Department of Management Sciences-UW, in collaboration with the Sarhad Rural Support Program (SRSP), hosted a symposium on 24 October 2024. SRSP, a prominent nonprofit organization established in 1989 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is committed to empowering communities through sustainable development initiatives. The symposium focused on strategies for tackling and measuring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and highlighted the importance of effectively bridging the academia-industry gap to address community development challenges. Mr. Aftab Ahmed, Chief Operating Officer of SRSP, the guest speaker, provided an in-depth overview of SRSP’s key efforts aligned with SDGs such as No Poverty (SDG 1), Gender Equality (SDG 5), Clean Energy (SDG 7), and Climate Action (SDG 13). He discussed notable initiatives, including micro-hydropower projects and women's empowerment programs, emphasizing their significant contributions to community resilience and sustainable growth. Mr. Aftab underlined the need for NGOs to collaborate with academia to create evidence-based, culturally relevant interventions. He highlighted the trust deficit in communities due to development projects that overlook local contexts or lack transparency. He urged NGO social activists to develop context-specific, objective programs to overcome these issues.
Prof. Dr. Khurram Shahzad, Dean faculty of the Management Sciences-UW, reaffirmed the university's commitment to supporting SRSP through collaborative research and SDG measurement initiatives. He emphasized the importance of academic expertise in evaluating development outcomes and proposed internship opportunities for University of Wah students at SRSP for practical exposure to SDG-oriented projects. After the symposium, Mr. Aftab Ahmed and the Dean met with the Vice-Chancellor, University of Wah. During their meeting, they discussed potential avenues for collaboration, and VC presented a university souvenir to Mr. Aftab as a token of appreciation, marking the beginning of a promising partnership. The symposium established a collaborative framework for addressing community development challenges, enhancing project outcomes, and measuring SDG impacts.
