AlumniConnect Session 5

On October 20^th, 2021, the LUMS Syed Ahsan Ali and Syed Maratib Ali School of Education hosted its fifth session in its series of talks AlumniConnect. The session, moderated by School’s Dean Dr. Faisal Bari, invited back three esteemed alumni Muhammad Abuzar Ghaffari, Shanila Parveen, and Eilya Mohsin from the MPhil ELM Class of 2021 to share their experiences.

Abuzar is currently working as a Program Manager at Amal Academy. His work revolves around empowering fresh graduates of public and low-cost private universities by honing their employability skills. He manages Career Prep. Fellowship, which is a 3-month program, focused on developing problem solving, teamwork, communication, and business writing skills among students so they can be better equipped for the job market. Abuzar also holds a practicum distinction for his team's work with SABAQ, where he and his colleagues measured student engagement with animated video lessons.

Shanila, the second panelist, is currently working as a research associate with an Ed-Tech organization called Teach the World Foundation, working to combat illiteracy by leveraging the power of digital learning. She is responsible for tracking student learning and engagement by analyzing the data received from the deployments. Moreover, she is also a board member for a community school in Hunza to improve the academic development of the students and teachers in that area.  

Eliya is an MGSHSS alumna and she has been associated with MGSHSS Dean’s Office since 2016. She has been working in MGSHSS student advising and academics for the past six years at LUMS and is part of the MGSHSS Core Curriculum Committee. Given her familiarity with the university as a student and later as an administrator she has been particularly working towards improving policies and student support initiatives. Alongside her work, she joined the LUMS MPhil in Education Leadership and Management in 2019. Her main interests are higher education management, and student learning and development.

The alumni discussed that how their respective roles in professional capacity require skills which primarily stem from their experience at SOE. They elaborated on the communication and problem-solving skills acquired through various courses offered at SOE which eventually helped them in the smooth transition to the work life. While talking more about this, the alumni highlighted that the MPhil ELM programme at SOE equipped them with the necessary research skills to identify the major gaps in our education system, hence giving them a more informed perspective regarding the education landscape in Pakistan.

The session ended with a comprehensive Q/A session where students from the current cohort asked questions regarding how to maintain a balance while dealing with rigorous academics. The alumni suggested that time management is the key to this and how this would eventually help them once they step into the professional world.