By Afrah Batool
A university’s contribution to society cannot be measured only by the number of degrees it awards. Increasingly, the real test lies in how well it prepares students for a world where academic knowledge, professional skills, creativity, leadership and industry experience are expected to work together.
Recent activities at Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) suggest an institution attempting to strengthen precisely these connections. From a graduate exhibition in graphic design to industry-academia engagement, professional laboratory training, scholarships, student leadership and collaboration with another public university, the initiatives point towards a broader understanding of what higher education should offer.
At the centre of this effort is the student.
The Graphic Design Degree Show 2026, organised by the Department of Graphic Design at the Institute of Design & Visual Arts, provided a particularly visible example. The exhibition, held from September 4 to 6, presented the work of the graduating batch of 2023-2026 and brought together visual communication, research, design thinking and creative practice.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Uzma Quraishi, who was welcomed by Dr Aisha Saddiqa, chairperson of the Department of Graphic Design, along with faculty members, staff and students.
During her visit to the thesis exhibition, the vice chancellor appreciated the students’ visual innovation, creative depth and technical precision. More importantly, she emphasised the need to strengthen links between academia and industry through dedicated platforms, industry seminars and networking opportunities.
The emphasis reflects a growing challenge for universities. A degree may provide the foundation, but it does not necessarily provide an understanding of the workplace. Students entering creative professions, for instance, need to know how ideas are developed for clients, how projects are managed, how markets influence design and how creative work is evaluated outside an academic setting.
For this reason, a degree show can become more than an exhibition. It can serve as a bridge between the university and the professional world.
The same idea was evident in a meeting between LCWU and representatives associated with the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Umar Saleem, founding convener of Industry-Academia Linkages at LCCI, and A.Q. Zeeshan met Prof Dr Uzma Quraishi to discuss ways of taking student projects to industrial platforms.
The vice chancellor welcomed the proposal and encouraged relevant departments to initiate industry-applied projects. The meeting was attended by Registrar Mahmood Ali, Controller of Examinations Afsheen Kashif, Dr Hafsa Batool and Dr Aisha Saddiqa.
Such collaboration can potentially change the way students approach their academic projects. Instead of producing work primarily for assessment, students can work on actual problems identified by businesses and industries. The experience can expose them to professional expectations while allowing industry to benefit from fresh academic perspectives.
For universities, however, engagement with industry should not mean turning education into vocational training alone. The purpose is to create a productive relationship in which academic inquiry and practical needs inform each other.
Professional development was also visible within the university’s own laboratories.
The Jabir Bin Hayyan Chemical Society of the Department of Chemistry organised a one-day hands-on training programme on professional ethics and good laboratory practices for the department’s non-teaching staff.
Held under the leadership of Prof Dr Sadia R. Tariq, the programme included sessions on professional ethics by Dr Mehmoona Riaz, laboratory safety by Dr Rabia Raza, and chemical apparatus, solution preparation and laboratory protocols by Hadiqa Aslam.
The training focused on safe handling, ethical conduct and standard laboratory procedures. Certificates were distributed among participants at the conclusion of the programme.
Such initiatives may not attract the same public attention as exhibitions or high-profile visits, but they are central to the functioning of a modern academic institution. Laboratories depend on safety, discipline and consistency, and professional development cannot be restricted to teaching faculty alone.
Another aspect of university life — access to education — came into focus during the visit of motivational speaker Qasim Ali Shah.
Mr Shah announced 100 additional scholarships, with stipends, for deserving and meritorious students. His association with LCWU dates back several years, when he initiated a scholarship programme in collaboration with Prof Dr Amina Moazam for students of Applied Psychology.
Financial support can be decisive for students who possess academic ability but face economic constraints. Scholarships do more than pay educational expenses; they can allow students to remain enrolled, concentrate on their studies and complete a degree that might otherwise become difficult to sustain.
During the visit, Mr Shah also discussed the possibility of establishing a working group under the supervision of the Governor of Punjab to consider key issues confronting higher education.
The occasion was attended by Prof Dr Faliha Kazmi, Prof Dr Amina Moazam, Dr Afifa Khanam, Registrar Mian Mahmood Ali, Dr Ayesha Siddiquah and Dr Hafsa Batool. The participants appreciated the role of the Qasim Ali Shah Foundation in supporting access to higher education.
If scholarships address the financial barriers to education, student councils address another important requirement: leadership.
The oath-taking ceremony of the Executive Student Council 2026-2027 was held at LCWU’s Syndicate Hall. The vice chancellor administered the oath to the newly appointed council in the presence of university officials responsible for student affairs.
Student councils can provide young people with a practical introduction to responsibility and representation. Leadership learned in such settings is different from leadership discussed in textbooks. It requires communication, negotiation, teamwork and accountability.
For a university educating future professionals, these experiences can be as valuable as formal coursework.
LCWU’s engagement with other universities provides another dimension to this evolving institutional approach.
A delegation of LCWU faculty members recently visited the University of Sargodha to explore possibilities of collaboration and institutional learning. The delegation met Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Qaisar Abbas and reviewed various operational systems, facilities and development projects.
The visitors also examined university projects to understand their planning, execution and management. The interaction provided opportunities for knowledge sharing and for identifying potential areas of academic, administrative and institutional cooperation.
Such exchanges are particularly useful for public-sector universities, which often confront similar challenges but develop different responses to them. Sharing experience can prevent institutions from working in isolation and can encourage the adoption of practices suited to changing educational needs.
Taken together, these activities present a picture of a university seeking to broaden the meaning of education.
The graphic design exhibition represents creativity and professional expression. Industry-academia engagement seeks to connect student work with the marketplace. Laboratory training promotes professional standards. Scholarships attempt to make education more accessible. The student council introduces young people to leadership, while inter-university engagement encourages institutional learning.
The challenge, however, is to turn individual activities into sustained programmes.
Industry partnerships will have greater value if they lead to internships, joint research, mentorship and long-term projects. Degree exhibitions can become regular platforms for interaction with employers and professionals. Scholarships can be expanded to reach more students. Inter-university visits can evolve into faculty exchanges, collaborative research and joint academic programmes.
The success of these efforts will ultimately be judged not by the number of ceremonies held but by their impact on students.
A university’s strongest advertisement is its graduate: the student who enters professional life with confidence, competence and the ability to think independently.
For women students in particular, access to professional networks, industry exposure, leadership opportunities and financial assistance can have consequences extending well beyond the university campus.
The direction emerging from LCWU’s recent activities is therefore significant. It reflects an understanding that higher education must connect the classroom with the world outside it.
The studio, laboratory, industry, student council and other universities can all become extensions of the classroom when they are integrated into a coherent educational strategy.
The degree, in that sense, should not be viewed as the end of a student’s journey. It should mark the beginning of another — one in which knowledge is tested through practice, creativity is transformed into contribution, and education finds its ultimate value in society.
For LCWU, the task ahead is to sustain these connections and make them part of the institution’s everyday academic culture.
That is where the real measure of a university lies: not simply in producing graduates, but in preparing them to participate meaningfully in the world beyond the campus.