News: CSF lauds students role in opinion survey
Name of NewsPaper: National Herald (Tribune)
Date of Publication: Sundaday, 01 June, 2008
URL:

LAHORE, May 31: Supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Finance, Government of· Pakistan, the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), on Saturday acknowledged the contribution offemale students and the faculty members of Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) for their conducting of the Pakistan Executive Opinion Survey 2008 for the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009.

Mr. Rehmatullah Javed, Chairman of the Competitiveness Committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), being the guest of honor, awarded the group with certificates of appreciation during a ceremony held on Saturday, acknowledging their contribution and achievements.

The ceremony was also attended by Dr. Professor Bushra Mateen, Vice Chancellor of LCWU, Mr. Daud Sharif, Chief Operating Officer of CSF and leading representatives from the business community.

Giving the keynote speech, Mr. Rehmatullah Javed stated that "Ranking has become a global phenomenon and is applied on all aspects nowadays to analyze quality, competitiveness as well as define the potential of growth". He further added that "the global rating of Pakistan's economy, which is carried out each year' by the World Economic Forum provides us all with a road map for improving our economic situation. We, as the stakeholders of Pakistan, need to realize the importance of this data collection and support Pakistan in roviding the accurate portrayal of the country's economic position and frameworks. This will help position Pakistan at a more global competitive footing".

This year, CSF proposed a new strategy to the World Economic Forum to engage the academia in conducting the Executive Opinion Survey. This innovative strategy was recommended with the aim to create linkages between the academia and the business community. More than 75 students across Pakistan were selected from a vide range of academic background to interact with the leading business representatives and gain knowledge about the issues of global competitiveness, the current national business environment, the economic situation of Pakistan and its ability to achieve sustained economic growth.

Out of the 75 students, 22 were from the Lahore College of Women University (LCWU), which positioned itself in a unique way, being the only female leading group. Professor Riffat Saqlain, Dean of Social Sciences at LCWU expressed her appreciation of CSF and its mandate by stating, "Working with CSF on this very exciting exercise, has exposed our female students to the real economic, technical, financial and environmental issues in Pakistan.

By interacting with the business community, these students have been empowered and sensitized to identify obstacles to economic growth, design better economic policies' and build up the ability to search for innovative and feasible solutions to challenges; thus becoming more aware of better career choices and empowering them to play their significant role in the development of Pakistan's economy."-NNI