Dr. Sohail Naqvi

Academic and CEO of Knowledge Streams

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Dr. Sohail Naqvi is the CEO of Knowledge Streams, which focuses on Pakistan's youth and their potential. Naqvi was Vice Chancellor of LUMS and founding rector of the University of Central Asia. He was also associated with HEC from 2002 to 2012.

Early life and background

Dr. Sohail Naqvi was born in Wah Cantt and was one of six siblings. His father was a mechanical engineer who worked as an oil and gas engineer on North Sea oil rigs. Naqvi comes from a line of engineers across generations. He left home at about age eleven and then spent five years in a hostel, going home only to visit. [1]

Education

Naqvi completed FSC at Hasan Abdal and chose electrical engineering as his discipline. He applied to several engineering universities and was admitted to Purdue University, a highly ranked public university with affordable tuition. He began his studies there in 1981 and finished his degree in about three and a half years, in 1984. [1]

He and his sister went to Spain. He described the Spanish course as immersive, with no other language used, and he entered it directly at the intermediate level. [1]

Naqvi applied to MIT and Columbia, and MIT did not admit him. Columbia admitted him but offered no financial aid. He stayed at Purdue because it was ranked in the top ten for engineering. [1]

His PhD research was on electromagnetic wave diffraction. He did not plan to stop after his bachelor's degree, because he enjoyed studying, and he went straight from a bachelor's degree into a master's and then a PhD. He completed his PhD four years after his bachelor's degree. After he scored 99 in a very difficult course, the professor who became his advisor invited him to work with him and gave him a scholarship and stipend as a research assistant. [1]

Research and early academic career

Naqvi was offered a job at General Electric's labs in northern New York and an academic post at the University of New Mexico. He chose academia because he enjoyed university research and working with people. He became a tenured associate professor. [1]

A research centre was formed in which the research from his PhD became directly applicable. He said the research created a new field of measurement. The new field is called scatterometry. He was the theoretician and worked with an experimentalist colleague who has since died. The device used laser light to measure ultra-small structures manufactured inside chips. [1]

Naqvi and colleagues created a company with their graduate students and commercialised the work. He described the commercialisation as a success, and he and others sold that company. He said the rest of his career took place in Pakistan, except for one year when he went back. [1]

GIK Institute

Naqvi had a persistent wish to return to Pakistan. He learned of the new GIK Institute and chose to take a sabbatical there. The chance to build a new institution with like-minded people drew him in. At GIK he rose from associate professor to head of department to full professor. He was at GIK for five years and remained until 2000, while governance problems were emerging there. [1]

Enabling Technologies

In Islamabad, Naqvi became involved with Enabling Technologies. He said the chip was designed in Pakistan and manufactured in Taiwan. He said the telecom bust stopped the company's wider plans, though the chip was built. He was at Enabling Technologies for about a year and a half. [1]

HEC

Naqvi served as Executive Director of HEC and says he helped start it. He was associated with HEC from 2002 to 2012. He says HEC's role was supportive and facilitative. [1]

He said the Pakistan Education Research Network was created to address the lack of internet. He says HEC received 100 million dollars in World Bank funding, followed by a 300 million dollar project. He said HEC required a PhD in order to teach. [1]

Knowledge Streams

The name Streams is plural because the plan was to start with IT and then move into other fields. Naqvi says the model is built to expand into fields such as agriculture and medicine. He describes the programme as skill-based education focused on employment. [1]

He said soft skills, as they are called in Pakistan, are a core part of the programme. The programme started in January with 31 people representing 15 universities, with two companies supplying trainees. He said trainees had gaps in their learning and problems with fundamentals, which the programme worked on. The boot camp runs for three months. [1]

The programme is demand driven, with instructors drawn from industry. He said the programme took the best curriculum available in the world. Its success metric is the employment trainees get and how quickly they get it. The programme set up knowledge partners on the demand side and university alliance partners on the supply side, and it has partnerships with NetSol and many other software companies. He said companies were asked to provide projects, because trainees work on them in the final two weeks. [1]

Views

Naqvi disagrees that the quality of Pakistan's academia has declined, citing the numbers. He says the link between academia and industry is broken in many fields. He said Pakistani universities are full of talent, and asked where that talent would go. He said a control problem sometimes arises when a new person takes charge, and the work then does not go forward. He says a world-class institution was built in Pakistan, a pattern repeated many times. [1]

