Category Archives: News & Events

Five days training Program on Introductory Research Course for Post Graduate Students was conducted by Research Department from 16^th -20^th April 2018 at Multidisciplinary Research Labs, Ziauddin University.

Dr. Shumaila Usman started the program with the welcome address and invited Dr. Osama Jafri for the recitation of Holy Quran. The most significant and motivational talk by the Dean Research Prof. Dr. Talat Mirza highlighted the Research & Clinical perspectives of this workshop with value added importance of learning basic techniques in molecular biology & genetics. She emphasized on the importance of learning the recent advances in high technology to acquire an insight into the molecular etiopathogenic mechanisms of diseases for offering targeted therapy.

Director MDRL & HOD Biochemistry Prof. Dr. Saeeda Baig Introduced the Workshop regarding the various techniques available for hands on learning. She said the ultimate objective of such events is to create awareness and knowledge based for new methods and techniques for practical implications and research.

Workshop began with the Video Session on Introduction to the Biosafety Rules followed by an assessment test and Orientation of the Research Labs by Dr. Shamim Mushtaq, Dr. Shumaila Usman, Dr. Rehan Ahmed, Mr. Moazzam & Mr. Haris to inform the participants about the research facilities available Multidisciplinary Research Labs (MDRL1 & MDRL2) of Ziauddin University.

Extensive knowledge and practical skills were imparted through the lectures, video sessions & interactive sessions along with the hands on training for DNA & RNA Isolation, quantification, visualization, Gel Electrophoresis, PCR, qPCR & qRT-PCR from the expert facilitators Dr. Shumaila Usman, Dr. Rehan Ahmed, Mr. Moazzam & Mr. Haris.

The five days productive activity was concluded with the wrap up session by Dr. Talat Mirza. Prof. Dr. Zaffar Abbas, Dean faculty of health sciences congratulated the organizers & the the participants for the successful event and he closed the session after taking feedback feedback from the participants.

The Quality Assurance Agency of Higher Education Commission organized a 02 days activity for the Directors of QECs on 18- 19^th April, 2018 at Margala Hotel, Islamabad. This activity was aimed to strengthen the Quality Assurance System in Pakistani Degree awarding institutions through Internal Quality Assurance Mechanism and External Quality Assurance Mechanism.

Dr Arshia Samin Naqvi, Director QEC represented Ziauddin University in the meeting.

First day of the meeting comprised of presentations of each university’s internal quality assurance practices by the QEC heads. Presentation of Ziauddin University was rated best and applauded because all the programs of ZU are accredited by the respective accrediting bodies. Second day of the activity included training and discussion on the revised Quality Assessment criteria of QECs developed by HEC, which was shared with all Degree Awarding Institutions to bridge the gap between Internal & External Quality Assurance System.

 Important points on which deliberations were done during the two days are as follows:

• Strategic planning of each Degree Awarding Institution is of utmost importance and will carry high scores.
• In cases where some requirement is not available in the Act of a university, amendment to the Act is not mandatory. Approval from the Patron (Governor) is enough to fulfill the HEC requirement.
• Regarding faculty appointment: HEC advised to keep record of notifications for adoption of HEC/ accrediting body appointment criteria and hard copies of advertisements.
• For three mandatory evaluations i.e faculty and teacher evaluation by students and course evaluation by the respective faculty member, a password to the university evaluations link has to be shared with the HEC.
• For MPhil/ MS/ PhD programs:

1. Act/ Charter of the university must approve of the program.
2. NOC of accrediting body should be available.
3. Curriculum of the program should be in line with the HEC requirements.
4. Admission requirements must fulfill HEC criteria. In case an applicant falls short of some requirement deficiency courses are appreciated.
5. Duration of the program and semester wise breakup of workload/ credit hours should be available.
6. PhD faculty should be registered with HEC.
7. Maximum time allowed for MPhil and PhD is inclusive of all the extensions given to a student. This should be strictly taken care of.
8. PhD thesis review policy i.e by two foreign experts should be strictly followed. Purpose of this is to develop linkages with foreign universities by initiating joint research projects.
9. One published paper will be accepted. Acceptance of a paper by a research journal does not fulfill the HEC requirement.
10. Notifications of approval of program by statutory bodies are mandatory.
11. Policies e.g freezing of semester policy should be available in hard copy.
12. Anti plagiarism policy as a written document should be available and notified to all the stakeholders.
13. For admission to MPhil/ MS programs 50% score in GAT and for PhD 70% score in National and 60% in international GRE is mandatory.
14. Comprehensive exam after completion of 18 credit hour course work, is mandatory and passing in both Oral and written exam is required. Only 2 attempts are allowed in comprehensive exam.
15. Emails may be used to send the thesis for review but personal email addresses shouldn’t be used. All correspondence should be done on official email addresses.
16. Different nomenclatures shouldn’t be used in the same class of MS/MPhil (with or without thesis.) In case of MS without thesis, the student has to do a 6 credit hour research work to be able to apply for PhD.
17. Each university must work on standardized course codes for their PG programs.
18. HEC advised to highlight the research area of its PhD supervisors in the prospectus or on the website. Also mention the number of vacant seats with each supervisor. This will attract students having interest in the given area.
19. Thesis writing workshops should be conducted at proposal writing stage.
20. HEC also advises to improve facilities for PhD students e.g provide exclusive workstations in the library, PhD lounges for research students, employ peer learning/ mentoring methods.

