including, Dr. Wali Ullah Khan, Department of Chemistry, Dr. Dilawar Farhan Shams, Department of Environmental Sciences, and Mr. Rahat Ullah, Customer Service Manager WSSCM Mardan in the panel discussion.

At the end, Dr. Muhammad Idris, Director Administration, AWKUM in his closing remarks reiterated the importance of clean drinking water and thanked WaterAid Pakistan for the financial support and choosing AWKUM for this event. He also distributed certificates of appreciation and shield among the participants and organizer. The event ended with a walk within the campus to raise awareness on the World Water Day.

A seminar was conducted by the Department of Pharmacy at AWKUM in partnership with Pharmetheus.

 

Seminar entitled 'Pharmacometrics in Drug Development: Job & Research Opportunities' was organized by Department of Pharmacy AWKUM in collaboration with Pharmetheus - a Sweden-based company. Dr. Sami Ullah (Associate consultant Pharmetheus) highlighted the increasing role of Pharmacometrics in Drug Development and growing number of opportunities for job and research in this field. Dr. Yasar Shah (Associate professor AWKUM) presented job opportunities in pharmacy in general. Faculty, students, M. Phil and PhD scholars attended the seminar. Chairperson Department of Pharmacy (Dr. Haroon) in his speech thanked Dr. Sami Ullah and Dr. Yasar Shah for the inspirational talks.

Department of Environmental Sciences, AWKUM and WaterAid Pakistan Organized One Day Seminar

 

A joint seminar and painting competition was organized on the 24^th of November 2022 at the Department of Environmental Sciences, AWKUM with the support of WaterAid Pakistan to commemorate the World Toilet Day 2022. This was a part of the series of events organized by WaterAid Pakistan across the country to celebrate and contribute toward the global observance to raise awareness about the impacts of sanitation on groundwater. The aim is to make the invisible visible and promote making groundwater protection a reality. Participants from academia, civil society organizations, NGOs, water and sanitation service providers, practitioners and government line department officials attended the event.

Dr. Dilawar Farhan Shams, Chairman Department of the Environmental Sciences, AWKUM welcomed the participants and delivered a talk on the domestic wastewater treatment. Engr. Pervaiz Nasir from Water Aid Pakistan briefly discussed the aims and objectives of the event, and WaterAid interventions in Pakistan. During the session, both national and international researchers and academicians presented their research findings that broadly covered the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) thematic areas. It was revealed that over 3.6 billion people, almost half of the world population, do not have access to safely managed sanitation at their home. Similarly, in Pakistan about 30% of the population live in poor sanitation condition, 75% of toilets are not linked with septic tank, and 19% defecate in the open.

Lack of proper drainage system, poor hygiene and inappropriate latrines contribute to raising water borne diseases. The researchers explicitly linked WASH related disease transmission routes in their presentations. Dr. Cheng, a researcher from the Center of Environmental Sanitation in the Beijing University of Science and Technology China, joined remotely and gave a brief lecture on the non-sewered sanitation system as an alternative option to the conventional sewer sanitation system. Dr. Shams Ali Baig of AWKUM presented his research on the prevalence of sanitation-related pathogens in drinking water distribution systems in Mardan and highlighted that it is one of the alarming issues in present drinking water distribution networks. Mr. Muhammad Ishaq, Solid Waste Management Manager of Water Supply and Sanitation Services Mardan (WSSCM) delivered a talk on the provision of water and sanitation services in urban Mardan.

In parallel, about 16 Pakhtunkhwa College of Arts (PCA) AWKUM students participated in watercolor painting competition. The objective was to develop and highlight the links of WASH and environmental pollution issues with human health. Keynote speakers and the painting competition students sensitized the audience well on how an adequate sanitation system can improve public health and has long lasting beneficial impacts on social and economic development by timely achieving the SDG goal 6, Clean Water and Sanitation.

At the end, Prof. Dr. Sultan Ayaz, Pro-vice Chancellor AWKUM in his closing remarks reiterated the importance of toilets in social life and thanked WaterAid Pakistan for the financial support and choosing AWKUM for this event. The Pro-vice Chancellor also distributed certificates of appreciation and shield among the painting competition position holders and the keynote speakers. The event ended with a walk within the campus to raise awareness on the World Toilet Day.  

