INSPIRE in Dubai, February 2014
by Lorraine Warren
An enjoyable and productive time at the INSPIRE Research Conference in Dubai this week. As well as papers from IMSciences scholars, papers were presented by participants from IBA-Sukkur, COMSATS IIT-Attock, Bahuddin Zakariya-Multan, Kinnaird College for Women -Lahore, University of Peshawar, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women’s University -Peshawar, University of Lahore and Khushal Khan Khattak University-Karak. Plenary presentations were given by the UK Project Investigators, Lorraine Warren and Mine Karatas-Ozkan, as well as Mr Ismail Badat from the British Council, Mr Javed Iqbal, Regional Head of KPK SMEDA, Dr Nasser Ali Khan, VC of the University of Haripur, Mrs Nabeela Farman of the Women’s Chamber of Commerce, KPK and Dr Muhammad Ali Joint Director of IMSciences and Co-ordinator of ORIC at IMSciences. A Keynote address on How to Publish in Quality Journals was given by Professor Alistair Anderson of The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen and Editor of Entrepreneurship and Regional Development.
The Best Paper prize was awarded jointly to Mr Attaullah Shah of IMSciences (Importance of Judicial Efficiency in Capital structure Decisions of Small Firms: Evidence from Judicial districts of Pakistan)Â and Dr Zia Obaid of the University of Peshawar (Social Entrepreneurs in the post 9/11 World: Realigning Networks for Better Trust).
The Upcoming Researcher award went ro Mr Adnan Javed (Power Dynamics of the institutional change process and organisational response)
INSPIRE Conference, Dubai 2014
by Lorraine Warren
Great excitement as we look forward to the capstone conference from this project.
British Academy of Management Conference, 2013
by Lorraine Warren
Great to present some work from my colleague Muhammad Nouman’ s thesis at BAM 2013 in Aintree, Liverpool, last week. the slides are here:
Glimpses into the rich history of Peshawar & KP
by Javed Iqbal
It was a common scene in 60s and 70s to spot European and English travelers across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan. The region exhibited tolerance and the traditional welcoming nature of local Pashtun tribes that has been a subject of vivid writings during colonial period of India. Peshawar and Swat in particular hosted contingents of travelers who came flocking to the region to witness Buddhist remains and travel along the route which was once traveled by Alexander the great.
Here is a brief pictorial account of some attractions of the region.
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- 1963 Brochure ‘Pakistan Tourist Map’ published Ministry of Commerce Gov of Pakistan 1963 (Credit: Qisa Khwani FB page)
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- Like the Khyber pass safari, the railways in Pakistan has seen unprecedented decline in the past 2-3 decades.
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- The once famous and crafty Peshawar woodwork needs immediate attention
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- The traditional Pathan dance ‘Attan’ has multiple variations and is dying owing to the new ultra religious view claiming all forms of music and dance against the injunctions of Islam.
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- Pakhtunkhwa’s summer Governors’ lodge at Nathiagali, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
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- Khan club Peshawar- the once refurbished haveli served as a restaurant in inner Peshawar city. No more!
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- Plunder in the valley of Buddha where illegal excavation and mining goes unnoticed and the region losing some of the oldest and finest of Buddhist remains
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- Kabuli gate (1905) from the famous Qissa Khwani (Story teller bazar), Peshawar
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- Statue of a Buddha seated on a lotus in Swat Valley
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- Takht bahi (Mardan) Buddhist monastery- A UNESCO world heritage site
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- Vibrant Chilum Jusht Spring Festival of Kalash tribe of Chitral-Bumboret (Photo:Ali-Jan)
Follow up on TEDxSouthampton
by Lorraine Warren
A fantastic day overall, and looks like it’s going to become a regular event. Here are the links:
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TEDxSotonUni
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TEDxsouthamptonuniversity
Website: http://tedxsouthamptonuniversity.com/
Twitter: @TedxSotonUni
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedxsouthamptonuniversity
Storify: http://storify.com/ntibi04/tedx-southamptonuniversity-sustainability
Thanks to organisers James Dyke (host), Jon Akass (organiser), Ali Simmance, Lisa Then, Maraim Masoud, Marina Marinkovic, Fiona Harvey, Jackie Milne, Digital Champions from CITE, the film crew, Marwell Wildlife for contributing the Rhino sculpture and the 20+ volunteers who all contributed to the day’s success.
The event was kindly sponsored by Public Policy@Southampton and IBM and was organised in association with the University of Southampton’s Multidisciplinary Research Week 2013.
There is a news release on the SSS website at: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/sustainability_science/news/2013/03/25_tedxsouthamptonuniversity_success.page?
Reflections on Tedx from key speakers can also be found at:
INSPIRE hits TEDx
by Lorraine Warren
Great excitement on Sunday when I presented the project at Southampton’s inaugural TEDx event emphasising the project’s focus on sustainable developments. Guy Poppy opened the show, going into the cauldron of live presenting first, then we were on next. We got some great questions and the tweets were very positive. Looking forward to editing the video link (I think!) which I’ll upload as soon as it’s ready. Good to have such international exposure and kudos to James Dyke, the academic organiser and Jon Akass, a student on MSc Strategic Entrepreneurship who kicked the whole event off about a year ago. Well done everyone, inclusding those involved with Southampton’s Multidisciplinary Research Week!
