University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore and Lahore College for Women University, Lahore came together for organizing a decorated seminar series titled “Inspiring STEM Careers” under the project “Reshaping STEM Workforce Landscape for Economic Growth and Development” funded by the US Mission Pakistan and Pakistan-US Alumni Network.
The project is led from UET Lahore by Dr. Ali Hussain Kazim who is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a Fullbright fellow. Project is led from LCWU by Dr. Aqsa Shabbir, Associate Professor Electrical Engineering and Director Research, Innovation and Commercialization.
In the first event, held virtually, accomplished Pakistani women in STEM fields working internationally, highlighted the problems women, in particular, face in STEM. The participants included Ms. Sara Ilyas, technical lead Amazon, Dr. Yasmin Ansari, researcher at the Biorobotics Institute, Italy, Dr. Sadia Shakeel Senior Researcher at the Brno University of Technology, Dr. Naila Sahar, Adjunct Faculty, University of Buffalo and Ms. Fizza Khan, an EDF climate corps fellow.
In the second event, held in UET Lahore on 14th September 2022, Dr. Aqsa Shabbir and Prof. Dr. Amina Muazzam from LCWU alongwith Dr. Rabia Nazir and Prof. Dr. Saima Yasin from UET Lahore shared their journeys of becoming role model in STEM.
Vice Chancellor, UET Lahore, Prof. Dr. Syed Mansoor Sarwar, was the chief guest for the occasion. He stressed on the importance of more females in the workforce and shared how several women have on merit been selected into professorial ranks at UET Lahore. He further stressed on the recurring problem of gender roles in STEM fields and asserted the need for change in this attitude.
Vice Chancellor, LCWU, Prof. Dr. Bushra Mirza also appreciated the endeavors and said that collaborative work between universities supported by such projects can be highly beneficial for improving women enrollment, retention and placement in STEM fields which will ultimately prove to be a key driver of the economy.