Lahore University of Management and Science-Pakistan Joins the Partnership
By Whitney Pailman and Nomanesi Makhonco, 31st May
Dr Naveed Arshad from the Lahore University of Management and Science (LUMS) in Pakistan, shares about their new Masters pogramme and joining the partnership.
LUMS School of Science and Engineering
Phase 2 of the Transforming Energy Access Learning Partnership (TEA-LP) marks the exciting expansion of the partnership into South Asia and the Indo-Pacific. Dr Arshad from LUMS in Pakistan, one of our new Indo-Pacific partners, elaborates on the exciting new Master’s programme to be launched later in 2023, and the pragmatism offered in the new TEA-LP course ‘Local Solutions for Energy Access’.
Could you please give us a brief background to your Master’s programme into which the new TEA-LP courses will be incorporated?
We don’t have (many) Power Electric professionals in Pakistan, who can help the off-grid companies that are setting up. We realized that there was a gap and we carried out surveys within industry, which verified our hypothesis. In order to fill that gap, we are offering this program, starting Fall of 2023 this year. The program is targeted at people who already have degrees, for example, in Electrical Engineering. Others that are working at companies already, can come and brush up their knowledge, learn new tools and technologies. This is a Master’s program, so you need to have an undergrad preparation. We are targeting professionals, but it is also aimed at people who are fresh graduates.
Which TEA-LP courses you have selected to take up in your Masters Programme?
We applied for the ‘Local Solutions for Energy Access’ course.
How do you think this course will benefit students who enrol for the degree programme?
The MSc Curriculum that we are offering is a typical curriculum that is offered anywhere in the Power Energy Master’s program. Most of the courses are critical courses which talk about theory. But I think the pragmatism of the courses from TEA-LP is the most important part; these courses will add to the practical side of things. The pragmatic aspects are what the students will appreciate.
How do you plan to customise the TEA-LP courses? Which contextual elements do you wish to embed?
We have been doing research in local access to energy. We have a pilot deployment of microgrids, DC microgrids, that our university has developed. These micro-grids are scalable, so you can connect them like Lego blocks. We also have another start-up in Pakistan that works on swappable batteries. They are currently being used in the transportation sector, but they can easily be extended to other use cases.
We would like to share our experiences and the technology, and we can learn from what others are doing in their respective countries and communities.
Do you foresee any challenges with teaching materials needed etc and how do you plan to overcome these?
Theory is one thing, and then the lab is another. More importantly we would like to give the students an idea of how such problems can be solved. Working with TEA-LP universities will give us the necessary knowledge, information sharing and some practical demonstration. I think, the financial model is equally important. How can you maintain these systems and how can you scale them.
What do you most look forward to by joining the TEA-LP?
Being part of the network is the number one thing we are looking forward to. By being part of the LUMS Energy Institute, one of the leading institutes and centers in Pakistan, not only can we learn about these opportunities, but the goal is to be an ambassador of this network in our own country.
Would you consider collaboration within the TEA-LP for example, sharing teaching ideas or having guest lectures at other TEA-LP universities through online platforms?
Yes, of course. All the lecture slides and material are already available, and we can definitely share it with other universities. Our university is an open-source university. They share everything. Anybody internationally can use our resources.
