"Under the guidance of Dr. Tim Spracklen, our Dean of Research, we are pursuing an opportunity for students to design and build working satellites that will then be launched into space by the European Space Agency."

These words caught me by surprise. Pakistani students making satellites in Pakistan that will be at par with international standards, that will then will be launched into space! Unthinkable! But for Dr Shoaib Zaidi, it'll be the flagship project at his workplace, the soon to commence Habib University. He is the Dean of School of Science and Engineering at Habib University.

Dr Zaidi is no stranger to education. His previous work experience includes titles of Dean of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Chair of the Departments of Electronic Engineering, both at NED University. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and has 23 US patents to his name, as well as six years of research and development experience at IBM-Infineon joint development programs.

AK: How are things going to be different at Habib University, from what is already being taught in the local computer science programs?

There are two parts to this. First, we have to be in compliance with the requirements of the regulatory authorities. For our Engineering programs, Pakistan Engineering Council has a certain set of rules that every degree granting institution has to follow. Beyond that, we get the opportunity to do things differently.

Every student who enrols in Habib University will take a sequence of six liberal arts courses and also an Urdu course. Our “Liberal Arts Core” has been very carefully designed and is described in detail on our University’s website.

Leading employers have expressed concerns about the graduates they evaluate. Sometimes less than one tenth of the candidates who take their tests are deemed worthy of being called for interviews. Our programs are very rigorous. There is a strong emphasis not only on the curriculum but also on teaching methods. We will incorporate seminars, project based learning and lectures as components of our teaching.

There is global recognition for better communication skills in today’s graduates. A decade ago, employers desired technical skills. Now, strong communications skills are the priority. Individuals alone can undertake very few if any activities. One may have to interact with colleagues, managers, subordinates, customers, finance and others to successfully develop a project. The ability to communicate effectively, especially with those from other disciplines is thus an essential requirement.

Better awareness of local and global situations is another benefit of the liberal arts centric education for our engineers and scientists. The students will have a better understanding of the world around them and this will guide them in selecting relevant problems to solve.

Though we'll be targeting a batch of 120 students for the computer sciences and electrical engineering programs, we will not be compromising on quality for quantity.

AK: You have worked at NED University. Tell us how different you think it's going to be teaching here as compared to NED?

In some ways it’s going to be different and in some ways it's going to be similar, as we are restricted by the rules and regulations of accreditation bodies like the Pakistan Engineering Council. So let's talk about the things that are going to be different, and here I would like to mention the class size; the student to faculty ratio at HU is going to be 12:1, which is absolutely amazing. This means that the students have access to the faculty. The faculty will have the luxury of spending quality time with their students. Another thing that is going to be different are the laboratories that we're setting up. We have the globally recognized firm RFD setting up our laboratories.

AK: So you are following global best practices here?

I would like to call it global parity. Much of our teaching methodologies have evolved from people who have been teaching for the last two to three decades at leading international Universities. Of course there are going to be lectures in classes, as in other universities in the country, but there will be more seminar-based classes. This brings me to the communications skills of the students, this is something that isn't focused on in our country. By having such small group of students, we will encourage them to hone the ability to listen, in order to better develop mature communications skills.

We are also focusing on the importance of undergraduate research. At the same time, we are equally investing in one of the best faculties in the world. One of the first faculty members that we hired is Dr. Charles Spracklen, who is the Dean of Research.

AK: It sounds great, but many of your students will be used to rote-based learning. How will they react to this new environment?

Here at Habib University we will be preparing students for the future. As you know, technology is evolving at a rapid pace. What we teach them today, may be relevant, but may become irrelevant by the time they graduate. New languages are being developed, with new devices and new structures. In that case, we will teach them how to learn.

And as far as teaching is concerned I have come across some amazing teachers at NED who encourage the students to strive, the same way we plan to. So, it's not an entirely alien concept for Pakistan. As we discussed earlier, the small class size facilitates closer interactions between students and faculty.

AK: 0So computer science is no longer a game of bits and bytes?

Let me answer it in this way, Facebook is a company that has algorithms, calculations to keep the website constant and running. At the same time the individuals who are developing features for Facebook must also be familiar with the human psyche; how to make it easy to use and to operate. This is just a tiny example of how an engineer develops an understanding for human needs, in order to better serve. And this is where the liberal arts and sciences model of HU will come into play.

AK: Do you hope that students who graduate from HU will remain in Pakistan and not go abroad to work?

The world is now a very global place. You could have a front office in Dubai and a back office in Karachi. Already people are shuttling between the two and the world is now much more of a global village. We will hope to instil confidence in students who possess the entrepreneurial spirit and the poise to succeed in the world.

AK: Tell us more about the satellites.

The satellites are just one thing. We are already in talks with universities and laboratories in the US for internships for our students. We have huge plans and you will see that we will fulfil what we promise.