Tamuq empowers Pakistani students at Women in Energy Scholars programme

The programme was sponsored by the US-Pakistan Women’s Council, a public-private partnership between the US Department of State and Texas A&M University, that seeks to increase women’s economic participation in Pakistan by promoting women’s entrepreneurship, employment, and access to educational opportunities. In addition, USAID, the US Department of Energy, the US Embassy in Islamabad, and the US Embassy in Qatar provided significant support for the programme.The young women represented nine universities from four different cities in Pakistan and were proficient in a wide range of academic disciplines including chemical engineering, electrical engineering, biotechnology, software engineering, geophysics, environmental engineering, mechanical engineering, geography, and earth and environmental sciences. More than 80 qualified young women studying at 30 different universities across 14 cities in Pakistan applied to the programme.Dr Ioannis G Economou, senior associate dean, Academic Affairs and Graduate Studies, said, “We are at a crucial moment in our mission to enhance the energy sector — not just in Qatar, but on a global scale. Providing reliable, efficient, and affordable energy systems that don’t adversely impact the environment is the need of the hour. We are thrilled to host this exceptional group of young women, who will forge new paths in building new technologies and developing new solutions to the challenges that we are facing today.”During their time in Doha, the students participated in courses that covered a variety of topics including natural gas processing, laboratory safety, geothermal energy, renewable energy, wind energy, and solar thermal energy. In addition to classroom coursework, the students conducted experiments in Tamuq’s state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, heard from influential female alumni working in the energy sector, met with the award-winning Afghan Girls’ Robotics Team, and visited research facilities located within Education City, including the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute at Hamad Bin Khalifa University and Qatar Science and Technology Park. The students also attended a Women in Energy Roundtable hosted by the US Embassy in Doha, which featured women from the American Chambre of Commerce, ConocoPhillips, and ExxonMobil.The Doha segment of the programme was organised by the Office of Academic Affairs. Dr Konstantinos Kakosimos, associate professor of chemical engineering, directed the technical part of the programme, and organised the visits to industrial partners, and Rola Abou Ghaida was in charge of all the logistics of the program. Following their two-week programme in Qatar, the students returned to Pakistan for a two-week familiarisation trip to engage with key Pakistani public and private-sector organisations in Islamabad and Lahore to learn about Pakistan’s energy sector. In total, they visited 18 of some of the most prominent private and public energy sector entities in Pakistan using cutting-edge technology and received presentations on Pakistan's energy situation and challenges. The scholars also met with technical experts, business leaders, education leaders, and government officials and had a chance to learn more about career opportunities in their fields.