Going Global in Dubai
by Lorraine Warren
Lorraine and Nouman both attended the British Council’s Going Global event in Dubai this week. This was a really exciting event attended by 1200 delegates from all over the world. The event began with an evening reception in the grounds of the stunning Burj Al Khalifa, where guests were entertained by the famous Dubai Fountain. The conference Opening Ceremony was co-opened by HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al ahayan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the  Rt Hon. David Willetts MP, Minister of State for Universities and Science in the UK. therer were many excellent panels and good conversations to be had, Our poster also received good feedback — more on all these great connections later.
Project Managers Workshop 18th February 2013 – Pakistan UK Collaborations
by Lorraine Warren
There was a great buzz in Manchester yesterday at the British Council-hosted Workshop for INSPIRE project managers. There were some excellent discussions where experiences were shared across the range of INSPIRE projects. We discussed a range of issues including how to build research collaborations and transnational education partnerships, the emphasis being on relationships and trust, as well as the perennial issue of finance. It was good to meet Peter Upton, Director of the British Council in Pakistan, and Liz Dempsey, British Council Higher Education Adviser. Good to see long time colleague Sarah Parvez too. Als, a great opportunity to catch up with my fellow PI, Muhammad Nouman. Looking forward to the next one — we all agreed that we had a lot to learn from each other, and some great INSPIRE stories to get out to a wider audience.
Seminar on challenges, prospects and constraints for SMEs development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA
by Javed Iqbal
The INSPIRE project is being jointly managed by IMSciences and University of Southampton having a range of objectives to strategically bring the two institutions and regions in close contact and ready exchange. A couple of the Project’s objectives include creation of research/evidence based knowledge on SMEs development in Pakistan, and facilitating relationships between HEIs, industry and relevant governmental organizations. There is a dearth of linked and in-depth knowledge on SMEs in this severely conflict-affected region of Pakistan. Researchers at both institutions are in the process of evaluating various options where excellent research expertise from University of Southampton could be used in advancing greater understanding of SMEs Eco-system in this troubled region.
A seminar was held to augment this understanding and to kick start a process of outreach to key stakeholders in government, aid agencies, private sector, and academic institutions.
Those who participated in the seminar include the following;
1-Â Â Â Sarmad Hussain, Manager SMEDA
Key topics discussed by Mr. Sarmad included most potential sectors & key interventions by SMEDA in the past 5 years, a review of sectors specific challenges, government-supported programs for SMEs development, donors’ driven projects & programs, and how conflict challenges entrepreneurship in the region.
2-Â Â Â Mr. Mujahid Saleem Farooqi, Economic Growth Specialist, USAID
Mr. Farooqi spoke at length about USAID’s support to SMEs in the region in wake of on-going militancy and in the aftermath of 2010 floods. He contributed an eloquent narrative of donors’ perspective on SMEs development and termed the economic development agenda of donors contributing to peace building in the region. Mr. Farooqi identified a lack of capacity across various levels in government, private sector, civil society, and aid agencies as the main impediment to development of promising economic sectors and industry in the region.
3-Â Â Â Mr. Asad Mahmood, Off-farm Economist, FATA Secretariat
Mr. Asad talked at length about the Post Crisis Needs Assessment (PCNA) and the challenges that their organization faces in implementation starting from the very political nature of FATA in Pakistan’s polity. Various attempts at promoting SMEs in the past have not produced substantial results owing to a lack of reforms at all levels.
4-Â Â Â Mr. Faheem khan, student entrepreneur
Faheem started an interior décor outfit recently and has already got work within IMSciences and outside. Under the guidance of EDC at IMSciences, he has successfully incubated his idea in presence of able support from faculty and fellow students. He talked about his experiences as a young entrepreneur in a region full of uncertainties and termed a lack of enabling environment as the key entry challenge for young entrepreneurs.
5-Â Â Â Ms. Nabeela , Supervisor at WBDC, Peshawar
Ms. Nabeela works as display supervisor at the Women Business Development Centre in Peshawar and termed the existing cultural and social perceptions towards working women as the biggest impediment challenging women mainstreaming in SMEs in the region. She termed the “funnel” approach of women entrepreneurs to only focus on traditional sectors such as fashion and jewellery as a disaster recipe and called for creative thinking in such a big local market.
6-Â Â Â Mr. Qazi Waheed, Coordinator EDC, IMSciences
Mr. Qazi is an enthusiastic youth promoter and has decent success in incubating a few enterprises at IMSciences. He called for more donor’s and industry’s interest in working with academic institutes to harness the potential of youth and a stronger focus on commercialization and scaling of innovative ideas coming out of HEIs.
The panel interacted with Dr. Lorraine Warren, Jo L Nesbitt, and Andrew Bird at University of Southampton through video conferencing. Dr. Lorraine contributed significant ideas to the discussion and thanked all for their time and support. Dr. Muhamamd Nauman and Mr. Javed Iqbal moderated the discussion at IMSciences.
