NUST Community Service Strategy.pdf - National University of ...

6. Implementation Methodology of CSS: NUST is still learning the art of ‘active citizenry’,social entrepreneurship, and engagement of the community. The concept demands a paradigm shiftin the approach of faculty, staff and students towards life and the society. Knowledge-based societiesand economies work differently, as they know that at the end of the day all new technologies and theirapplication in all fields of life would warrant changes and adjustments in society’s reaction and attitudetowards these changes and keep growing despite the continuously evolving technological, economic,political and military fields.7. NUST, of late has aligned itself to the spirit of time and chalked out a well thought out communityservice framework with the right strategy. However, it is now ready to put the pieces together and weavethem into a coherent fabric. Highlight of some of the measures already taken are appended as Annex-A.Challenges8. Given the enormity of problems facing societies, venturing community service is indeed a formidabletask. In this context main challenges are:• Agreement on common goals, objectives, and threat perception and concord on theresponse to counter the threat and to attain the given objectives• Knowledge and skills required for community mobilization and participation in implementingthe selected course of action• Trust and confidence of the community in the concept of active citizenship and the ability ofthe university faculty, staff and the students in implementing social entrepreneurship• Support of the national institutions like the executive, judiciary and law enforcementagencies to the university’s “active citizens”.Important Considerations9. Nothing works without formal structures and dedicated staff for focus on attaining objectives of aparticular strategy. NUST CSS will be driven by NUST Community Service Club that will have a secretariat,permanent support staff and faculty and student office bearers. In order to prepare all students of NUSTfor community service, the subject will be included as a core subject in the curricula of all the academicprogrammes.510. The key to this whole programme lies in the engagement and participation of the community, whichis a huge challenge in Pakistan. Pakistani people have traditionally looked towards the government and itsinstitutions to resolve their issues. Unfortunately, government institutions are constrained by their capacity,capability and even the resolve to surmount the challenges. Individually, Pakistanis can compete with thebest in the world in their field, but as a community, they find it very difficult to create synergy.11. Pakistani citizens have responded well to the rescue and relief of people affected by natural disasterslike the Earthquake of 2005, in which more than 73000 people lost their lives and the devastating floodsof 2010 that displaced about 20 million people with fatalities reaching close to 2000. It was during the2010 floods and the Swat refugees of 2009 that NUST Community mobilized to help the affectees of thetwo calamities. Faculty, students, their relatives, alumni and philanthropists trusted NUST institutionsin their relief efforts. The responses corresponded to the level of challenge confronting them. Naturaland man-made calamities make human misery so pronounced that communities are compelled by theirhumanitarian spirit to respond. The responses to calamities are limited in time, space and the nature/scopeof relief effort. But community response to long term challenges having less intense but more damagingNUST Community Service Strategy