Seminars at NIP
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tahir KhalilyProfessor of Clinical Psychology and Dean Faculty of Social Sciences & HumanitiesShifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad 27th April, 2022
On 27th April, 2022, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tahir Khalily (Professor of Clinical Psychology and Dean Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad) delivered a seminar titled Islamic Psychology and Spiritual Wisdom at NIP. The seminar had been jointly organized by the National Institute of Psychology, QAU, Islamabad and Rehmatul-lil-Aalameen Authority, Govt. of Pakistan. Prof. Dr. Tanvir Anjum (Tenured Professor, Department of History, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad) who is also serving as a member of the Rehmatul-lil-Aalameen Authority attended the seminar as its representative.
The activity commenced with the recitation from the Holy Quran and its translation followed by a ‘naat’ recital by two NIP students: Hafiz Muhammad Akbar and Tania Ashraf. Later the Rehmatul-lil-Aalameen Authority, Govt. of Pakistan was introduced by Prof. Dr. Tanvir Anjum after which Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tahir Khalily commenced his insightful talk in which he comprehensively covered content on spirituality, religiosity, maladies of ‘nafs’, Muslim psychology and Islamic Psychology and conventional western psychology. He also shared a list of scholarly reading material including books and journal articles for further reading and research. After a question/answer session, NIP Director, Prof. Dr. Rubina Hanif gave her concluding remarks and thanked both esteemed guests for their time and presence. The activity came to a close with the distribution of shields to the guests and a group photo with them.
Hometown Community Foundation 12th April, 2022
A team from Hometown Community Foundation (HCF), a non-profit organization striving to save lives from substance use related deaths, delivered an awareness seminar titled ‘Effects of Drug Addiction on Brain and Body’ for NIP students on 12th April, 2022. On this occasion, an information desk was also set up by HCF to share relevant information with the students and distribute forms amongst them for joining the organization as volunteers.
The seminar was delivered by Ms. Mehwish Tariq (CEO, Hometown Community Foundation) and Ms. Rabya Ghafoor. The speakers shared comprehensive information related to the issue of drug addiction and the initiatives that their organization takes in this regard; empowering individuals and families with knowledge to give an understanding of substance abuse disorder and addiction and providing strategies to fight against substance abuse as their primary focus. The speakers encouraged the students to join the organization as volunteers and researchers to connect to a global network of people making a difference in their own lives in their communities and in the world. They were also asked them to visit the information desk set up by HCF on NIP premises on this occasion to get forms to register for volunteering opportunities with HCF.
Cyber Crime Wing, FIA 15th March, 2022
On 15th March, 2022 an awareness seminar titled ‘Cybercrimes and Cyber Security’ was delivered by Ms. Zooni Ashfaq and Mr. Najeeb ul Hassan from the Cyber Crime Wing, FIA. The activity was attended by a fully packed house of students who received the activity with immense interest.
While introducing their FIA wing, the speakers shared that the Cybercrime Wing (CCW) of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) deals with the growing threats of cybercrimes and is the only unit of its kind in Pakistan which directly receives complaints and take legal measures against cyber criminals. The awareness seminar covered rich and important information with the audience including the importance of cyber security, types of cybercrime, secure usage of smart phones and other electronic devices, secure browsing, keeping one safe on the web and social media platforms, dark web services, social engineering and being cyber wise. On this occasion, information leaflets were also distributed among the attendees besides gifts which were given to the students for asking pertinent questions. In the end, the speakers were thanked for their time and input and tokens of appreciation were presented to them for doing a commendable job.
Managing Director PAHSRF Maj. Syed Azhar Shah (Rtd.)
