Indonesian envoy briefs students on scholarships

LAHORE : Indonesian Ambassador in Pakistan Adam Mulawarman Tugio on Wednesday visited Government College University Lahore and briefed the students about different scholarships available in Indonesia for Pakistani students. GCU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Asghar Zaidi and senior faculty members welcomed the development for the benefit of the students and faculty of GCU.

Adam Mulawarman Tugio said different Indonesian universities had been considered among the 200 best universities of the world. “Pakistan and Indonesia are brotherly Islamic countries and there are vast opportunities for cooperation between the two in various fields,” he added.

He pledged to act as a bridge between GCU and different reputed universities of Indonesia for academic and research collaboration.

The ambassador said China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was an opportunity for Pakistan to enhance its exports. He said Pakistani products had great export potential for ASEAN countries so Pakistani businessmen should focus on these countries to promote trade and exports. He also shared his special interest in Pakistani food items especially tea, chicken tikka and pakoras. He said he loved the hospitality of Pakistani people. Prof Zaidi showed keen interest in student and faculty exchange programmes with Indonesian universities. He also briefed the ambassador about the history and tradition of GCU Lahore. The VC also promised to review a possibility to set up an ASEAN study centre in GCU.

policy dialogue: GC University Lahore organised a provincial level policy dialogue among students, policy makers and academicians on the topic of ‘Youth Leadership on Campuses’ on Wednesday.

The day-long dialogue, organised in collaboration with the Bargad Organisation, discussed and identified the development challenges faced by young people in Pakistan and less participation of female students in the working of student societies on campuses.

The panelists included MPAs Ms Sadia Sohail and Ms Bushra Anjum Butt, vice-chancellors Prof Dr Asghar Zaidi and Prof Dr Kanwal Ameen and Bargad Executive Director Ms Sabiha Shaheen while around 230 representatives of student societies and students from different universities of Punjab also participated in the dialogue. In his opening address, GCU Vice-Chancellor Dr Asghar Zaidi announced holding a week-long All-Pakistan Summit for Student Societies in the last week of August 2021 in which student societies from 30 universities across Pakistan would participate.

MPA Sadia Sohail attributed her political success to participation in her university’s student societies. MPA Bushra Anjum called upon the youth to remain positive and confident and focus on their own strengths to become leaders.

Talking about the leadership qualities, University of Home Economics Vice-Chancellor Prof Kanwal Ameen said that communication, patience and listening, and reading are essential for the youth to become leaders. Ms Sabiha Shaheen believed that grooming and personality development of youth was more critical than teaching. Bargad Advisor Iqbal Haider shared key findings of a study done by Bargad on student societies, saying that about 90 percent of the student societies in Pakistani universities have been formed between the years 2010 to 2018. He said girls are part of the student societies in 39 percent cases, but they generally don’t hold offices. Earlier, the trainees of Youth Leadership on Campuses (YLOC) Programme Namra Batool and Muntaha Akram presented a Charter of Demands for promotion of meaningful participation of youth in policy making.