University <strong>of</strong> Leicester <strong>of</strong>fers Pr<strong>of</strong>. <strong>Dr</strong>. Qasim JanHonorary Degree <strong>of</strong> Doctor <strong>of</strong> ScienceThe University <strong>of</strong> Leicester, UK has <strong>of</strong>fered theHonorary Degree <strong>of</strong> Doctor <strong>of</strong> Science to Pr<strong>of</strong>. <strong>Dr</strong>.M. Qasim Jan, HI for his contributions to geologicalscience and science administration. He will receivethe degree in the July 2013 convocation <strong>of</strong> theUniversity.The readers may be interested to know thatPr<strong>of</strong>. <strong>Dr</strong>. Qasim Jan has also received an HonoraryDegree <strong>of</strong> DSc from King's College, London in 2009.<strong>Dr</strong>. G. Sarwar Gilani earnsThe Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee <strong>Medal</strong>and Fakhar-e-<strong>Pakistan</strong> Award<strong>Dr</strong>. G. Sarwar Gilani, a Foreign Fellow <strong>of</strong> PAS, hasbeen conferred a very prestigious award, “TheQueen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee <strong>Medal</strong>” by theGovernment <strong>of</strong> Ontario.The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee <strong>Medal</strong>was created to mark the 60th anniversary <strong>of</strong> HerMajesty's accession to the throne and is a tangibleway for Canada to hono<strong>ur</strong> Her Majesty for herservices to this country. At the same time, it servesto hono<strong>ur</strong> outstanding Ontarians, for theirdedicated service to their peers, community andprovince.For the past 38 years, <strong>Dr</strong>. G. Sarwar Gilani hasbeen an exemplary community worker, promotingcross-cult<strong>ur</strong>al understanding <strong>of</strong> <strong>Pakistan</strong>i heritageand Islamic cult<strong>ur</strong>e and implementing theprinciples <strong>of</strong> racial equality among Canadians and inCanadian institutions.To celebrate his remarkable contributions toCanada and <strong>Pakistan</strong>, the executive council <strong>of</strong> theCanada-<strong>Pakistan</strong> Association <strong>of</strong> the NationalCapital Region, presented the Fakahar-e-<strong>Pakistan</strong>Award to <strong>Dr</strong>. G. Sarwar Gilani.<strong>Dr</strong>. G. Sarwar Gilani receiving theQueen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee <strong>Medal</strong><strong>Dr</strong>. G. Sarwar Gilani receiving theFakahar-e-<strong>Pakistan</strong> Award8
Second National Phycological Conference“Algae for Mankind”Pr<strong>of</strong>. <strong>Dr</strong>. Mustafa Shameel organized Second presentations and several models were displayed inNational Phycological Conference under the title an exhibition, where different products made from“Algae for Mankind” at Department <strong>of</strong> Botany, algae were also exhibited and a variety <strong>of</strong> dishesUniversity <strong>of</strong> Karachi d<strong>ur</strong>ing 15-17 October, <strong>2012</strong>. prepared from seaweeds by the students were atThe Conference was inaug<strong>ur</strong>ated by Pr<strong>of</strong>. <strong>Dr</strong>. the disposal <strong>of</strong> the participants to taste. In theMuhammad Qaiser, Vice-Chancellor <strong>of</strong> the closing session, phycologists made valuableUniversity. Phycologists were invited from suggestions, expressed their opinion for thePeshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, improvement <strong>of</strong> techniques and methodologies andQuetta, Jamshoro and different universities, discussed their research problems. On the 3rd day, ainstitutes, colleges and research organizations <strong>of</strong> full day exc<strong>ur</strong>sion trip was made initially to the shoreKarachi. D<strong>ur</strong>ing 1st two days 3 plenary lect<strong>ur</strong>es and <strong>of</strong> Sandspit to visit WWF Wetland Centre in the34 oral presentations were delivered in 6 technical midst <strong>of</strong> mangroves and then to the seacoast <strong>of</strong>s e s s i o n s o n f re s h w a t e r a l ga e , m a r i n e Goth Haji Ali at Buleji to witness the growth <strong>of</strong>phytoplankton, seaweeds, marine fungi and seaweeds in nat<strong>ur</strong>e.nematodes and mangroves. Also, five posterR to L: <strong>Dr</strong>. Ehsan Elahi Valeem, <strong>Dr</strong>. Muhammad Afzal Rizvi, <strong>Dr</strong>. Muhammad Javed Zaki, <strong>Dr</strong>. Mudassir Asrar,<strong>Dr</strong>. Aliya Rehman, <strong>Dr</strong>. Muhammad Qaiser (VC), <strong>Dr</strong>. Moinuddin Ahmad, <strong>Dr</strong>. Mustafa Shameel, <strong>Dr</strong>. GhazalaYasmeen Butt, <strong>Dr</strong>. S. M. Saifullah, Mr. Masud-ul-Hasan, and <strong>Dr</strong>. Shahida HasnainFinland and South Korea Top the Learning C<strong>ur</strong>veAccording to the Learning C<strong>ur</strong>ve report, whichincludes tertiary graduation rates in its methodology,the UK sits sixth in the list <strong>of</strong> education superpowers,behind Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. The USAranked 17.The global study, carried out by the EconomistIntelligence Unit and published by Pearson, draws onexisting data from international organizations, as wellas fig<strong>ur</strong>es on literacy rates, school attendance, anduniversity graduation rates.In the education attainment category, which isbased solely on literacy and graduation rates fromboth school and higher education institutions, the UKjumps to second overall, behind South Korea. Finland,Poland and Ireland complete the top five.The report suggests that promoting a cult<strong>ur</strong>e thatis supportive <strong>of</strong> education is more important than theamount <strong>of</strong> money invested, while high-qualityteaching is seen as the most crucial factor in sec<strong>ur</strong>inggood educational outcomes.In the study, Robert Schwartz, Francisa Keppelpr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> practice in educational policy andadministration at the Harvard Graduate School <strong>of</strong>Education, criticizes some countries for tailoring theireducation system too strongly towards producingtertiary graduatesSo<strong>ur</strong>ce: Pick <strong>of</strong> the Week, Islamic World <strong>Academy</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Sciences</strong>Co<strong>ur</strong>tesy: Pr<strong>of</strong>. <strong>Dr</strong>. M. D. Shami9