CEO PAHSRF Ms. Sana Azhar
21st September, 2021
On September 21, 2021 an online seminar was delivered by Managing Director PAHSRF Maj. Syed Azhar Shah (Rtd.). Maj. Azhar and CEO PAHSRF Ms. Sana Azhar are proud parents of a son with Autism and two daughters with Asperger’s Syndrome. Different parenting demands of parents of children with special needs and scarce facilitation at every level of service motivated both the parents to work for generating awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Pakistan Autism Health Sciences and Research Foundation was established in 2017 to fulfill this very aim. The seminar was based on two parts where the audience were told about what autism is and what areas of functioning are different among autistic individuals than non-autistic individuals. The second part covered initiatives taken by PAHSRF to address the issue at hand. It was shared that no two individuals with autism are alike, the manifestation of specific features is different among different individuals, prominent ones being repetitive behaviors and sensory issues. It was shared that it would not be wrong to say that brain wiring of individuals with Autism is different. This is the very reason that their affective, behavioral, and cognitive functioning are very different from normal individuals. In a family if one child is autistic, it increases the tendency for other siblings to have the problem. Though the condition is mostly there from birth but few may develop it over the course of their lives. About PAHSRF, it was shared that this initiative was taken up to turn down the stigmatization against individuals having ASD. The aim was to equip these individuals with various self-help skills so as to make them contributing members of the society. Certified training given to parents, teachers, and the Autistic individuals are also part of various endeavors being executed by PAHSRF. Collaborative efforts are also being done by joining hands with other institutes and organizations. The initiatives taken by PAHSRF includes reaching out to individuals with disability within the country and bringing in the expertise from the international front to facilitate groundwork being done for individuals with ASD and those linked to them.
Karim Khan Afridi Welfare Foundation
17th February, 2020
Karim Khan Afridi Welfare Foundation (KKAWF) conducted a seminar regarding Drugs and Youth at National Institute of Psychology. Ms. Cristina von Sperling Afridi, (Chairperson KKAWF) and Ms. Lubna Ghani Haya Uddin represented the foundation. The first part of the session was regarding orientation about KKAWF. Ms. Lubna shared that The Karim Khan Afridi Welfare Foundation, is a Pakistani, Non-profit Non-Government organization registered under Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies 1961, was founded in 2015, and focuses on raising awareness in Pakistani youth of the tragic consequences of drug dependency. It was founded by Cristina Von Sperling Afridi and her husband, Ambassador Tariq Khan Afridi, following the death of their 19 years old son Karim. The foundation has successfully provided a model of prevention and awareness in the educational institutions in Pakistan and aims at engaging our youth through Drug Awareness, Sports, Environment, Arts & Culture and Civic Sense. The foundation intends to play a catalyzing role for youth and the communities in which they live, by bringing together the key Government and Civil Society stakeholders to address the menace of drug use.
In second half of session Ms. Cristina von Sperling Afridi highlighted the major causes of drug usage. Reflecting on high prevalence rate of drug usage among Pakistani youth, Ms. Afridi shared that it‟s high time to train peer educators on major life skills and intervene effectively to deal with this issue. KKAWF has proposed a program named „Unplugged –Hum Saath Hain‟, a Training Programme for Drug Abuse Prevention in educational settings. „Unplugged‟ is an evidence based European Union Drug Awareness programme, which has already been implemented in the Middle East, Africa, and Brazil. The UNODC introduced this program in Pakistan, where KKAWF culturally modified the programme according Pakistani needs and renamed the programme as 'HUM SATH HAIN', led by Mrs. Lubna Ghani Hayauddin, Educational Consultant KKAWF. The foundation is keen to run this program with students of National Institute of Psychology.
Ms. Nida Fatima Zaidi
Ms. Nida Fatima Zaidi, an eminent writer, producer and director conducted a seminar at National institute of Psychology”. She has worked over a decade in media and has established her skills in multiple genera of TV programs ranging from documentary to music and drama. Her talent in directing documentary & docu-drama has been acclaimed by National Television (PTV) with four nominations as Best Producer for the years 2006-2010 and the Awards for Best Producer for the years 2007-2008. In 2012, her short film New Way to Peace a story of a nine year old Indian child visiting Pakistan, received Exemplary Contribution Award for Peace Promotion, by Jang Group & Nutshell Forum. Her main focus of discussion was regarding “Achieving success in media". She is also an alumni of National Institute of Psychology. Reflecting back on her journey at NIP, Ms. Zaidi highlighted that time spent at NIP helped her a lot to develop a sensitive and critical attitude. Both these aspects have helped her a lot in her professional carrier. She shared that studying psychology has helped her in her professional life as she is aware of the psychological issues faced by women and children because of which she can keenly observe what is happening around in society and portray it in form that is appealing to general audiences. She shared that she considers herself lucky as she got a chance to interact with teachers at the institute as because of this she realized that it‟s important to be vocal about issues related social justice and equality.
