Alumni Homecoming 2021: Meet the Vice Chancellor’s Alumni Achievement Award Winners 2020

Eight dynamic alumni, across sectors and industries, at home and abroad, were selected for the Vice Chancellor’s Alumni Achievement Awards 2020. The winners, announced at Homecoming 2021, were congratulated by Vice Chancellor, LUMS, Dr. Arshad Ahmad; Rector, Shahid Hussain, and Director, Office of Advancement, Nuzhat Kamran at a special virtual ceremony. 

LUMS has a powerful network of 14,298 alumni spread across the world, who are making a mark in the professional arena, social entrepreneurship as well as academia. The Vice Chancellor’s Alumni Achievement Awards, started in 2018, celebrate the outstanding achievements of alumni and showcase the impact and value of their educational experience at LUMS. These winners are leaders in their fields who have made exceptional contributions in their respective areas of expertise. 

Meet this year’s distinguished cohort.

Dr. Muneeb Ali (BSc 2003)
Dr. Ali is a computer scientist and has been working at the frontiers of internet entrepreneurship. He has a PhD from Princeton and is the co-founder of Stacks, a decentralised network that brings apps and smart contracts to Bitcoin, and is doing hardcore research on cutting-edge internet technologies. 
He credited LUMS for helping him start his exciting professional journey. “Stacks has so far raised $75 million in funding from top investors of the world. And recently, the market cap of Stacks crossed around $1.2 billion.” 

Aysha Baqir (MBA 1998) 
Ms. Baqir has been recognised for her outstanding work in business entrepreneurship serving low-income communities across Pakistan. As board director of Kaarvan Crafts, she helps provide entrepreneurship trainings to women in low-income communities. 
According to her, it was the fundamentals of business management that she learnt during her time at LUMS that helped her empower women entrepreneurs. “I set-up Kaarvan with a mission to alleviate poverty in Pakistan through value-chain development programmes that enable women in rural areas to collaborate, strengthen their skills and access markets.” 

Dr. Fahad Rafique Dogar (BSc 2005)
Dr. Dogar earned his PhD from Tufts University during which his research focused on computer networks and distributed systems. He has worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Microsoft Research, Cambridge, UK, one of the most celebrated research labs in the world. He has won prestigious awards, including the VMWare Early Career Faculty Fellowship and the highly selective Facebook/Oculus Faculty Fellowship awarded to only a few faculty members across North America every year.
He believes that his relationship with LUMS has always been very strong. “Since graduating, I have continued to benefit from LUMS; I have made friends, mentors and collaborators and have even interacted with the students in various capacities and have even taught at LUMS for a semester.”

Dr. Ammara Maqsood (BSc 2005)
Dr. Maqsood’s academic achievements have been outstanding with a PhD from University College, London. Her book, The New Pakistani Middle Class was published by Harvard University Press and was the winner of the American Institute of Pakistan Studies Book Prize in 2019. She also has an illustrious record of winning competitive grants including a 1.5 million Euro award from the European Research Council.
LUMS fueled her passion for research that started off her academic career. “It was a place that not only gave me strong friendships, but also a solid foundation and a base for the kind of work I have gone on to do since. It is a great honour to be part of the LUMS alumni fraternity and to be given this award.”

Tauseef H. Farooqui (MBA 1996)
Mr. Farooqui is Chairman, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), Pakistan. He oversees the regulation, generation, transmission and distribution ends of the power sector while promoting innovation and modernisation.
“My aspiration is to become a change agent in this public sector and fix the power industry in Pakistan. I am greatly indebted to LUMS for selecting me for this award. LUMS has made us what we are today, and it is time for us to payback in whatever way we can.” 

Yousaf Hussain (MBA 1994)
President and CEO, Faysal Bank Ltd, Mr. Hussain has 26 years of diverse professional experience. He has taken the Bank to greater heights by adding more than 250 branches within three years, mostly in rural areas to provide greater access. Under his watch, the Bank has also embraced Islamic banking facilities and has generated thousands of employment opportunities in tertiary cities. 
He is of the belief that LUMS provided him an educational base which he applies every day in his professional life. “Qualities such as perseverance, commitment and even a fighting spirit, were traits I picked up at LUMS. All alumni should get together and give back so that deserving students can avail the same opportunities we did.”

Sabeen Ihsan (BSc 2006)
As owner and founder of Kreative Kinder Haus, Ms. Ihsan provides therapy to special needs children and counselling to their parents. Her work has been recognised by the federal government, and global professionals. In her recent meeting with the Additional Secretary for Education, Ms. Ihsan has also been requested to help draft the policy for education for children of special needs in Pakistan. 
“Had it not been for LUMS, I would not have been able to create an inclusive space for special children in Pakistan. LUMS gave me the confidence and courage to reach for my dreams and overcome any obstacles that I may have faced,” she says. 

Angbeen Atif Mirza (BA-LLB 2008)    
Ms. Mirza has worked with legal aid workers to represent incarcerated children in Karachi. She has been a pioneer in establishing the framework for addressing sexual violence and harassment complaints within LUMS and is serving as Faculty Director, Office of Accessibility and Inclusion at LUMS. 
She credits LUMS for remaining a very big part of her life and inspiring her. “I was very lucky to have mentors who were very instrumental in shaping my life’s aspirations and one of the biggest areas they inspired me in was working in the area of social justice.”