New avenues for partnership

A high-profile delegation, led by CEO Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Mr Temel Kotil, called on Rector NUST Engr Javed Mahmood Bukhari at NUST the other day, according to a press release. Members of senior management from NUST also attended the meeting, which was aimed at exploring new avenues to strengthen collaboration between NUST and Turkey in areas such as joint research, the establishment of research facilities, student and faculty exchanges, academia-industry linkages etc.

CEO TAI said that Pakistan, being a brotherly country, is their first preference for outreach. He also expressed his desire to recruit talented engineers and scientists from NUST to work on cutting-edge projects of TAI.

Rector NUST remarked that NUST provides a comprehensive knowledge ecosystem based on a Quadruple Helix Model, where the presence of industrial R&D centres and labs like Turkish Aerospace Industries holds paramount importance.

Iqra’s board of governors meeting

At the university, the 14th Meeting of the Board of Governors (BoG) of Iqra National University was held on Tuesday, December 27th, 2022, according to a press release. The meeting was chaired by Obaid ur Rehman, Chancellor of Iqra National University. Prof Dr Johar Ali. Vice Chancellor Khushal Khan Khattak University (Nominee Higher Education Commission, Islamabad), Ayaz Ali (Nominee Secretary Higher Education Department, KP), and other BoG members attended the meeting.

As part of the agenda, a detailed briefing was given on the progress of academic domains, research activities, budget and other areas of development. The BoG appreciated the significant rise in the academic standards at the university and accorded approvals of academic reports, the annual report and budget reports.

Bestway’s scholarship endowment fund

In a ceremony held at Islamabad, Bestway Foundation and NAMAL University signed an agreement to establish the Bestway Scholarship Endowment Fund of Rs60m to benefit financially challenged students enrolled at the university’s undergraduate programs, according to a press release. The scholarships will be given to 20 beneficiaries, covering their annual fee expenses.

Speaking on occasion, Mr Irfan Sheikh, Trustee Bestway Foundation and Managing Director, Bestway Cement Limited, said, “higher education is essential for building a stronger Pakistan. However, many talented and well-deserving youth cannot continue their education due to insufficient financial resources.

BOP’s e-business qarza scheme

The Bank of Punjab (BOP) held the launch Ceremony of BOP e-Business Qarza for SMEs at BOP’s Head office last week in Lahore, according to a press release. BOP e-Business Qarza is an end-to-end digital lending programme for existing BOP customers. Through this digital product, BOP aims to offer its customers a revolving collateral-free credit facility of up to Rs3.5m.

PKIC endowment fund at IBA

Pak-Kuwait Investment Company (Pvt) Limited (PKIC) established an endowment fund at IBA Karachi to provide financial assistance to underprivileged students, according to a press release. Mubashar Maqbool, MD PKIC, with his team, visited IBA Karachi to formalise the agreement. Dr S Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director of IBA, and Mr Maqbool signed the MoU on behalf of their respective institutions. Later, Mr Maqbool presented a cheque of Rs4m to Dr Zaidi.

MoU between ICMA and PRMPU

An MoU signing ceremony between the Institute of Cost & Management Accountants (ICMA) and Punjab Resource Management & Planning Unit (PRMPU), Government of Punjab, was held recently, according to a press release. The MoU has been signed in the following areas: corporate training, joint promotion, events and branding, research and development and infrastructural support of ICMA facilities.

A tea-tastic win by ekaterra

ekaterra Pakistan has been declared ‘Best workplace to recognise gender diversity’ in the small companies category — 2021 by the CFA Society of Pakistan, according to a press release.

Being in the run for only 18 months after being separated from Unilever, this was the first time ekaterra Pakistan participated in the awards and was recognised by the CFA Society of Pakistan for its efforts towards gender diversity. ekaterra, is home to leading tea brands such as Lipton and Brooke Bond in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, January 2nd, 2023