A highly productive meeting was held between Prof. Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, Vice Chancellor, Quaid-i-Azam University, and Mr. Ahmad Hayat Lak, Managing Director, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, to discuss collaborative initiatives aimed at institutional development and student support.

During the meeting, the Managing Director appreciated the longstanding academic industry linkages between the two institutions. The Vice Chancellor presented a proposal for the solarization of the OGDCL Girls Hostel under the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, along with the solarization of buildings of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University. The Managing Director agreed to the proposal in principle. It was mutually decided that the solarization of the Girls Hostel would be undertaken in the first phase, followed by the solarization of the Earth Sciences buildings.

The Managing Director also announced fully funded scholarships for deserving students of Quaid-i-Azam University under the OGDCL Scholarship Scheme. The Vice Chancellor welcomed this initiative, which aims to support financially challenged students, and agreed to initiate the programme with 30 students, ensuring equal representation of male and female students.

Furthermore, OGDCL expressed keen interest in establishing a joint training centre at the University to offer certification programmes in relevant disciplines, with the objective of enhancing youth employability. The proposed centre will be jointly managed by OGDCL and the University. The meeting concluded on a positive note, marking a significant step towards strengthening collaboration between Quaid-i-Azam University and OGDCL. The meeting was attended by Mr. Zia Salahuddin, Executive Director (Services), OGDCL, Dr. Khalid Amin, GM Incharge Exploration, OGDCL; Mr. Sikandar Ali Shaikh, GM CSR, OGDCL, and Engr. Umair Zulfiqar, XEN (E), QAU.