6th November, 2019
Prof. Dr. Roni Reiter-Palmon (Director, I/O Psychology Graduate Program; Director of Innovation, Center for Collaboration Science) of University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), USA delivered seminar on “Team Creativity and Innovation and Leadership” on 6th Nov 2019 in National Institute of Psychology (NIP), Center of Excellence. Seminar was organised under Pakistan Universities Linkages Program of University of Nebraska, Omaha(PULP-UNO). Around 80 participants attended the seminar. Participants were faculty of UNO and 3 leading universities of Pakistan (Quaid-i-Azam University, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, and Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences) and students of MPhil and PhD. Seminar started at 11:30 am.
Dr. Humaira Jami (Alumni PULP-UNO) introduced the PULP and the participants and speaker of the seminar. On behalf of the Director NIP, Prof. Dr. Anila Kamal, she thanked Dr. Patrick McNamara (Director, International Studies, UNO), Dr. Rao Nadeem (Anthropology Department, QAU), and Mr. Buland (Coordinator PULP) for their support in organising the event. Prof. Dr. Roni Reiter-Palmon during her lecture stressed upon the need of diversity in team building to promote creativity and innovation. Good leaders acknowledge diverse ideas and provide psychological safety to team members to work for creative but feasible ideas. They play active role in team building and embrace multi-disciplinary approach in team selection. She concluded her talk by highlighting existing research gap in areas of creativity and leadership. After question answer session, faculty interacted with students and then proceeded for the lunch. Activity was concluded on good notes to strengthen future ties between UNO and universities of Pakistan. Dr. Anila Kamal gave away souvenirs to the UNO professors and faculty of NIP gave a warm send off to all guests.
Reported by: Dr. Humaira Jami
Dr. Sana Yasir
Sponsored by: Wajood Society
29th April, 2019
On April 29th, 2019, a seminar entitled “Depathologization of Transgender and Intersex Identities” was presented by Dr. Sana Yasir in NIP. She is Pakistan's first Intersex Educator. She is passionately advocating for health rights of invisible intersex and transgendered population in Pakistani society. This seminar was sponsored by Wajood Society which is a registered community-based organization made for the transgender community in Pakistan. Ms. Bubbli Malik is the CEO of that organization. She had also joined us along with Ms. Aisha Mughal and some other members of the organization.
The seminar was very educational and pointed out the difference between different gender identities and sexual orientations, and the difference between transgender and intersex identities. Dr. Sana Yasir explained various non-binary identities, how to interact with people with non-binary identities without discrimination. The seminar was focused on depathologization of these identities, which means that these identities should not be treated as a disease or a disorder. At the end of the seminar, Dr. Sana Yasir answered a lot of questions by the students and ended the seminar on a positive note.
The seminar proved to be a very fruitful interaction for our young students who will go on to become wonderful psychologists.
Ms. Erum Shakir
2nd April, 2019
An interactive group session was held by Ms. Erum Shakir at National Institute of Psychology on April 2, 2019. The session intended to raise awareness regarding mental health problems faced by youngsters. Ms. Shakir focused that understanding the problem and seeking help from professional can help in effective management of problems.
Ms. Loukia Tsami (MA, BCBA)
26th March, 2019
A seminar regarding Autism and Functional analysis was held at held at NIP on March 26, 2019. Ms. Loukia Tsami highlighted the core symptoms of Autism and shared empirical evidences with participants regarding effectiveness of functional analysis. She focused on the fact that operationally defining the problematic behavior in terms of frequency, duration and intensity is important. It is not merely limited to a single technique, but involves multiple methods for assessment and analyzation of problematic behaviors. Moreover accurate identification of antecedents and consequences can help in modifying the target behaviors. She focused on the fact that functional analysis is based on the process of finding reasons of a particular behavior exhibited by the child. Analyzing the behavior in terms of causes can provide an insight to the child’s world. She also highlighted the importance of effective and early intervention while working with children having Autism. The lecture was followed by an interactive feedback and question answer session.
Tuesday 6th March, 2019
On 6th March, 2019, Dr. Fahad Riaz from the NIP faculty conducted a seminar on drug abuse awareness for NIP students. The title of the seminar was “Substance Abuse Awareness: Develop Basic Understanding about Addiction” and it aimed to enhance the basic understanding of addiction and how drugs effect health and well-being. During the one-hour session the resource person covered several aspects of addiction including what is drug addiction/substance abuse; why do some people become addicted to drugs while others don't; can drug addiction be cured or prevented; factors leading to drug addiction; types/classification of substance/drugs; and preventive strategies and interventions.