He disagrees that academia is a thankless profession. He said students in Pakistan do not know why they are doing their work. He says young people perform better when they are given trust and faith, and he said he would hand students the exam and leave for his office. His rule when choosing between people is to pick the younger one. He said the flat world is reality and says the country will evolve through its youth. [1]

Personal life

Naqvi married during the final year of his PhD. He and his wife had a son and a daughter in New Mexico. All of his brothers are in the US, working for top tech companies. [1]

Timeline

1981
Began his studies at Purdue University.[1]
1984
Finished his degree at Purdue.[1]
2000
Remained at GIK until this year.[1]
2002
Became associated with HEC, an association he said lasted until 2012.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-05-05 Pakistan's exports problem has one easy fix: IT Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Dr. Sohail Naqvi?

Dr. Sohail Naqvi is the CEO of Knowledge Streams, which focuses on Pakistan's youth and their potential. He was Vice Chancellor of LUMS and founding rector of the University of Central Asia.[1]

What does Dr. Sohail Naqvi do?

Dr. Sohail Naqvi is the CEO of Knowledge Streams. He describes the programme as skill-based education focused on employment.[1]

Where did Dr. Sohail Naqvi study?

Dr. Sohail Naqvi applied to several engineering universities and was admitted to Purdue University. He began his studies there in 1981 and finished his degree in 1984. His PhD research was on electromagnetic wave diffraction.[1]

Where is Dr. Sohail Naqvi from?

Dr. Sohail Naqvi was born in Wah Cantt. He left home at about age eleven and then spent five years in a hostel, going home only to visit.[1]

What is Knowledge Streams?

Knowledge Streams is led by Dr. Sohail Naqvi, who is its CEO. It focuses on Pakistan's youth and their potential. Its campus is in Lahore, a 30,000 square foot facility.[1]

What is Dr. Sohail Naqvi known for?

Dr. Sohail Naqvi is known as the CEO of Knowledge Streams and as a former Vice Chancellor of LUMS. He was also founding rector of the University of Central Asia. He said his research created a new field of measurement called scatterometry.[1]

What was Dr. Sohail Naqvi's role at HEC?

Dr. Sohail Naqvi served as Executive Director of HEC and says he helped start it. He was associated with HEC from 2002 to 2012.[1]

What did Dr. Sohail Naqvi do at GIK Institute?

Dr. Sohail Naqvi chose to take a sabbatical at the new GIK Institute. There he rose from associate professor to head of department to full professor. He was at GIK for five years.[1]

