Islamabad - Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) and Mishal Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create a hybrid pool of resources for knowledge sharing. Through this collaboration, FJWU and Mishal committed to build capacity of students and faculty members around new technical and social skill sets with the aim to strengthen industry-academia linkages for the commercialization of research and other projects.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Saima Hamid, Vice Chancellor FJWU, said, Fatima Jinnah University is one of the few academic institutions in the country, which prides itself in being a center of excellence for women education and leadership. The University is now moving towards knowledge development, through research-based initiatives that can be commercialized. We are thriving to make our students stand out as pioneers in academic and business research. She further added that women empowerment through higher education is our primary goal.

The organizations have joined hands to provide research and analysis opportunities to students and faculty members on media and communication sciences. The purpose is to build synergies among academia, industry and government, following the Triple Helix model.

Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer Mishal Pakistan, said, with this partnership we would like to create research opportunities for the students to understand the work that Mishal is undertaking on building a national initiative for Learning for Empathy. This will complement the initiative of EmpathyLab created by Mishal and AGAHI for building understanding on the challenges of tolerance, inclusivity and compassion. The concept of EmpathyLab is to create better understanding and do evidence based-research on the Sustainable Development Goals, especially the SDG 4.7.

Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) is a public sector university with a mission to achieve excellence through a conducive learning environment for collective well-being and societal transformation. FJWU has been established in the premises of the Old Presidency. It is a symbol of the commitment of the nation to women’s education. The University is funded by the Punjab Government. The Government of Punjab is very supportive of the university thereby furthering the cause of women education and empowerment.

Mishal Pakistan is Pakistan’s leading strategic communication and design company. It is also the country Partner Institute of the Future of Economic Progress System Initiative, World Economic Forum. Mishal is responsible to generate primary data on more than 100 indicators measuring Pakistan’s competitiveness. Mishal’s foremost domain of activity is behavior change communication, strategic communication with a spotlight on media and perception management, and future scenario development using methodologies and resources that service the lifestyle and social needs of individuals, their families, the communities they live in and ultimately their larger domains. Education, Entertainment and Enlightenment constitute the ultimate key to human growth and advancement. The Mishal philosophy takes its birth from this very principle, the ultimate vision being to cater for the growing need of meaningful and focused communication outreach.