Author: newsupdatetimes

Empowering more students to continue learning through technology in a secure environment Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  In an effort to accelerate remote learning in a safe and secure environment, Microsoft is supporting the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan by deploying Teams for official online and remote learning interactions across more than 100 public and private universities. The move is in response to the call by the HEC for ideas on how to address the impact of COVID-19 on education and research.This pandemic has forced educators and students to rush into distance learning. “Our strong collaboration with Microsoft has spanned many…

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) hosted a series of high-level conversations to assess the current disruption caused by Covid-19 and its evolving impact on the education sector in Pakistan. Featuring renowned thought leaders from Pakistan, the Middle East, Europe and the U.S., the experts were engaged in future-focused conversations exploring how the current situation will shape the future of education. The experts largely agreed that, like other sectors in the economy, the education industry was also not prepared for this pandemic and lacked a solid contingency plan. The panels were divided in three focus areas:…

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Telenor Velocity, digital startup accelerator by Telenor Pakistan, has introduced its EdTech Innovation programme, forging strategic alliances with EdTech startups/scaleups, serving as a roadmap for making a rapid shift to online learning and skill development. This initiative is launched in response to closure of educational institutions and offices due to coronavirus outbreak. The ongoing crisis has impacted students across the nation, but the circumstances have also resulted in a speedy transition to online learning, and e-education has become the need of the hour. In Pakistan over 76 million people have access to the internet, however there is a gap…

Lahore (Qasim Ali) The Institute for Art and Culture, Lahore, (IAC) and the City of Austin, Texas, United  States of  America have entered  into  a  Memorandum of  Understanding  (MOU), intended  to  establish  a collaborative  relationship exploring  arts  and culture  education,  professional  services and  the  creative  industries including fashion and textile. The  formal  bilateral  trade  and  investment  relationship between the two parties is envisioned to fulfil the following outcomes  for  both parties; creation of  employment  opportunities, expansion of  foreign direct  investment, and contributions to fashion,  arts, culture, and education.  The growth of  existing  arts  and other  creative  industries, strengthening educational  and…

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir)  In response to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the IBA Karachi has revamped the admission process for its flagship MBA program for the upcoming admission cycle. Since administering the entrance test is not possible in existing circumstances, an alternate objective criterion for the assessment of admission applications has been introduced. The revised process includes shortlisting of candidates based on prior academic qualification, length and quality of work experience / internships, co-curricular activities / achievements and the personal statement by the candidate. Based on this criterion, the candidates will be shortlisted for the final interviews. While…

The 3As – Act, Analyse, Anticipate The COVID-19 crisis has caused a systemic shock to the global economy. There is even talk of a ‘Pre-COVID-19’ and ‘Post-COVID-19’ world. ACCA’s global research Covid-19 global survey: inside business, impacts and responses data looks at the impact of COVID-19 so far on organisations and the global business community and it’s clear from the findings that this is only the start of the story. Over the coming weeks and months different regions of the world, countries, businesses and organisations in all sectors will seek to navigate a way through the crisis, using different strategies…

LUMS issues a statement, says the 41% increase grossly misstates the fees that all students pay This note further clarifies a memo sent recently about fees. There has unfortunately been significant misinformation on social media, and it is important to clarify that students at LUMS will not pay any more than what they had committed to pay. In fact, some will actually end up paying less in certain cases explained below. The information below confirms that the 41% increase is a misunderstanding of the new payment structure and unnecessarily feeds into social media sensationalism. As a not-for-profit institution that takes pride in the diversity of our student body, LUMS disburses…

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) As the threat of Coronavirus looms over the academic future of students, the IBA Karachi has taken a major step to facilitate its prospective students in these challenging times. In a major policy revision, the IBA Karachi has added flexibility to its admission process to cater to the needs of prospective candidates. IBA Karachi will accept A Levels grades awarded to students based on final exams and/or through guidance grading by the Cambridge Board. Additionally, for all those candidates whose Intermediate and A Levels results are pending, the IBA is working to accommodate them by granting them…

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) It’s the time to utilize the quarantine time productively, as enrollments for batch 7 of Digiskills.pk opens on 24th April 2020! This is the best time to seize this opportunity to pick up new skills, and simply expand your knowledge from the comfort of your home.  The courses are scheduled to commence from 27th May 2020 and training would be given for 3 months. DigiSkills.pk is Pakistan’s largest online training program, developed and run through Ignite, under the ambit of Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom. Up till now more than 1 million training have been given already, with people starting…

Pakistani is moving towards digitization and is all set to introduce digital financial services given the increasing telecom connectivity and penetration of smartphone. The digital Pakistan initiative also aims at equipping different sectors of Pakistan with e-services, and promoting digital skills, entrepreneurship and connectivity, helping county grow. Despite working on these reforms, Pakistan has still the lowest financial inclusion ratio in South Asia. The growth in financial inclusion is just satisfactory, with a slight increase from 7.7 percent in 2013 to 14 percent in 2017. State Bank of Pakistan in its Financial Inclusion Strategy announced 50% target set for 2020,…