The BIC, AWKUM in collaboration with E-Merchant Pakistan organized a one day seminar on Ecommerce platform

 

The Business Incubation Center Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan in collaboration with E-Merchant Pakistan organized a one day seminar on Ecommerce platform i.e. “DARAZ” on November 10, 2022 at IBL AWKUM.  The main purpose of the seminar was to teach the students on how to set up online business and start earning money online on DARAZ.

Mr. Abbas Nisar CEO (E-Merchant) delivered a brief presentation on the ecommerce field and step by step account opening at DARAZ. The student took keen interest in the seminar. A detailed question answer session was held at the end of the seminar. Coordinator BIC MR. Shah Hussain Awan facilitated the event.

In the end Dr. Mohammad Jehangir, Director Business Incubation Center AWKUM thanked     E-Merchant officials for providing such a fruitful learning opportunity for AWKUM students in the field of ecommerce & entrepreneurship.

Seminar on “Youth standing up for Human Rights”

 

One day seminar on “Islamic Banking & Finance” Conducted at IBL

 

The Institute of Business Studies & Leadership (IBL) in collaboration with Center for Excellence in Islamic Finance (CEIF), IMSCIENCES Peshawar organized one day seminar on October 20, 2022 at IBL Hall on “Islamic Banking & Finance”.  The students and faculty were given brief presentation on various aspects of Islamic banking.

The session was started with a recitation from the Holy Quran. Mr. Adnan Malik, Industry Chair, Center of Excellence for Islamic Finance (CEIF), Institute of Management Sciences Peshawar along with Dr. Arif Hussain, Assistant Professor, IBL welcomed the participants. 

Mr. Mohsin Zafar and Mufti Usman from Bank Alfalah were invited as guest speakers. The event was facilitated by Dr. Arif Hussain and Mr. Shah Hussain Awan at IBL. In the end, brief question answer session was held. The guest speakers addressed all the questions.

 

A National Seminar titled "Say ‘NO’ to Violence against Women & Girls in Pakistan"

A National Seminar titled "Say ‘NO’ to Violence against Women & Girls in Pakistan", organized by the Department of Sociology AND University College for Women Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM) IN collaboration with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women (KPCSW) was held at Main Campus, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan on November 25, 2021.

On the occasion Dr. Sumera Shams, Chairperson Women Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ms. Sajida Hanif and Ms. Naeema Kishwar, the Honorable Members of the Provincial Assembly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dr. Riffat Sardar Chairperson KPCSW, Ms. Shaheen Naz Saifullah, Honorable member National Assembly of Pakistan, Ms. Mehr Nigar Director Lift Islamabad/Women Rights Activist, Ms. Catlin Poole Program Manager & Gender Equality Specialist Co-Water International, Prof. Dr. Zahid Ali Khan Marwat Pro-Vice Chancellor AWKUM, Dr. Hussain Ali Head of the Sociology Department, Dr. Naseem Raffique, Principal UCW AWKUM were present.

Dr. Sumera Shams, Chairperson Women Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while adressing the participants stated that women parliamentarians have worked hard and succeeded to pass laws related to women protection in the province. She further stressed that let us all be the champions, advocates and supporters of gender equality.

Shaheen Naz Saifullah, Shared her views that government should maintain zero tolerance for all those who are involved in violence against women & girls.

Addressing to the seminar, Naeema Kishwar shared that Islam is complete code of conduct and our religion well defined the prestigious status of women.

Ms. Mehr Nigar, expressed her views that violence against women & girls is a human rights violation and it should be stopped both in public and private sphere.

Dr. Riffat Sardar, gave a detailed overview of the Commission mandate and its role in advocacy and drafting laws related to women protection in the province.

It is shared that Co-Water International is working in the province with close coordination Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Social Welfare, Special Education and Women Empowerment Department (SW, SE & WED), KPCSW and P&D Department to increase the political empowerment and enjoyment of rights by women, particularly young and marginalized women and those at-risk in the province. The views shared by Catlin Poole.

Prof. Dr. Zahid Ali Khan Marwat expressed his thanks to all the distinguished guests and appreciated the event organizers.

Dr. Hussain Ali shared an evidence based research findings presentation with the audience. Mr. Abbas Rasheed MPhil scholar department of Sociology also presented his research findings on violence against women & girls in Malakand Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the participants.

THE staff and students of University College for Women actively participated in the event and performed a role play to highlight the violence against women & Girls in Pakistan.