Message from the Vice Chancellor

Dear Faculty, Staff, Alumni, and Supporters,

Assalam-o-Alaikum.

It is with a sense of deep pride and responsibility that I share this reflection on a year marked by academic distinction, public engagement, and collective resolve. At LUMS, we remain guided by a clear purpose: to cultivate knowledge that serves society, to foster inclusive spaces for inquiry and leadership, and to equip our students to meet the demands of an increasingly complex world. This report is not only a record of achievement, but also a testament to the values that sustain our work and the people who bring them to life.

The strength of a LUMS education is evident in the global recognition our graduates have received. Over the years, nearly 30% of our graduating students have been admitted to top international universities, with many securing highly competitive scholarships. LUMS is proud to have produced one-third of all Rhodes Scholars from Pakistan in this century, a tradition carried forward this year by Jovera Shakeel (BSc Economics and Mathematics 2025), who was named the Rhodes Scholar-Elect for Pakistan. Her work on poverty and educational inclusion across gender, class, and disability lines reflects the values of justice and public service that lie at the heart of our mission. We are equally proud of Hamza Ashfaq (BSc Accounting and Finance 2020), a climate tech investment associate and social impact advocate, who was selected as a 2025 McCall MacBain Scholar at McGill University. Hamza’s work spans climate finance, agricultural innovation, and education, and he will now pursue his MBA as part of this prestigious cohort. LUMS graduates are gaining admission to world-leading institutions, underscoring the academic rigour and civic purpose that define our student body.

Our students continue to distinguish themselves well beyond the classroom, demonstrating creativity, intellectual depth, and a strong sense of purpose. At the inaugural Pakistan Youth Poet Laureate event, Zain ul Abidin Khan Alizai, Sherdil Awais Rashid, Rumaisa Maryam Samir, and Ayesha Owais were acknowledged for their original poetry; each voice enriching the growing culture of expression on campus. As the first female captain of LUMUN, English major Mahnoor Gul led the LUMUN team to an Outstanding Delegation Award at Harvard MUN 2024, marking a historic moment for student leadership. In law, Syed Qasim Abbas became the first Pakistani Judicial Fellow appointed to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, while Aizaz Arif, Sakina Zulfiqar, and Asfand Katchela earned Pakistan its first victory at the Jean-Pictet International Humanitarian Law Competition.

A student team from the BSc Accounting and Finance Class of 2025 — Maria Salman, Junaid Abdul Hadi, Muhammad Ahmed Awan, Mahgul Ayesha, and Muhammad Affan Tariq — won the CFA Institute Research Challenge Pakistan Final and represented the country at the South Asia sub-regional round. In the sciences, Wardah Mahmood, a PhD student at SBASSE, was featured in SPIE’s 2025 Women in Optics publication for her research in quantum optics and her leadership within the SPIE Student Chapter at LUMS. These achievements speak to the breadth of talent within our student community and reaffirm our commitment to nurturing individuals who are intellectually grounded, socially engaged, and equipped to make meaningful contributions in every sphere of life.

The impact of LUMS faculty continues to grow through their scholarship, public engagement, and international recognition. Over the past year, our colleagues have earned prestigious accolades that are a testament to the depth, relevance, and reach of their academic contributions. Dr. Zubair Khalid, Associate Professor at the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, became the first Pakistani to be awarded the ACM Gordon Bell Prize for Climate Modelling, a prestigious award that recognises innovative applications of supercomputing towards solving the global climate crisis. In the field of public health, Dr. Maryam Mustafa won a 2024 Google Academic Research Award for her work on improving maternal health outcomes through innovative digital technologies. The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) journal ‘Polymer Chemistry’ recently named Dr. Basit Yameen as one of their 2025 Pioneering Investigators.

For her pioneering work on Lahore’s French heritage, including the recovery of the lost funerary monument of Kuri Bagh, Dr. Nadhra Shahbaz Khan was awarded the Ordre des Palmes Académiques, one of France’s highest academic honours. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) acknowledged the impact of legal scholarship at LUMS through the appointment of Dr. Sadaf Aziz to its National Curriculum Review Committee for Law. Similarly, Professor Shafay Shamail has been appointed Chairperson of the National Computing Education Accreditation Council. That same commitment to interdisciplinary inquiry was recognized through the HEC’s Best Researcher Award, conferred upon Dr. Jawad Syed for his leadership across the social sciences, education, law, and public policy.

