Vice Chancellor, LUMS

CV: 

With a PhD in Electrical Engineering and extensive teaching and research experience both in the US and Pakistan Dr. Naqvi joined LUMS as Vice Chancellor on July 1 2013. He was an independent consultant in Higher Education for a brief period, having served as the Executive Director of the Higher Education Commission for 8 years. Dr. Naqvi has a number of patents to his credit and has also worked with start-ups bringing high-tech inventions to the market place. These experiences have helped him implement an ambitious portfolio of programs that have resulted in an explosive growth in research activity in the universities in Pakistan coupled with a doubling in the number of students, significant enhancement of quality, standardization of programs at the undergraduate and postgraduate level with clear quality related benchmarks, the implementation of a higher education quality assurance regime and launch of the most ambitious program in the history of Pakistan for faculty development.

Blurb: 

My belief is that Pakistanis can accomplish anything and everything; our people are as capable, if not more, as those of any other nation. This belief prepares me to take up new challenges every day.

Evolve: You have served as a professor, a dean, an industrial entrepreneur, a reformist policy maker in HEC and are now serving as the Vice Chancellor of one of the leading universities of Pakistan. Which role did you find the most challenging? Please share your journey with us.

Dr. Naqvi: Well, each role and every day presents a new challenge, which in itself is an exciting prospect. My journey has basically been the pursuit of excellence. I have always been interested in pushing the limits or as I tell my children, hitting it out of the ball park. I have not charted out a path for myself; it has been driven primarily by passion. 

I was working abroad when I decided to take up the challenge of coming back to Pakistan to work with an engineering university, the Ghulam Ishaq Khan University. Later an opportunity evolved and I started working with some colleagues on a new idea for the market and became an entrepreneur. However, the pull from academia was too strong and that took me to the Higher Education Commission. So as you can see, it was my inner satisfaction that defined my career choices as opposed to a particular path or plan. 

My core focus was and remains excellence. The excuse that, we live and work in Pakistan is not acceptable. My belief is that Pakistanis can accomplish anything and everything; our people are as capable, if not more, as those of any other nation. This belief prepares me to take up new challenges every day.

Evolve:What do you consider to be the main challenges facing LUMS and what is your vision for research at LUMS?

Dr. Naqvi: LUMS is a fantastic institution and a brand that stands for excellence and world class education. This institution has numerous achievements to its credit, having made its mark in the education sector in a short span of thirty years. The actual question now is “what next?” We aim to consolidate our position as the leading institution of Pakistan and simultaneously enter the international arena, competing with the top most universities worldwide. 

Any university is distinguished by the quality of research work it produces. This applies to LUMS as well. Research creates excitement and the learning derived from this work is incorporated into our teaching, transferring the knowledge to the students. Through this process we are continuously challenging our own thoughts and preconceived notions. At LUMS we are always questioning the status quo, which keeps us active while fuelling our passion to keep pushing the boundaries. This is the hallmark of a great university. 

Evolve: What opportunities are there for LUMS to operate on the global stage?

Dr. Naqvi: When I engage with my colleagues and friends teaching in some of the world’s best universities, I always tell them to visit LUMS to spend time on our campus or interact with the faculty members and students. Then I tell them that they will find no difference between LUMS and any other good university around the world. 

Our standards of excellence are the same as theirs. Our students and faculty have the ability to interact with them at a global level. Our curriculum is comparable.  

In fact, being located in Pakistan gives us the unique advantage to stay grounded in reality, be resilient, understand and interact with the world and face any challenge. LUMS acts as a bridge between our world and theirs by speaking both languages.

We are located in a globally important country which cannot be ignored because of its population, if nothing else. Now that our economy is reforming and is also coming to grips with the menace of terrorism, we will Inshallah overcome all obstacles. There is a positive mind-set as far as business is concerned in Pakistan. In this realm, LUMS is ready to work together with global institutions, develop partnerships and support any initiative that works for the betterment of Pakistan and its youth.   

Evolve: LUMS and the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) of PKR 1 billion. How will this cooperation benefit students?

Dr. Naqvi: LUMS aims to provide opportunities to the best and the brightest students, regardless of their ability to pay. The core idea is to reach out to the farthest corners of the country and dispel the perception that LUMS is only accessible to a select few and that an ordinary person cannot even think of studying there. This idea led to the creation of the National Outreach Programme (NOP) at LUMS and DFID has come on board as a partner for this programme. Through NOP we are trying to identify young students from under privileged backgrounds at an early stage where we help groom them, build their self-confidence, provide them the opportunity to network with people of their own region who have made it to LUMS successfully and demonstrate to them that studying at Pakistan’s leading university is possible for them too. This programme is a game changer that has made it possible for so many young men and women to see their dreams become a reality while transforming their own and their family’s lives.  

Evolve: In your view what are the main strengths of LUMS in comparison to other universities?

