A joint seminar was held by FPCCI and DHA Suffa University on “Post COVID 19 Global Supply Chain Crisis” on 16^th December, 2021 in the Executive Lecture Theater at DHA Suffa University.  The seminar was attended by DSU faculty, staff and Industry representatives.

Ms. Farhat Umar, Director PDC & CSR and Senior Lecturer Supply Chain management kicked off the event by discussing how the Global Supply Chain Crisis unfolded post COVID 19, leading to high inflation rates throughout the world.  She discussed the cascading impact that supply chain disruptions including container shortages, cargo ships traffic jams on sea, truck driver shortages, component delays and port congestion had on the global economy.  She elaborated how after a global recession, the world saw a dip in real GDP in 2020 followed by higher demand of goods with limited supply which has led to global inflation, rising prices of food, brent oil and a rise in inequality throughout the world.  She also discussed how Supply Chains are will become regionalized going forward, and businesses will learn to do Business Continuity Planning to survive similar challenging circumstances.

The chief guest of the event, Mr. Haif Lakhani, Vice President of FPCCI gave a detailed account of how the Pakistani Businessmen managed and mitigated the Supply Chain disruptions.  He explained how Pakistan textile sector has seen a global rise in demand for their products like never before.  Similarly a number of new opportunities have emerged in the wake of COVID- 19, and there are many opportunities for young people as the country steadily moves towards industrialization.

Mr. Naqi Azam, Advisor to VC DHA Suffa University discussed how Disaster Management, Blockchain and Supply Chain management are gaining importance globally.  He moderated a panel discussion where he unveiled exciting new foreign blended Supply Chain Management programs that the University is planning to launch in 2022.  He discussed new opportunities in Supply Chain Management for the young generation.

The Vice Chancellor of DSU, Dr. Afzal Haque gave closing remarks at the seminar.  He summarized the Supply Chain crisis, its impact on Pakistan and the way forward.

Finally, Mr. Tausef Aziz, Convener at FPCCI and founder of Karachi Global Market (KGM) gave a brief introduction to his organization which will give students of Universities in Karachi a chance to market their business ideas to a larger public.  He explained how students can get involved in the initiative.

On Wednesday 20^th October, 2021 the Professional Development Center, DHA Suffa University organized a one-day training program on “Soft Skills in the 21^st Century” for the benefit of the faculty & non-teaching staff of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and the Computer Engineering Departments.

The session was led by Mr. Noor Ali who has an experience of 25 years in the Silicon Valley, working with an organization like CISCO he gained experience in New Product Launch, Supply Chain Management, Product Life cycle Management and Cost Reduction Strategies.

Mr. Ali is an educationist and a Career Counselor with a passion to mentor and coach people to achieve their career objectives.

He eloquently briefed the audience about the strategies to overcome the gap between the industry and academia. He shared his thoughts and designs on effective teaching and how an instructor can engage and motivate his/her students. He also shared his views on how the 3-Ds of teaching styles i.e Directing, Discussing and Delegating can promote learning and how this can mutually benefit the teacher and the learners.

Acquisition of time-management skills was stressed by the speaker. Prioritizing and multitasking were regarded as need of the day. Lastly, he spoke to the audience about the seven C’s of communication. He very eloquently explained the use and effectiveness of the principles of communication.

The session was concluded with a Q&A session followed by a vote of thanks and presentation of a plaque of appreciation to Mr. Noor Ali by Engr. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Afzal Haque, Vice Chancellor, DHA Suffa University.