This spirit of engaged scholarship is shaping global academic conversations and has been recognised through several prestigious fellowships and publications. Dr. Ilyas Ahmad Chattha was awarded the Rangoonwala Visiting Fellowship at the University of Oxford for his work on legal and historical memory. Dr. Fatima Fayyaz received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University to advance her research on cultural heritage and urban transformation, while Dr. Asma Faiz was selected for the 2025 Charles Wallace Fellowship for Pakistan.

Our faculty’s intellectual contributions have also been reflected in major publications. The Social Life of Islam: Sufi Shrines in Urban Pakistan by Dr. Amen Jaffer (Cambridge University Press) offers a compelling account of how these sacred spaces shape urban life. A Bloomsbury anthology co-edited by Dr. Tania Saeed, Critical Perspectives on Refugee and Migrant Integration in Education, reimagines integration through the lens of lived experience and educational justice. Dr. Ghazal Asif Farrukhi served as a Visiting Assistant Professor and Women’s Studies in Religion Program (WSRP) Research Associate at Harvard Divinity School. During this time, she advanced her project ‘Hindu Intimacies and the Muslim State in Pakistan’, exploring gender, kinship, and minority citizenship. Dr. Azfar Nisar’s Governing Thirdness: State, Society and Non-binary Identities in Pakistan (Cambridge University Press, 2022) was honoured with the Best Book Award by the Public and Nonprofit Division of the Academy of Management (AOM), while Dr. Sikander Ahmad Shah’s Federalist Solutions to Pakistan’s Political Crises offers fresh insight into how federalist thinking can inform responses to Pakistan’s constitutional and political challenges.

Taken together, these honours showcase the global relevance of the questions our faculty are exploring, and the depth of their contributions to critical debates that shape both scholarship and society.

Across our schools, LUMS continues to address some of Pakistan’s most urgent challenges through work that bridges disciplinary boundaries and serves the public good. Within this broader institutional effort, legal scholarship has played a pivotal role in connecting academic inquiry to systems of justice and democratic accountability. This year marks two decades since the founding of the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law, a milestone that shows its evolving role in advancing legal thought, public service, and a commitment to work that responds to contemporary challenges. The launch of the LUMS Law Clinic, a significant step forward in clinical legal education and student-led public service, is a powerful example of how legal education at LUMS is being translated into meaningful civic engagement. The School’s influence is also shaping judicial reasoning. The landmark case of Asghar Leghari v. Federation of Pakistan was cited at the International Court of Justice at The Hague in hearings on climate obligations. The Pakistan Feminist Judgments Project informed a recent opinion authored by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. These recognitions affirm the role of LUMS as a space where legal thought is closely linked to institutional reform and public impact.

In public health, a multidisciplinary team has secured international funding to transform tuberculosis diagnostics through a collaboration with Gulab Devi Hospital and the University of Bergen. This effort exemplifies the power of cross-sector partnerships in addressing complex medical and infrastructural needs. In the energy sector, LUMS is contributing to the UKRI Ayrton Challenge Programme, a £2.8 million initiative supported by the UK government to advance low-carbon energy systems in countries like Pakistan. Through this work, faculty are helping to build more inclusive and climate-resilient futures.

LUMS also continues to build evidence for system-level reform in education. Syed Ahsan Ali and Syed Maratib Ali School of Education (SOE) has undertaken the National Institute of Teacher Excellence project addressing professional development gaps among primary school educators in federal public schools, with a focus on ICT-based instruction. Supported by the Ministry of Federal Education, this initiative is designing scalable training solutions for both novice and in-service teachers. While in Gilgit-Baltistan, the University is leading a PKR 847 million teacher recruitment and development programme funded by the provincial government, further deepening its commitment to strengthening public education in underserved regions.

This commitment to shaping public understanding also extends to the humanities, where the LUMS Digital Archive has brought to light a previously unpublished manuscript by renowned historian K.K. Aziz, commissioned by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, which offers a rare and nuanced perspective on the political rupture that led to the creation of Bangladesh. The manuscript was never published, and its recent release provides scholars with a valuable resource to revisit the contested narratives of 1971.

At the Suleman Dawood School of Business, faculty have continued to engage with Pakistan’s economic and institutional priorities through applied research that informs both policy and practice. Recent work has explored sustainable mobility through electrification, fintech innovation for inclusive finance, and food safety through value chain mapping in the agriculture sector. These efforts, across disciplines, are a shared institutional commitment to advancing knowledge that is locally rooted, globally relevant, and oriented towards meaningful social transformation. In recognition of this commitment to impactful scholarship and leadership in business education, Dr. Fazal Jawad Seyyed has been nominated by the AACSB Board of Directors to serve on its Asia Pacific Advisory Council (APAC) for 2025. APAC is one of four regional advisory councils that support the AACSB Board in shaping the future of business education worldwide.