Quality Enhancement Cell organized a symposium on “Managing Quality of Assessment in HEIs”  on 15th May, 2018. The purpose of this Symposium was to discuss the practices of assessment and the challenges faced by universities in process of assessment set. The Symposium also aimed at providing inputs to HEC for future to bring uniformity in processes in light of problems faced by students and universities.

The Symposium had three major objectives:

1. To share the best practices in the field of Assessment.
2. To identify issues warranting further discussion based on the experiences of different universities.
3. To provide inputs for the drafting of a recommendation for consideration by HEC.

The Symposium was attended by representatives from 12 Universities i.e. Baqai Medical University, IBA, SZABIST, IoBM, ILMA, FAST, DHA Suffa, Sindh Univeristy Jamshoro, ISRA University, DOW University of Health Sciences, Indus University, Liaquat College of Medicine & Dentistry. The symposium was linked on HEC national circuit through ZU video link.

Proceedings of the Symposium started with Tilawat e Quran. Dr. Arshia Samin Naqvi, Director QEC Ziauddin University introduced the participants and upraised about the importance of the topic. Welcome address was given by Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui who focused on the importance of QECs. He also highlighted some of the emerging issues including the fact that the methodologies of teaching is changing and suggested that in future these types of discussions  should be conducted on the said topic.

In setting the scope of deliberations for the Symposium, Mr Nadeem Zafar, Controller Examination, Ziauddin University gave presentation on Managing Quality of Assessment in ZU. He explained about the tools used in assessment, working of MCQ bank and the processes involved in assuring quality of exams e.g use of Table of Specification and post hoc analysis.

 The three hours long activity was divided into following:

1. Presentations on Managing Quality of Assessment in various universities.
2. Discussion on Issues that emerge during the process of assessment

• Drafting Recommendations for HEC.

Presentations contributed by participants were followed by exchange of experiences that enriched the discussions and raised issues on: the centralized grading system, assessment of analytical thinking, Credit transfer policy, standardization of transcript, course coding and PhD thesis review by external examiners.

Finally it was concluded and recommended that all accrediting bodies need to collaborate with HEC and come to the same page especially regarding the grading system and semester system.

Ms. Zareen Hussain Deputy Director QEC gave the vote of thanks and mentioned that QEC of Ziauddin University is honored by the presence of QECs of so many HEIs and thanked Prof. Dr Qasim Raza Siddiqui for supporting and guiding QEC in all its endeavors.

At the end of the symposium certificates were presented to the participants by the Vice Chancellor of Ziauddin University.

60 Second International Film Festival successfully held its sixth round on 11^th May, 2018 with numerous screenings internationally and within Pakistan in Karachi, Jamshoro, Lahore, Gwadar and Gilgit Baltistan. Ziauddin College of Media Sciences, ZCOMS hosted the screening in Karachi. This year’s social issue was mal-nutrition. Over 1000 films were registered and the challenge was to narrate a story within 60 seconds. All the short listed films showcased depicted great digital storytelling and film making skills. Sana Bucha was on the panel who shared her thoughts about journalism and to use films as a platform to highlight important social issues.

Ziauddin University awarded 504 degrees to its graduating students of different disciplines at its 15th convocation held at the Expo Centre here on Wednesday.

Addressing the students, Sindh Governor Muha­mad Zubair, the chief guest on the occasion, emphasised the importance of quality education and praised the efforts of university chancellor Dr Asim Hussain for the institution.

Read full story on Dawn: https://bit.ly/2I4gLc8

Ziauddin College of Media Sciences, ZCOMS hosted Pakistan International Film Festival (PiFF) that ran from 29^th March, 2018 till 1^st April, 2018 at Ziauddin University, Clifton Campus.

PIFF was a progressive film festival attended by leading faces of film and media industry. Ziauddin University hosted multiple panels and discussions between prominent Indian & Pakistani filmmakers and stars.

Ziauddin College of Media Sciences was privileged to provide PIFF with a platform to promote Pakistani cinema and filmmakers by creating an interactive space for open dialogue and exchange of ideas that will help Pakistani cinema find its groove again in the post-revival age. PIFF has become the first large-scale film festival in its time and has brought bunch of international film-makers, actors and artists to Karachi to celebrate cinema, interact with members of the Pakistani entertainment industry and exchange stories and ideas.

