The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) successfully concluded its 5th National Outreach Programme (NOP) Summer Coaching Session on Thursday. On the day of registration, approximately 640 potential candidates for NOP stood outside LUMS, ready to experience grueling yet exhilarating two weeks of academic rigour. The 16-day summer coaching session based on a carefully planned course outline and structure focused on areas such as English, Mathematics, Basic Sciences, Critical Thinking and Soft Skills Development as well as extra-curricular activities such as a Sports Day, Music and Drama Night. The purpose of these sessions was to not only equip these brilliant students for the upcoming test but also to instill a sense of purpose, competitiveness and comradely among them. The university facilitated lodging and dining facilities for all of the shortlisted attendees. The potential NOP candidates got to know what LUMS has to offer through faculty interactions, tutorials as well as presentations. LUMS Vice Chancellor Professor Dr S Sohail H Naqvi welcomed the students and encouraged them to take full benefit of this programme that has been specifically designed for them. Former LUMS NOP scholars and LUMS alumni also interacted with the potential NOP candidates and walked them through their life journeys and the struggles they have had to go through prior to coming to LUMS. They also proudly explained how their lives took a turn from there onwards. This year, faculty members like Syed Babar Ali School of Science & Engineering Biology Department Associate Professor Dr Muhammad Tariq and Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities & Social Sciences Humanities Department Teaching Fellow Aurangzeb Hanif shared important insights on how to attain academic success and shared thoughts, experiences and uplifted the spirits of the potential NOP candidates. Out of 10,770 applicants from all over Pakistan, the best talent was shortlisted for the coaching sessions at LUMS. Participants from all four provinces and 98 cities all across the country applied, including Bhimber, Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Khuzdar, Quetta, Zhob, Bolan, Sibi, Pishin, Kurrum Agency, Bajaur Agency, North and South Waziristan, Gilgit, Skardu, Ghizar, Hunza, Kohat, Mardan, Mansehra, Swat, Dera Ismail Khan, Haripur, Swabi, Bannu, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Sukkur, TanduAllahyar, Larkana, Kashmore, Hyderabad, Ghotki, Islamabad, Lahore, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahim Yar Khan and Nankana Sahib to name a few. Dureshahwar from Nawabshah while talking exclusively to Daily Times said, “LUMS is an extraordinary place because it gives you an opportunity to fulfill your dreams.” Sharing his experience at the NOP Coaching Sessions 2018 and talking about the learning environment at LUMS, Ali Haider from Parachinar told Daily Times, “When I came to the NOP Coaching Session and I saw the environment, I realised that this is the Pakistan our ancestors must have envisioned in 1947.” Launched in 2001, the LUMS NOP extends the benefits of a world-class education to talented students who, due to limited resources, are unable to continue their higher education. This programme focuses on identifying bright students with exceptional SSC and FA/FSc results and inducting them into the LUMS Undergraduate Programmes. The Summer Coaching Session applicants who qualify under the programme are provided complete financial support along with a tuition fee waiver, as well as a stipend, travel support and boarding facilities. This allows the students to focus exclusively on their studies and self-grooming. They are also provided counseling to help them blend into the community and pursue their aspirations for graduate education, employment or entrepreneurship. Published in Daily Times, August 3rd 2018.