Tag: Cambridge University

  • Nawaz Sharif watches grandson play polo for Cambridge University

    Nawaz Sharif watches grandson play polo for Cambridge University

    Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended a polo match at the Guards Polo Club to watch his grandson and Maryam Nawaz’s son Junaid Safdar play the prestigious annual Oxford versus Cambridge Varsity Match.

    The match was won by Oxford in the end. Junaid’s horse was awarded the ‘Best Playing Pony’ Award as he scored all three goals for his side.

    The Oxford versus Cambridge Varsity match was also played by Prince Charles during his time at Cambridge.

    It’s believed that Junaid Safdar is only the second Pakistani to have played this match for the Cambridge team after Supreme Court Judge Justice Yahya Afridi, who studied in Cambridge and played a match for the same team during his student years.

    Nawaz Sharif can be seen in pictures sitting with his grandson Zayed Hussain, son of Hussain Nawaz Sharif, in the polo ground.

    Junaid has graduated from Durham University with first-class honours in politics and obtained another master’s degree from University College London in 2017.

  • Pakistani space scientist Dr Yarjan wins Young Leaders Award 2020

    Pakistan’s first-ever space scientist, who hails from Buleda, Balochistan, Dr Yarjan Abdul Samad has been awarded the prestigious Young Leaders Award 2020 for his exceptional research work in the field of space science.

    Read more – Pakistani doctor Asifa Akhtar to receive Germany’s highest scientific award

    “Dr Yarjan was in the team of scientists who launched Graphene in extreme environment of Space via the MASER14 Rocket of Europe Space Agency launched from Kiruna based in Sweden. He has developed sustainable methods of creating e-textiles and flexible and stretchable conductors and composites based on three-dimensional (3D) porous architectures of two-dimensional (2D) and layered materials, typically graphene, that scientists and engineers are benchmarking for aerospace composite manufacturing, biosensing, water purification and energy storage,” said the Young Professionals Society (YPS) about the winner.

    “Dr Yarjan is currently working on a research project on loop heat pipes for use in space applications and he was part of European Space Agency zero-gravity flight campaign held in Nov-Dec 2017.”

    Dr Yarjan Abdul Samad is a Senior Research Associate and a Teaching Fellow in the Cambridge Graphene Centre and the Engineering Department of Cambridge University. He is in the Nanomaterials and Spectroscopy Group in the Electrical Engineering Division.

    According to YPS’ official website, the criteria used for the award was: achievements, impact and sustainability.

    Young Professionals society recognises ‘excellence’ and honours outstanding young professionals who have shown, during the early years of their professional careers outstanding achievement

  • Cambridge agrees to revise O/A Level grades

    Cambridge agrees to revise O/A Level grades

    The Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) has agreed to revise the grades issued for the June 2020 series and has announced that the grades will not be lower than the predicted grade submitted by the school, adding that “if a grade that was issued last week higher than the predicted grade, the higher grade will stand”.

    Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood announced the decision on social media and expressed his relief over the matter.

    Mahmood also shared that Prime Minister Imran Khan was “deeply concerned about this issue and asked me to help resolve it”.

    Read more – APS attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz is heading to Oxford University

    Similarly, Education Minister for Punjab Dr Murad Raas tweeted the official statement of Country Director CAIE which read: “We have decided that grades we issue for the June 2020 series will not be lower than the predicted grade submitted by the school. Where a grade we issued last week was higher than the predicted grade, the higher grade will stand.”

    The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown this year had forced CAIE to cancel its May/June 2020 exams worldwide. The examination board later announced that certificates would be awarded without exams under a new four-step assessment mechanism which included teachers’ predicted grades, ranking order, school review/approval and standardisation.

    However, after the results were announced last week, students started raising concerns and protested against the grades which were lower than their expectations and previous performance. They believed that Cambridge’s grade prediction system downgraded their qualifications, causing many to lose university placements and essential scholarships. Following the outrage, the government stepped in to assist students and Mahmood on Friday shared that Cambridge agreed to review its grading procedure.

    Meanwhile, in a statement issued Friday, CAIE said it had been listening to feedback and suggestions from schools and students and had been “looking carefully at how to act on it.”

    “Since we released our results on August 11, we’ve been listening to the feedback and suggestions from our schools and students. We know schools have been pleased that we were able to provide grades in challenging circumstances,” it said.

    It added, “We have also heard your concerns about some aspects of our process, and we understand the real anxieties Cambridge students are facing at the moment. We have been looking carefully at how to act on your feedback, and at the same time make sure schools, universities and employers continue to trust our qualifications.”

    “On Tuesday, August 18, we will let you know the actions we will take,” it added.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the issue at hand was not limited to Pakistan alone. According to a report in BBC, approximately 40% of A-Level results of students in England were downgraded after the exams regulator Ofqual used an algorithm based on a schools’ previous results. This sparked outrage among the public following which the UK government, after discussing the matter, announced that A-level and GCSE students in England will be given grades estimated by their teachers, rather than by an algorithm.

  • Cambridge University suspends all in-person classes until summer 2021

    Cambridge University suspends all in-person classes until summer 2021

    The University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom has become the first university to announce that it will move all “face-to-face lectures” online for the upcoming 2020-21 academic year. The institution added that it was “likely” social distancing would continue to be required.

    According to a report in The Guardian, the university said that while lectures would continue virtually until summer 2021, it may be possible for smaller teaching groups to take place in person if it “conforms to social-distancing requirements”.

    A statement from the university read: “The university is constantly adapting to changing advice as it emerges during this pandemic. Given that it is likely that social distancing will continue to be required, the university has decided there will be no face-to-face lectures during the next academic year.

    “Lectures will continue to be made available online and it may be possible to host smaller teaching groups in person, as long as this conforms to social-distancing requirements. This decision has been taken now to facilitate planning, but as ever, will be reviewed should there be changes to official advice on coronavirus.”

    All teaching at the university was already moved online in March and exams were being carried out virtually.