News: CSF acknowledges LCWU efforts for conducting opinion survey
Name of the Newspaper: Pakistan Observer
Date of publication: Sunday, 01 June, 2008
Website: http://pakobserver.net/200806/01/news/business02.asp

Islamabad-The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) has acknowledged the contribution of female students and the faculty members of Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) for conducting Pakistan Executive Opinion Survey 2008 for the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009. Rehmatullah Javed, Chairman of the Competitiveness Committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) awarded certificates of appreciation to faculty members and students during a ceremony held at the college on Saturday.

The ceremony was also attended by Dr. Professor Bushra Mateen, Vice Chancellor of LCWU, Daud Sharif, Chief Operating Officer of CSF and leading representatives from the business community, said CSF press release here. In his keynote address on the occasion, Rehmatullah Javed said 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. "The global rating of Pakistan's economy, which is carried out each year by the World Economic Forum provides us a road map for improving our economic situation," he said adding that "we need to realize the importance of data collection and support Pakistan in providing the accurate portrayal of its economic position, CSF, as the partner institution of the World Economic Forum (WEF), recently carried out the Executive Opinion Survey in Pakistan, in which more than 230 top level business executives were surveyed to capture their opinion on the business environment in Pakistan. 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.-APP