LUMS Live: Helping the Community Stay Connected and Informed

A majority of the world is confined to their homes as a result of the rapid spread of the Coronavirus. Classes at LUMS have also been moved online with majority of the staff and faculty working from home. However, just as LUMS has not let the current situation stop the students learning, it has also found a new way of keeping important conversations going.

LUMS Live, launched on March 29, 2020, is a platform that gives you the opportunity to tune in and connect with Dr. Arshad Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, LUMS and other eminent panelists as they discuss important topics. Discussions during these live sessions, hosted on the LUMS official Facebook page and moderated by Adeel Hashmi, cover topics from how to maintain good health, how to continue learning in the current environment and the changing role of technology to how to stay positive and the importance of being generous and empathetic to the people around us.

Explore our past sessions, and be sure to join us for the next session and become part of critical conversations during these unprecedented times.

LUMS Live Session 20: The Geopolitical Impacts of COVID-19 on South-Asia

There is no doubt that the world will never be the same again after COVID-19. While South-Asia deals with the public health consequences of the pandemic, lasting economic and geopolitical ramifications are evident. Geopolitical competitions among great powers, most notably between the United States and China are sure to surface. Will China’s economy impacted due to COVID-19 change the course of its investments in the subcontinent? Will the current situation pose challenges for the Afghan peace process? What are the potential challenges to the economies and national security of countries in South-Asia? What potential challenges does this health crisis pose to leaders’ domestic legitimacy?

To know more about the changing scenario due to the pandemic, watch the twentieth session of LUMS Live: The Geopolitical Impacts of COVID-19 on South-Asia. Our distinguished panelists included Dr. Joshua T. White - Associate Professor of Practice, South Asia Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Rasul Bakhsh Rais - Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, LUMS, Dr. Naeem Salik - Senior Fellow, Centre for International Strategic Studies.

LUMS Live Session 19: Allama Iqbal: A Philosopher, a Thinker, a Poet of Tomorrow

Allama Mohammad Iqbal is rightly considered the poet of the East. He influenced the thought, the history and the lives of the people of the Sub-continent to a great extent. With his powerful poetry, written in the classical style for public recitation, Iqbal introduced the concept of ‘Khudi’ and led the Muslims to rethink their standing in the world. He was deep into the realms of spiritual thought drawing great inspiration from Jalal-uddin Rumi. Qualified as a barrister, and armed with a degree in philosophy from Europe from the University of Cambridge, he also received a doctorate from the University of Munich. On his return from Europe, he gained his livelihood by the practice of Law, but his fame came from his Persian- and Urdu-language poetry.

To know more about Iqbal, watch the nineteenth session of LUMS Live: Allama Iqbal: A Philosopher, a Thinker, a Poet of Tomorrow. Our distinguished panelists included Mian Iqbal Salahuddin - Maternal grandson of Allama Iqbal and CEO Sally Textile Mills Limited, Dr. Arfa Sayeda Zehra - Educationist and Human Rights Activist, and Dr. Sabieh Anwar - Dean, School of Science and Engineering, LUMS.

LUMS Live Session 18: Democracy and the Pandemic

Pandemics do not have any timetable of action or any national, cultural or religious sensitivity. In fact, they make no distinction for anyone. In this scenario, responses to the COVID-19 are linked to the political and institutional character of the state. A number of public health interventions have been carried out by states across the world but there is considerable diversity in success rates, and the extent and mechanisms deployed to protect vulnerable populations. Why are governmental interventions important to save lives? How do they impact democracy? To what extent does a nationwide network of surveillance affect freedom of movement? How is inequality amplified in the current times?

To get to know the answers to these questions, watch the eighteenth session of LUMS Live: Democracy and the Pandemic. Moderated by Dr. Umair Javed, Assistant Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, this session has been planned jointly with the Mahbub ul Haq Research Centre at LUMS. Our distinguished panelists included Dr. Aasim Sajjad Akhtar - Associate Professor, Quaid-i-Azam University, Dr. Shandana Khan Mohmand - Social Scientist and Development Researcher, Dr. Sameen Mohsin Ali - Assistant Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, LUMS, and Mr. Ammar Rashid - Researcher and Political Worker.

LUMS Live Session 17: Pakistani Cinema: Yesterday and Today

Pakistani Cinema has a very interesting history. With the recent spurt of Pakistani films and with many more in the pipeline, is the industry really going through a revival? What are the different prominent features of the 60s and 70s cinema in the country? Is the current batch of films very different from the past ones in terms of themes, the storylines and the new technology being used? What about the material aspects of screening, the cinemas, multiplexes and streaming?

