The dark recesses of the human mind

KARACHI: “Ladies you have come a long way,” Professor Dr Najma Najam told participants at the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop.

The two-day workshop, titled ‘Women in World Neuroscience’, is being held at the ICCBS Auditorium in Karachi University to commemorate the graduation of the first batch of students from the HEJ Centre.

Dr Najam, the vice-chancellor of University of Karakoram, narrated memoirs from her student life abroad, where she received her doctorate. She urged women scientists to come forward and walk shoulder to shoulder with men.

Panellists also mentioned the brilliance of Hannah Iqbal, an HEJ centre student who is going to represent Pakistan in an international conference in Switzerland.

Nadra Panjwani, one of the main donors of the Panjwani Centre of Research, emphasized the need to make science “fun” for the youth. She highlighted the fact that out of the 300 Nobel prizes in science, only 10 were received by women. “We must remove the many obstacles from their [women’s] path,” she said.

Panjwani expressed alarm at the growing rate of neurological disorders in the country and stressed the need to gather data in this area.

“We have less than 200 neurologists for a population of one million,” she pointed out.

According to another speaker, Iqbal Choudhry, “Neuroscience is a field in which we plan on achieving international excellence.” He informed the audience about the affiliation of the HEJ research centre with international science hubs such as the University of Hamburg and Maxtaba Centre, where students are also sent for PhDs and further training.

The main guest for the event was Attaur Rehman, chief patron of ICCBS, who talked about his “love affair with science”. He informed the audience that the HEJ institute had managed 200 publications in a span of six years.

Referring to various scientific inventions such as a flying car and a thought-controlled wheelchair, he welcomed budding scientists to the “wondrous world of science”.

“The future of the country does not lie in building roads and bridges, but in investing in the youth,” he concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2010.