References

  1. Pakistan's exports problem has one easy fix: IT . Thought Behind Things , 2023-05-05.
Show the source passages (95 statements)
  1. Dr. Sohail Naqvi is the CEO of Knowledge Streams. Dr. Sohail Naqvi is the CEO of Knowledge Streams.
  2. He was born in Wah Cantt. main bahut hi kareeb idhar paida hua tha, Wah Cantt ah mein.
  3. He was one of six siblings. kyunki hum cheh behan bhai the aur padhana sabko ah tha
  4. His father was a mechanical engineer. maine walid sahab se poocha ji aap kaun se engineer? Unhone kaha mechanical.
  5. His father was an oil and gas engineer who worked on North Sea oil rigs. Woh ah North ah Sea mein. He was an oil and gas engineer to udhar oil rigs ke upar ah the.
  6. He comes from a line of engineers across generations. main pusht dar pusht engineer hoon.
  7. He left home at about age eleven. main to kehta hoon ke main to saade gyarah saal ki umar mein ghar se nikal gaya tha.
  8. He then spent five years in a hostel, going home only to visit. we were in hostel to phir hum ghar sirf visit karne ke liye ah jaya karte the aur paanch saal ah udhar the
  9. He completed FSC at Hasan Abdal. Hasan Abdal se main ah FSC karke nikla
  10. He chose electrical engineering as his discipline. Maine kaha chalo main electrical banta hoon bas.
  11. He applied to several engineering universities and was admitted to Purdue University. saari engineering universities ko ah apply ah kiya tha to uske andar Purdue University mein mera ah dakhla hua.
  12. Purdue was a highly ranked public university with affordable tuition. Yeh ah top rank thi jiske andar mera ah dakhla hua tha and also yeh public university hai ah engineering ki. It's a land grant institution. To iski jo tuition fees thi woh bhi badi ah munasib thi.
  13. He began his studies at Purdue in 1981. January mein mera ah semester shuru ho gaya udhar 81 mein
  14. He finished his degree in about three and a half years, in 1984. maine saade teen saal mein khatam ki kyunki jo Spanish ki thi uska credit mil gaya. Achha. To ah 84 mein usko khatam kiya.
  15. He and his sister went to Spain. To meri behan aur main jo hai hum Spain chale gaye.
  16. He describes the Spanish course as immersive, with no other language used. woh immersive thi. In the sense ke unhone kabhi kisi aur zaban ka lafz bola hi nahi.
  17. He entered the Spanish course directly at the intermediate level. Hum uth ke chale gaye intermediate mein. To seedhe intermediate mein chhalang maari
  18. He applied to MIT and Columbia, and MIT did not admit him. MIT maine apply kiya tha ah and ah Columbia. Ah MIT mein nahi hua dakhla.
  19. Columbia admitted him but offered no financial aid. Ah Columbia mein mujhe aid nahi mili. Dakhla ah to hua lekin financial aid to zaroori thi.
  20. He stayed at Purdue because it was ranked in the top ten for engineering. then I stayed at Purdue because Purdue is ah top 10 ranked in engineering
  21. His PhD research was on electromagnetic wave diffraction. Ah meri research hai electromagnetic wave diffraction mein.
  22. He completed his PhD four years after his bachelor's degree. It took me four years ah after the bachelor's degree to complete my PhD.
  23. He did not plan to stop after his bachelor's degree, because he enjoyed studying. maine master's ke ah matlab bachelor's ke baad rukne ka nahi socha. Mujhe shauq tha ah padhne ka.
  24. He went straight from a bachelor's degree into a master's and then a PhD. Uske baad main phir Straight up into a master's. Straight up master's, PhD seedha main wohi karta raha.
  25. After he scored 99 in a very difficult course, the professor who became his advisor invited him to work with him and gave him a scholarship and stipend as a research assistant. mere 99 aaye. Right. Aur uski average pata nahi kya thi. It was a very difficult course. To mere jo advisor jo professor tha usne kaha tum mere saath aa ke kaam karo. So he gave me ah a scholarship and a stipend and I became a research assistant.
  26. He was offered a job at General Electric's labs in northern New York and an academic post at the University of New Mexico. mujhe ah GE, General Electric Labs ah mein Northern ah New York mein unki ek badi labs hain. Usmein job offer ah hui thi aur ek academia academia ki ah job thi jo ke University of New Mexico ah mein thi.
  27. He chose academia because he enjoyed university research and working with people. to mujhe shauq tha ah to be in university, research, logon ke saath kaam karna.
  28. A research centre was formed in which the research from his PhD became directly applicable. To uski research ka ek center bana to uske andar phir jo maine research ah ki hui thi apni PhD mein woh directly applicable ho gayi
  29. He became a tenured associate professor. I became a tenured associate ah professor ah bante hain.
  30. He said the research created a new field of measurement. it actually created a new field of measurement.
  31. The new field is called scatterometry. It's called scatterometry.
  32. He was the theoretician and worked with an experimentalist colleague who has since died. Aur ah mera ek ah saathi tha marhoom ab to faut ho gaya ah Bob Mcneil. Ah woh experimentalist tha. Right. Aur main ah theoretician tha.
  33. The device used laser light to measure ultra-small structures manufactured inside chips. Yeh laser light se we used to measure ultra small structures jo ke chip ke andar manufacture ho rahe hote hain.
