Yasser Hashmi

Dean Student Affairs
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Department of Humanities & Social Sciences

Mr. Yasser Hashmi is currently the Dean of Student Affairs at LUMS and has been associated with LUMS for the last 20 years since December 1998. He is also the Assistant Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and teaches subjects such as Cognitive Psychology at the Undergraduate level. He completed his Postgraduate in Psychology from the University College London McGill University Canada in the year 1998. His publications include; ‘Effective Teaching of Science and Mathematics’. His research interests include how children learn Science and Mathematics, psychological errors and reasoning. He has a passion for trekking, listening to an eclectic blend of music such as Classical, European, Pakistani and he enjoys a good book whenever he finds a moment of solitude.

He is known to always be readily available for his students and staff and believes in motivating people to be the best version of themselves. He shared his views with us on the NOP Scholarship and how much it means to him.

“I believe the NOP is a very interesting and challenging programme which fulfills the true vision of LUMS which is to identify the most capable students and transform their lives dramatically.”

I want to urge both prospective as well as current NOP Scholars at LUMS to dream big, to fulfill your potential to its maximum, whether you do this at LUMS, or you do it at any other university; whether you do it during your Undergraduate level or for the rest of your professional career. Be prepared to be challenged, be prepared to show hard work and perseverance because that is what fulfilling your potential demands. That is what success in life demands.

However, it must be stated that allowing students from every walk of life to achieve that potential would not have been possible without Donor Support. LUMS works tirelessly to garner funds for the NOP and we have been generously aided by many of our partners. All tertiary education comes at a very high cost with multiple factors affecting the balance sheets of educational organizations. In government institutions, it is blanketed by subsidies but in private institutions the true cost shows itself. Donors are hence, essential in supporting this programme.

The programme in itself has created ripples of positive influences on its stakeholders. In my view, there are two major impacts the NOP Scholarship is creating. The first impact is on the scholars themselves who find themselves in a very different part of life, than where they started off. This is challenging sometimes but it is rewarding as well and it takes a lot out of people, it molds them to become the best version of themselves.

The second and equally important impact is on the scholars who are not NOPs but are studying with the NOP Scholars. It shows them what the obligations of citizenship are in a developing country that is trying to move towards becoming a developed country. A country that we would all like Pakistan to be in the future. It shows them the fantastic quality of students who are just looking for the right kind of support to reach their full potential. It shows them that it is their duty as citizens, to broadly copy this programme across Pakistani universities. LUMS is just a drop in the ocean and institutions need to reach out to the ocean.

I would like to conclude by saying that I firmly believe countries that make it are the countries that learn to foster and nurture the human potential in themselves. And in this, LUMS is hoping to play a leadership role and set an example for others to follow. The faculty of LUMS, many of them are trained in foreign lands and have come back to Pakistan with this very motivation that they will pass on what they have learnt to the generation of deserving students. This is what the NOP is hoping to do, creating a chain of highly educate professionals paying back to the communities they come from.