The purpose of a university goes beyond the classroom. It lies in building a deeper connection with the world around us. Whether through policy dialogue, public events, or community partnerships, LUMS remained a convening space committed to using knowledge, creativity, and resources to serve society. This commitment was evident in the third annual ‘Pathways to Development Conference’, which brought together academics, policymakers, and practitioners to engage with some of Pakistan’s most pressing development challenges. From climate justice and gender equality to digital innovation and poverty alleviation, the conference created a space for meaningful exchange and collaboration across sectors.

The Centre for Business and Society promoted inclusive economic development by hosting the Women Microenterprise Exhibition, Bridging the Gap. Held in partnership with Kaarvan Crafts Foundation, the British Asian Trust, and Shirakat, the event welcomed over 75 women entrepreneurs from more than 10 districts across Punjab, showcasing their work and expanding opportunities for local enterprise. The Lahore Biennale’s Climate Congress also brought to campus the exhibition ‘Lamenting the Beloved City or Pledging Devotion Afresh?’, featuring the work of 19 artists responding to ecological precarity. Visitors were invited to make personal climate pledges, fostering dialogue around environmental responsibility and collective action.

Furthering its commitment to academic inquiry translating into system-level change, SOE’s annual ‘Practicum Showcase Conference’ was also a success. It featured capstone projects by MPhil Education Leadership and Management students that highlighted year-long collaborations with partner organisations aimed at addressing persistent challenges across Pakistan’s education system; from pedagogy and inclusion to school leadership, early childhood education, and the role of the arts.

Renowned oncologist and author Dr. Azra Raza joined our campus for a series of powerful lectures that bridged science, ethics, and human empathy. Her reflections on illness, care, and well-being challenged us to think more deeply about the moral responsibilities that come with knowledge and innovation. In parallel, the launch of the Centre for Digital Asset Research (CeDAR) signalled an important institutional step towards shaping the future of digital innovation in Pakistan. As a national hub for research on blockchain, decentralised systems, and Web 3.0 technologies, CeDAR is positioned to inform both policy and practice in an area that is rapidly redefining global economic and technological systems. Together, these diverse initiatives reaffirm LUMS as a university where knowledge is mobilised through collaboration and guided by purpose to create lasting, meaningful change.

That same spirit of purpose extends far beyond our campus through a global alumni community that is leading change across sectors and geographies. This past year, several alumni were recognised globally for their leadership and service across education, sustainability, and finance. Khadija Shahper Bakhtiar (BSc 2007), Founder and CEO of Teach for Pakistan, received the 2024 Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award from the University of California, Berkeley, becoming only the second Pakistani to be honoured after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Fiza Farhan (BSc 2008), also a member of the LUMS Board of Trustees, was named one of the Forty Under 40 Global Changemakers in Sustainable Development. In the field of global finance, Ayla Majid (MBA 2000) was elected President of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), becoming the first South Asian and Muslim woman to lead the organisation.

They are also making significant contributions to public service. Zulfiqar Hameed (MBA 2003) was appointed Inspector General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, bringing decades of leadership in law enforcement and governance to one of the country’s most critical public institutions. Amena Arif (MBA 1993) was also named Country Manager for the Philippines at the International Finance Corporation, where she now leads strategic investments in sustainable development. In academia and global advocacy, Dr. Bushra Anjum was appointed Global Co-Chair of the ACM Committee on Women in Computing, advancing efforts for gender equity across the tech sector. Also, Altamush Saeed was appointed Amicus Curiae by the Lahore High Court in a landmark environmental case, in recognition of his pioneering work in animal and environmental rights.

LUMS alumni are also shaping cultural discourse and deepening the legacy of leadership within the University. Author and alumna Saba Karim Khan (BSc 2006) curated a powerful anthology of creative non-fiction that was featured at both the Karachi and Lahore Literary Festivals, bringing together diverse voices to reflect on the meaning of home in contemporary South Asia. Closer to campus, the appointment of Dr. Muhammad Adeel Zaffar as Dean of the Suleman Dawood School of Business marked a generational milestone. He is the second LUMS graduate to lead the School, showcasing the growing depth of leadership nurtured within our own community.

These stories of leadership, creativity, and service remind us that the true measure of a university lies in the values it cultivates and the impact it enables. I am deeply grateful for the collective resolve of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni in advancing the shared mission of LUMS.

Dr. Ali Cheema
Vice Chancellor, LUMS