Dr. Habib Ahmad won a grant from US Alumni Network for the project, “US-Funded Workshops for Exposure of High School Students to Nanotechnology For Sustainable Energy In Pakistan” from the platform of the Center for Advanced Electronics & Photovoltaic Engineering (CAEPE), IIU Islamabad.
The project aimed to organize four scientific enrichment workshops for public and private SSC and HSSC science students across Islamabad and Rawalpindi for their exposure to Pakistan’s sustainable energy and nanotechnology requirements.
Four workshops were performed at the Centre in this regard in the months of July and August, 2023 duly supported by the U.S. Mission in partnership with the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN).
More than 120 enthusiastic direct (and thousands of indirect) male and female students and faculty members hailing from prestigious institutions of the twin cities namely Siddeeq Public School and College Rawalpindi, Islamabad Model College for Girls Islamabad, F.G. Sir Syed College Rawalpindi, Askaria School and College Rawalpindi, Kaiynaat School Islamabad, The Noor School Rawalpindi, OPF School Islamabad, Iqra College of Technology Islamabad, Fazaia Inter College Nurkhan Rawalpindi, Alhuda International School Islamabad, Army Public School and College Rawalpindi, Fauji Foundation College Rawalpindi, and FG Degree College for Women AMR Rawalpindi benefited from these four workshops.
The participants got exposure to Pakistan’s energy and nanotechnology requirements through fully packed 9-5 days of scientific fun activities. The students participated in scientific fun activities such as Design and Simulation of Electronic Devices, Automatic Street Lights, Solar Panel Measurements, Standard Solar Cell Evaluation via Solar Simulator, X-rays of Semiconductors, Temperature Dependence of Devices, Purification of Gold in Aqua Regia, and Observation of a Human Hair under Scanning Electron Microscope. They were also provided take-home aid materials.
The activity sparked the curiosity of the students and broadened their imagination via practical demonstration. The participants profoundly acknowledged the organizers of the event, fantastic high tech facilities and knowledge bank at the Centre and appreciated the U.S. Mission to Pakistan for supporting the workshop. The students also showed great interest in attending future workshops highlighting Pakistan’s energy requirements and the solutions offered by nanotechnology for achieving sustainable energy.
Prof. Dr. Ahmed Shuja Syed, Founding Executive Director of the Centre and Vice President (Research & Enterprise) has termed this grant as transformative in terms of sharing experience and knowledge to create societal impact. Dr. Gul hassan, Engr. Shoaib Alam, Engr. Muhammad Ali and Shoaib Waqas from the Centre helped Dr. Habib making the grant execution a success.