To understand the history and current trends of Pakistani cinema, watch the seventeenth session of LUMS Live: Pakistani Cinema: Yesterday and Today. Our distinguished panelists included Dr. Kamran Asdar Ali, Interim Provost, LUMS and Acting Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences and School of Law; Dr. Ali Khan, Associate Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences; Dr. Zebunnisa Hamid, Assistant Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Dr. Gwendolyn Sarah Kirk, Assistant Professor, School Humanities and Social Sciences at LUMS

LUMS Live Session 16: Learning from the History of Pandemics

Human history has been marked with deadly pandemics. From the Plague of Athens, to the Black Death, to AIDS, to Ebola, to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and now COVID-19, contagious diseases continue to threaten and disrupt human populations. Interestingly, a dramatic aspect of epidemic response is the desire to assign responsibility; this human behaviour and the recurring theme that medical and public health interventions often fail to live up to their promise has also been part of past epidemics.

But what have we learnt from the past? Do epidemics start at a moment in time and proceed on a stage limited in space and duration? Do they follow a basic pattern? Does the desire to protect economic interests lead citizens to ignore the pandemic until acceleration in deaths forces action? Are exaggerated fears in people a common trait in epidemics?

To get answers to all these questions, watch the sixteenth session of LUMS Live: Learning from the History of Pandemics. This session was planned jointly with the Mahbub ul Haq Research Centre at LUMS. Our distinguished panelists included Dr. Kasim Tirmizey, Faculty, Concordia University’s Centre for Engineering in Society; Dr. Ali Usman Qasmi, Associate Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, LUMS and Dr. Amna Khalid, Associate Professor, Department of History, Carleton College.

LUMS Live Session 15: COVID-19: In The Eye Of The Educational Storm

The pandemic has pummelled the education sector like all other sectors. Students are feeling the brunt of terrible instruction and unfair assessments in some universities laid bare by COVID-19. Has a challenged higher education system reached its nadir? Isn’t it time to shut down some universities that are really diploma mills? Isn’t it time to stop pretending that access to bad education is for the common good? In a system that is so starved of resources, what are the game changing opportunities from COVID-19? Are there any silver linings in rethinking how universities can provide real education for the real world?

To learn more, watch the discussion where our distinguished panelists included Dr. Tariq Banuri - Chairman, Higher Education Commission, Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali - President SZABIST, Karachi, Dr. Adil Najam - Inaugural Dean, Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University and Dr. Arshad Ahmad - Vice Chancellor, LUMS

LUMS Live Session 4: Learning How to Learn Online

The fourth session of LUMS Live highighted the work being done by the University’s newly established Learning Institute, as it plays a vital role in building online teaching capacity for the different programmes at the University. The discussion focused on how we can nurture the ability to continue education and face the unknown with hope, courage and coming together.

The distinguished panelists for this session were, Dr. Arshad Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, LUMS; Dr. Suleman Shahid, Assistant Professor, School of Science and Engineering and Director, LUMS Learning Institute; Dr. Launa Gauthier, Associate Director, LUMS Learning Institute and Dr. Muhammad Faryad, Assistant Professor and Chair, Department Of Physics, School of Science and Engineering, LUMS.

LUMS Live Session 3: Optimism in Adversity

LUMS Live Session 3: Optimism in Adversity

Panelists during this session answered many of the questions students stranded at home might have while they take their classes online and try to build a manageable routine. Viewers also received some great ideas and tips to stay positive, make the most of their stay-at-home schedule and maintain a healthy lifestyle in the backdrop of COVID-19.

Mr. Yasser Hashmi, Assistant Professor, School of Humanities and Social Science, LUMS; Ms. Nida Zafar, Senior Mental Health Counsellor, Counselling and Psychological Services, LUMS; Ms. Angbeen Atif Mirza, Assistant Professor, School of Law, LUMS and Mr. Hattaf Ayub, Student Liaison Officer, Office of the Dean Student Affairs, LUMS, made up the panel for this session.

LUMS Live Session 2: Students Speak

LUMS Live Session 2: Students Speak

With the aim to ease some of the stress students were feeling as they transitioned to a new way of learning, the second session of LUMS Live addressed the concerns and queries of both the University’s current students as well as prospective students.

Joining Dr. Arshad Ahmad on the panel were Dr. Adnan Khan, Dean of Student Affairs, LUMS; Dr. Kamran Asdar Ali, Interim Provost and Acting Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and School of Law, LUMS and Ms. Marva Khan, Assistant Professor of Practice at the School of Law, LUMS.

LUMS Live Session 1

LUMS Live Session 1

Along with Dr. Arshad Ahmad, the panel for the first session included Dr. Sabieh Anwar, Dean, School of Science and Engineering, LUMS and Dr. Zulfiqar Mir, a Doctor with a specialisation in Geriatrics and Palliative Care.

In this session the panelists shared their insights on how this is a time to come together as a community, an opportunity to explore avenues of learning, and how the University's Ped-tech Committee is working towards supporting their students as their learning experience moves online.