ASSA reviews performance of Pakistani scholars

LAHORE: The Annemarie Schimmel Scholarship Association (ASSA) held its annual meeting on Sunday November 28 to select the Schimmel Scholar for 2004. The scholar will undertake postgraduate studies in the UK next year.

The association also reviewed the performance of past scholars; Jakie Dias, the 1996 scholar; Shazia Ali, the 2001 scholar, and Farhana Wazir Khan, the 1993 scholar.

Dias was given the Outstanding Teacher Award 2004 at the Aga Khan University School of Nursing while Ali was involved in cutting edge research at Cranfield University, UK that had practical applications in nuclear plant safety mechanisms and production efficiency in the oil & gas industry.

Khan gave an illuminating lecture on English Literature titled ‘Early Modern Encounters with the East’ last week. She was the first speaker of the Schimmel Lecture Series, a prestigious annual academic event, launched this year by the Scholarship Association.

The scholarship was founded in 1988 by eminent scholar Zoe Hersov in the name of her friend Dr Annemarie Schimmel with whom she shared a love for both, learning and Pakistan. The scholarship aims to encourage deserving Pakistani women to achieve academic excellence and then return to serve their country so that they can become role models for the other Pakistani women. The scholarship has sent fourteen female scholars for postgraduate studies to prestigious institutions in the UK so far. They belonged to diverse fields such as Islamic art, laser physics, biomedical engineering and social police.

The scholarship is advertised nationally in March and April. The selection is carried out at the end of each year. More information regarding the scholarship can be obtained from the website: www.amsscholarship.com. pr

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