PIFF’s panel discussions conducted at ZCOMS had a diverse participant lineup and included prominent local and foreign speakers; Anjum Rajabali (celebrated Indian script/screenplay writer), Nandita Das (Indian actor/director/ producer), Harsh Narayan (Indian filmmaker), Sajal Aly, Adnan Sarwar, Sana Tauseef, Atiqa Odho, S. Rajamouli (director of Baahubali), Vinay Pathak (acclaimed Indian actor), Kamran Jawaid, Sultana Siddiqui, Asim Raza, Amin Farooqui, Tahir Moosa, Zeenat Lakhani and Saket Chawdhari (writer and director of Hindi Medium), Haseena Moin, Jami, Subhash Kapoor (prominent Indian producer, screenplay writer and director), Vishal Bhardwaj (Indian filmmaker), Hareem Farooq, Rekha Bhardwaj (Indian playback singer), and others.

ZCOMS has always been proud in being a part of such progressive events where Pakistan can be promoted in whatsoever manner. Therefore, ZCOMS feels honored to host the leading film festival, Pakistan Film Festival’s very first edition and will be glad to continue being a part of such initiatives in the coming years.

Press Release

Optimum level of education key factor for economic growth: Dr. S. Jaffar Ahmed

Ziauddin University holds lecture series on ’70 Years of Pakistan: Achievements & Challenges’

Karachi – April 11, 2018: “If military is a good solution than why it fails to retain on permanent basis, the only reason is that it is not trained for politics or for solving political problems”, Dr Syed Jaffar Ahmed, Former Director, Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi said this while giving lecture on “70 years of Pakistan: Achievements & Challenges” to the lecture series organized by Ziauddin University.

During the lecture, Dr Syed Jaffar Ahmed stated that 1947 migration tends to be the biggest in the history where around 12 million people crossed the border. This country started working without any proper government system, constitution and undoubtedly lack of resources at its initial stage.

In such kind of horrendous situation we started our journey. Sense of adoption and ownership was there because of which this country became what it is today. After 23 years of independence we somehow managed to make our constitution and it was the biggest achievement. Now, we can proudly say that Pakistan’s economy is in its growing phase with the inclusion of big industries. Even in rural areas of Pakistan branded products can be witnessed now. Our entire marketing sector is aligned with global economy.

It is important to mention here that during last 35 years population statistics of our country changed gradually which indicates that around 60 % of youngsters are below 30 years of age and we immensely have scarcity of basic facilities for them including better education, job opportunities, energy and water resources etc, Dr Syed Jaffar added.

He further disclosed that, we have approximately 180 universities in our country in which we have large number of female students. Karachi University has 72% girls, Gujrat University has 73% girls, and university of Sargodha has 74% female students. We can clearly see how big achievement is this for our female students. It tells about the mental growth of our people. Parents now prefer to invest on their children’s education first than they think about their property and other issues.

Talking about challenges which we are facing Dr. Jaffar said that the unbalanced growth in education sector since 1990s to 2014 specifies that 400 universities were formed and on the other hand only 130 schools were established during the same tenure.

Schools reflects colleges and colleges reflects universities so we have to work on our schools  first. Unluckily we have 6 to 7 streams of education including English medium, Urdu medium, A/O Levels, cadet colleges and religious schools like madrasah system and this streamline system is the major distraction or failure for any civilized society. It is disheartening that our government is reluctant to spend more than 2% in education sector; whereas, it is the need of the hour to spend 4 % at least for the development of our country.

Dr S. Jaffar further stated that democracy provides mechanism to address issues and provide solutions to the people in the most organized way. We have certain mechanism in constitutions we need to set our constitutions .We need to check our constitutional institute I hope we will find our solutions through democratic ways.

—END—

Amir Shahzad

Senior Manager, PR & Communications

Ziauddin University

St-4/B, Block-6, Scheme 5, Clifton, Karachi-75600, Pakistan.

Contact: (+92-345) 2382399

Ziauddin College of Media Sciences, ZCOMS organized its first edition of Spring Fest this year on 29^th March, 2018 at its Clifton Campus. The festival attracted on campus students, and students from various other universities across Karachi to be a part of the fun gala organized. The festival was organized by Ziauddin Media Society that made sure the event is a success. ZCOMS witness a footfall of a huge crowd like never before.

The Spring Fest had variety of stalls which covered pretty much everything, ranging from great food to greater clothing exhibits. A reputable host was invited to create enthusiasm among crowd who danced to the beats of the music and enjoyed to their fullest. Animal photo shoots were trending throughout Spring Fest where students clicked pictures with Python and Macau. We also had ZU Atlas team on ground; they interviewed President of Ziauddin Media Society and other people and congratulated the Society on a fun filled day.

We had among us khurram Qadeer, Associate Director Corporate Affairs GEO Network a phenomenal speaker who enlightened the students on the ethics that should be observed being a media professional. He shared many examples that are being practiced by media conglomerates which kept audience engaged during the session.

Ziauddin College of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences organised a fundraiser during World Autism Awareness Week. The College is actively involved in CSR activities and facilitates needy patients through generated funds.

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