Dr. Naqvi: The real essence of LUMS that makes it distinctly different from any other top institution of Pakistan is the student experience. This is a residential facility with 60% of the students and faculty, including myself, living on campus. There is dynamism in the air, with the excitement of student led events pertaining to academics, extracurricular activities, sports, festivals and conventions. Something new is happening on campus all the time. Companies are being created, seminars are being held and a constant stream of school and university students is visiting the campus. Chief Executives of different entities visit the campus to deliver talks. Most of the activities are being organised and managed by the student societies. Students can plan and arrange various types of events. Education is about lighting a fire inside by making young men and women realise their true potential. We are only making our students discover the potential that lies within each one of them. Students are provided an environment that stimulates and excites them. Thus a little flame becomes a fire that is fuelled by the ambition to achieve something great! That is what good education can do and should do. 

Evolve: The employability agenda is now a major focus of most universities. Can university graduates still get good jobs? What is the feedback from your graduates and what strategies do you implement at LUMS to enhance the employability of your alumni? 

Dr. Naqvi: According to last year’s statistics, 90% of our graduates have either found employment within the first six months of their graduation or gone abroad for higher studies. The statistics are phenomenal but we are not following an employability agenda as such. We are talking about making these young people realise their potential and have the discipline to be able to work and deliver. They are innovative, curious and ask difficult questions. They can sustain pressure, work with diverse groups and are able to multi-task. They are technically competent and are able to deliver. A LUMS graduate is a self-learner and has the ability to constantly evolve, adapt and keep learning new skills. Our core focus is on values such as integrity, merit, ability to deliver under pressure, empathy, giving back to society, tolerance and understanding of different points of view. We make no compromises on these as they are imperative to survive globally. 

Evolve: At present, what are in your view some of the key issues and challenges with leading and managing a higher education institute?

Dr. Naqvi: For starters, the word leadership needs to be understood. Leadership is about assessing the situation correctly and defining a vision, daring to dream big and then bringing other people together to believe in your dream and willingly follow you. Leadership in higher education is a very complex role. One needs to wear multiple hats and multitask at all times. The stakeholders are very diverse i.e. potential and current students, parents, donors, alumni, government, the social sector, other higher education institutes (local and international), administrative staff and the faculty to name a few. Each has a specific role and requirements. Defining an agenda that suits everyone’s interests is crucial yet challenging. 

At a higher level, a key priority for higher education is ensuring that education and research are relevant to the country’s economic and social growth. Outreach is an important issue i.e. making high quality education available to those who belong to an underprivileged background. Another pivotal area is the quality of the curriculum, faculty and of course, the output i.e. students. It is integral that what the students are taught is current and relevant and that it equips them with the knowledge and values that are needed to excel in the professional world. 

Evolve: Is it possible at LUMS for the staff or students to meet the Vice-Chancellor?

Dr. Naqvi: Absolutely. We at LUMS believe in an open door policy. Anyone, be it the faculty, administrative team or students, whosoever sends an email to me gets a response. That was the policy I practised at HEC too. I avail every opportunity to meet people, especially the students. For me interacting with the students is one of the real benefits of being in an academic institution!

Evolve: What is coming up at LUMS that we should be keeping an eye on? 

Dr. Naqvi: We have the new Law School planned which offers a five year BA-LL.B(Hons) programme. The programme is already underway but now our dedicated school will serve as the global hub for legal research on issues related to Pakistan. Law does not exist by itself to a large degree. The courses, therefore, cover the areas of banking, commercial activities, intellectual property, human rights and much more. We aim to make this school a centre of excellence in the future. We are also focused on vertical growth with the spotlight on the postgraduate and PhD programmes as well as research. 

The third area to watch out for is the work LUMS is doing directly with the government sector and the community to provide support at various levels. We have a fantastic programme called the Technology for People Initiative (TPI).  We have also worked with Pakistan Railways. It is a little known fact that twenty faculty members of LUMS have worked pro bono with Pakistan Railways for one year to help revive this important national institution.

Evolve: What is the recipe to achieve long-term success? 

Dr. Naqvi: The secret of long term success lies in respecting and adhering to basic core values as an individual and as an academic institution. Without integrity, tolerance, empathy and appreciation for diversity, one cannot be a good human being, let alone excel or achieve long term success in any field. 

Evolve: Where do you see yourself and your organisation in the next 5 years?

Dr. Naqvi: Achieving regional prominence is our target for LUMS in the next five years. We want to continue to focus on education, research and innovation. We hope to start by being the regional centre where the top institutions of the region as well as the world collaborate for cutting edge research and education. A good start has been made since we already rank among the top 60 universities of Asia in terms of employer reputation.

Evolve: Any message for the readers of EVOLVE?

Dr. Naqvi: Pakistan is a great country. The recipe of success in Pakistan is not different from the rest of the world. It is based on the key ingredients of talent, hard work and learning from international best practices. It is essential to believe that when you have the best tools and people, you will achieve success. There are no shortcuts to sustained success.