Reported by: Ms. Riffat Zahir
Tuesday 23rd October, 2018
Mr. Ali Abid Naqvi from Child Protection and Welfare Bureau visited National Institute of psychology and delivered a lecture on “sensitization regarding preemptive measures and reporting child abuse”. While taking about the incidents of abuse on children who are working as domestic works he emphasize that there is a dire for legislation, so that rights of such children can be protected. He shared his experiences of working and rescuing children who are on streets and involved in begging and other activities. He empathized that it is responsibility of every citizen to report such cases by dialing the helpline that i.e. 1121 that responds 24 hrs. Moreover he shared with students the process of rehabilitation of rescued children where following all the legal procedures custody of child is taken and Bureau works for psychological rehabilitation of the child. He highlighted that Child protection Bureau has a proper system that works for both formal and informal education of the rescued child. He said that they are trying to provide a healthy environment to the rescued children so that they can become a productive member of the society. He encouraged students and faculty members to visit Bureau and work as a volunteer so that better intervention strategies could be designed and implemented for the welfare of rescued children.
Reported by: Ms. Saira Khan
Tuesday 8th May, 2018
Ms. Sheena Sohail from Diocesan Board of Education shared her experiences of working as an educationalist. She shared that she has been delivering motivational lectures all over Pakistan and has worked with leading Institutions. She highlighted the fact that searching meaning and finding purpose of life can help an individual to direct his/her life and be a productive member of society. While interacting with students she focused on importance of self-awareness and creativity. She shared that every individual has different potentials. One needs to recognize his/her own potential and strive for bringing a positive change in community. One needs to work on maintaining his/her individuality. As learning to respect one’s own self can lead to satisfaction and overall better quality of life. One needs to keep the element of hope and optimism intact. She shared that tolerance and acceptance are key for building of societies that are accepting of itself and others.
Reported by: Ms. Saira Khan
In continuation of Autism Awareness, a seminar was conducted at National Institute of Psychology regarding Autism. Ms. Fatima Sarwar (Coordinator, Autism Resource Centre) shared her experiences of working with children having autism. She highlighted the core symptoms of Autism and shared that it is unique in a sense that every child exhibits different symptoms. She has been working with these children since last two years. She introduced the technique of applied behavioral analysis. It has been considered as the most effective technique of working with children having autism. She highlighted the fact that it is important to involve family and teachers for effective intervention.
Autism Resource Centre, is one of the few services available for children having autism in twin cities. It focuses on exclusive education and development of individualized education plans to deal effectively with the problems exhibited by these children. She concluded that though working with these children is challenging but it is important to intervene as early as possible. Early intervention is crucial for better management of problem.
Reported by: Ms. Saira Khan
On April 2, two representatives from Aston University, Birmingham, UK visited NIP. Thomas Austin (Regional Manager) and Muhammad Ali (Business Development) provided an orientation session on collaboration and research opportunities for students. Aston University, which is the 2nd leading university in UK, in the city of Birmingham, which has the highest quality of living outside London, has 80000 students. They have received accreditation from The British Psychological Society as Stage 1 Professional Training. The session was focused on their MSc Health psychology program which is available on campus, and online as well. This program is one of the only two distance-learning courses accredited by The British Psychological Society. They also provide £3500-5000 pounds to students per course. They also informed that other private scholarships are also available and students can seek any information and guidance from them.
Teach for Pakistan, a non-profit company, held an information session at National Institute of Psychology on March 6, 2018. Teach for Pakistan was established in 2010. They recruit and train graduates who then go on to do the two-year Fellowship to teach in low-income schools that lack quality teachers. They are adamant on solving the dire education crisis in Pakistan where almost half the children drop out before even completing primary-level education, and some do not even enroll. Ms. Zahra (Head of Development in Communication), Mr. Zain (Leadership and Training team), and Ms. Rahat (Recruitment team) lead an interaction session informing the student audience regarding their company, Fellowship program, their experiences with children, and the positive impact they’ve had on the lives of those children. They also talked about their Alumni who came from different educational backgrounds and went on to excel in different occupational fields.