  34. He and colleagues created a company with their graduate students and commercialised the work. We ah ah created a company with our graduate ah students. Ah isko humne phir ah commercialize kiya.
  35. He described the commercialisation as a success. Ah isko humne phir ah commercialize kiya. To woh ek ah success ah thi
  36. He and others sold that company. We sold that company at that time.
  37. He said the rest of his career took place in Pakistan, except for one year when he went back. After that, the entire journey was in Pakistan except for one year jab main wapis gaya
  38. He married during the final year of his PhD. Main ah aakhri saal jo PhD ka tha wohi jo maine aapko zikr kiya ke apne father-in-law ko main explain kar raha tha electromagnetic wave diffraction to usmein usmein ah hamari shadi ah ho gayi thi.
  39. He and his wife had a son and a daughter in New Mexico. two years later we had our first son. He was born ah there and then our daughter was born ah over there in New Mexico.
  40. He had a persistent wish to return to Pakistan. dil mein ek sort of rehta hai na ki yaar nahi Pakistan wapis jana hai.
  41. He learned of the new GIK Institute and chose to take a sabbatical there. To phir mujhe pata chala ki ek GIK institute ban raha hai aur woh balki ban chuka hai to maine kaha ki chalo sabbatical lete hain.
  42. The chance to build a new institution with like-minded people drew him in. there was a great, you know, fervor, like-minded people ki humne ek naya institution banana hai. So that sort of sucked me in.
  43. At GIK he rose from associate professor to head of department to full professor. GIK mein I started as associate professor, then I became head of department, then full professor.
  44. He was at GIK for five years. GIK mein main paanch saal tha.
  45. He remained at GIK until 2000, while governance problems were emerging there. Aur usme 2000 tak tha aur udhar matlab governance ke problems aa rahe the
  46. In Islamabad he became involved with Enabling Technologies. Haan Islamabad mein phir ek aur interesting cheez ki wahan pe ek company mein involve ho gaya called Enabling Technologies.
  47. He said the chip was designed in Pakistan and manufactured in Taiwan. Usko idhar design kiya gaya, Taiwan mein manufacture kiya gaya and usko demonstrate kiya gaya ki yeh chalti hai.
  48. He said the telecom bust stopped the company's wider plans, though the chip was built. lekin uske sath hi global halaat is tarah hue ki woh telecom ka bust aaya aur saare matlab woh jitne hamare ideas the woh woh reh gaye lekin cheez humne bana di.
  49. He was at Enabling Technologies for about a year and a half. I was there for about a year and a half.
  50. He served as Executive Director of HEC and says he helped start it. I was the Executive Director. HEC ko shuru karne mein mera haath tha.
  51. He was associated with HEC from 2002 to 2012. Shuru hi se jab HEC bana 2002 mein, udhar se leke 2012 tak I was associated with HEC.
  52. He says HEC's role was supportive and facilitative. So HEC ka jo kaam tha was entirely supportive, facilitative.
  53. He said the Pakistan Education Research Network was created to address the lack of internet. Agar internet nahi hai to Pakistan Education Research Network banaya, teachers nahi hain to scholarships
  54. He says HEC received 100 million dollars in World Bank funding, followed by a 300 million dollar project. then we got you know World Bank funding, unhone pehle 100 million dollars diye and that project then was ranked among the highest performing projects of the World Bank. Phir uske baad 300 million dollars ka agla project hua.
  55. He said the ideas were their own and that experts were invited to critique the work. Lekin khushi yeh thi ki jo jo cheez thi na woh hamari thi. Humne banayi, hamare ideas the. Humne experts ko bulaya, unhone usko critique kiya
  56. He disagrees that the quality of Pakistan's academia has declined, citing the numbers. is baat se to main bilkul ittefaq nahi karunga because the numbers do not support ki Pakistan ki academia ki quality jo hai na woh kam ho gayi.
  57. He says the link between academia and industry is broken in many fields. Bahut si aisi fields hain jahan pe hamara academia aur industry ka jo hai na naata woh toota hua hai.
  58. He said Pakistani universities are full of talent, and asked where that talent would go. Quality hai aur is waqt to hamare paas bhara pada hai talent hamari universities ke andar. Lekin usko woh jaye kidhar?
  59. He said a control problem sometimes arises when a new person takes charge, and the work then does not go forward. Uske baad kahin mau koi aisa aata hai jahan pe ek control ka masla aa jata hai and somebody comes over who takes charge and then you know, it doesn't go forward.
  60. He says a world-class institution was built in Pakistan, a pattern repeated many times. We created a world-class institution in in Pakistan and that has been repeated many times over.
  61. He said HEC required a PhD in order to teach. because HEC ki requirement thi ki PhD karke padhao to bas humne woh karke padhana shuru kar diya.
  62. Knowledge Streams focuses on Pakistan's youth and their potential. So um ismein jo focus hai na, wo hamari hamari youth hai aur uska potential hai.
  63. The name Streams is plural because the plan was to start with IT and then move into other fields. humne iska jo naam streams rakha, wo plural ek wajah se rakha. Humne kaha shuru karenge IT se. Right. Uske baad hum dusri fields mein jayenge.
