Project aims to bring diaspora students to work in Pakistan – Pakistan

KARACHI: To establish Pakistan as a work destination for students of the Pakistani diaspora, Mustafaen Kamal has presented a unique project: the Dil Internship Project.

"Last year, we saw a huge appetite for" helping "Pakistan, but often the Pakistani diaspora has no natural route to help the country beyond charity. The Dil Internship Project seeks to close that gap by providing opportunities in the public and private sector that provide real value to businesses and our interns, "said Mr. Kamal, who is currently studying at the University of Oxford.

The project was formalized in December last year and this summer, they took their first batch of interns; They received about 930 applications. At the moment, Mr. Kamal and his team are busy planning for the next batch.

Speaking about the project, he said they had 30 volunteers from a variety of backgrounds studying at universities such as Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Harvard, Wellesley, Warwick and UCLA. He added that next year they plan to add at least eight companies and public bodies to the eight that already exist.

There are plans to open offices in Lahore and northern areas

He explained that his goal was to create a mutually beneficial relationship. “While the interns are here, we also show many of the cultural aspects of Pakistan, from Hindu temples to research centers of excellence such as Aga Khan University Hospital, we even took them to the premiere of Superstar in Karachi, where they met Mahira Khan. This part of the project aims to help people recalibrate their opinions about Pakistan, a country whose reputation is often unfairly in the press unfairly, ”he said.

“We do this also with the commercial side; The interns also toured the McKinsey offices in Karachi and connected with their employees. We currently operate in Karachi, Islamabad and Dubai; next year it will include Lahore and the northern areas to exhibit all of Pakistan, ”he added.

Mr. Kamal, who was a Laidlaw Scholar at the University of Cambridge and made his first degree at the London School of Economics in philosophy and economics, said: "We are partnering with the best universities in Pakistan – LUMS, Comsats and BNU – to make sure they are young people here are part of the dialogue that shapes the future of their country. "

“We also give them mentors, people who have actively chosen to work in Pakistan despite having studied abroad, such as entrepreneurs or successful employees at McKinsey. The idea is to create an international cohesive force dedicated to the improvement of Pakistan that transcends borders, ”he added.

Mr. Kamal, who was recently in Karachi and Lahore for the project, said they had many things ready for the future.

“The government has shown a lot of interest in filling skills and knowledge flaws in various departments. We are interested in collaborating with IT and climate change spaces, as Pakistan has a lot of space to become an international collaboration center. Both departments invited me to present my ideas and we look forward to fruitful relationships in the future, ”he explained.

Kamal said he had been in the country for the past three weeks having meetings with ministers, universities, hospitals and companies to make the training very fruitful for next year.

“The business community has been very receptive, pointing out deficits of skills in their workforce that we can connect with our interns. The government has shown great enthusiasm for making Pakistan much more collaborative internationally in terms of public policy decisions and we are leading that, ”he said.

Kamal hopes that the project will become a force to defend what can go well in Pakistan.

"We want to do this by making sure that the world knows that there is more than charity involved in helping Pakistan, it is a natural home for their skills and talents as well," he said.

Internship opportunities for 2020 will be available on the project website (dilinternshipproject.com) from mid-next month. There are two rounds of interviews before finding a location.

Posted on Dawn, September 16, 2019