  64. He says the model is built to expand into fields such as agriculture and medicine. Evolution is built in, the expansion is built in. Hum agriculture mein ja sakte hain, hum medicine mein ja sakte hain, hum isko evolve kar sakte hain.
  65. He said soft skills, as they are called in Pakistan, are a core part of the programme. Pakistan mein hum usko soft skills kehte hain, wo bahut core hissa hota hai uska.
  66. The programme started in January with 31 people representing 15 universities, with two companies supplying trainees. January mein humne usko kiya with two companies, Emblem Technologies aur EMPG ne humein trainees diye and 31 people we started with that. 15 universities ko represent kar rahe the.
  67. He said trainees had gaps in their learning and problems with fundamentals, which the programme worked on. Gaps the unki learning mein. There was problems with fundamentals. We worked with them.
  68. He says young people perform better when they are given trust and faith. Give that faith to that young people, phir dekhein wo kaisa perform karte hain.
  69. He said he would hand students the exam and leave for his office. Main to unko exam de ke chala jaata tha apne daftar mein.
  70. The Knowledge Streams campus is in Lahore, a 30,000 square foot facility. Lahore mein campus hai. It's a 30,000 square foot facility.
  71. The Lahore facility can run two sessions a day with 360 trainees in each. Uske andar hum do sessions kar sakte hain din mein aur 360 trainees in each session.
  72. He plans to take the programme nationwide across multiple cities. aur irada ye hai ki isko hum nation-wide leke jayein.
  73. The programme's success metric is the employment trainees get and how quickly they get it. Humne apna ek success metric rakha. Hamare jo trainees graduate karke unko kis qisam ki employment milti hai, kitni jaldi milti hai.
  74. The programme is demand driven, with instructors drawn from industry. So it is all demand driven. Instructors hamare industries se aa rahe hain.
  75. He said the programme took the best curriculum available in the world. Curriculum jo hai humne jo world's best curriculum available hai, usko liya.
  76. He describes the programme as skill-based education focused on employment. So yeh yeh skill based education hai, iska focus skills hai aur iska focus hai employment.
  77. He said the flat world is reality. So woh flat world jo hai na woh reality hai.
  78. The first batch was due to start on 5 June, with 12 specialisations. Pehla batch jo hai woh 5th June ko and we will have 12 different specializations.
  79. He says the application takes five to ten minutes. Mere khayal mein koi 5 se 10 minute application process.
  80. The programme has partnerships with NetSol and many other software companies. Toh NetSol ho gaya, Arbisoft ho gaya, Imamba, many many different software companies, unke saath partnership ki hai
  81. The programme set up knowledge partners on the demand side and university alliance partners on the supply side. Jo hain humne ek system shuru kiya ke demand side pe knowledge partners banaye aur supply side pe university alliance partners banaye.
  82. He said companies were asked to provide projects, because trainees work on them in the final two weeks. dusra yeh ke humein projects dein kyunke aakhri do hafte mein unke projects ke upar kaam karenge yeh log.
  83. He says the country will evolve through its youth. I see the country evolving by or through its youth.
  84. His rule when choosing between people is to pick the younger one. Maine kaha yaar meri zindagi mein jo hai na usool yeh raha hai, choose the younger one.
  85. He disagrees that academia is a thankless profession. Main sirf ikhtilaf karunga kyunke jo students ki jo mohabbat hoti hai aur jo logon ki jo izzat hai, it is worth more than anything in the world.
  86. He was Vice Chancellor of LUMS. I do believe you were the Vice Chancellor at LUMS once upon a time as well. Yes.
  87. He spent five years at LUMS. Then I was at LUMS for 5 years.
  88. Between academic posts he did international consulting for the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. Beech mein there was some time when I was doing consulting, main international consulting kar raha tha, Asian Development Bank ke liye, World Bank ke liye.
  89. He carried out an assessment of a higher education system in Central Asia. kyunki maine Central Asia mein I was doing an assessment of their higher education system.
  90. After LUMS he became founding rector of the University of Central Asia. I completed my tenure and then went on to become the founding rector of this University of Central Asia
  91. He and his wife lived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for four years. my wife and I were there in Bishkek for 4 years.
  92. All of his brothers are in the US, working for top tech companies. All of my brothers are in the US, they are all working for top tech companies.
  93. He said students in Pakistan do not know why they are doing their work. hamare yahan bache ko ye pata nahi hota ki wo kaam kar raha hai to kyun kar raha hai.
  94. He said an experiential platform must be built for this. Ye is cheez ke liye humein zaroori hai ki hum ek you know ek experiential platform banayein.
  95. The boot camp runs for three months. aap 3 mahine ke boot camp mein aap nikhar sakte hain.