Theme: Unanswered Questions

TEDxHabibUniversity will bring together bright minds from diverse backgrounds to talk about "Unanswered Questions" that can help us develop and engage with ideas enabling us to reshape the world we live in.

Habib University
University Avenue, Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 18
Karachi, Sindh, 75290
Pakistan

Aaron Mulvany

Assistant Professor

Dr. Mulvany received his Ph.D. in 2011 from the Department of South Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He is part of Habib University’s founding faculty. His research and teaching interests now rest in disaster and policy anthropology, the Indian Ocean World, flooding and water development in the global South, and folklore. He is currently preparing a manuscript for publication based on his dissertation research.

Ahmer Naqvi

COO Patari

Ahmer Naqvi is a journalist who works at Patari, Pakistan's largest Pakistani music streaming platform, as the Director of Content. He also appears in 'Pace is Pace Yaar,' a podcast run by, in their own words, "some of Pakistan’s most khwaar cricket fans, FOR Pakistan’s most khwaar cricket fans." He is also a freelance writer at Herald and Newsline and writes on pop culture. He has also worked at Ahlulbayt TV, DAWN News, The Jinnah Institute, National College of Arts - Rawalpindi, and Unicorn Black.

Gulraiz Khan

Urbanist

Gulraiz Khan is a transdisciplinary designer who works on civic engagement. As an urbanist, he is interested in developing grassroots engagement methods that can help communities thrive through political and environmental flux. He is currently working as a Lecturer in Communication & Design at Habib University in Karachi, Pakistan. Prior to this, he received an MFA in Transdisciplinary Design from Parsons The New School for Design in New York. He also serves at the Assistant Director for The Playground, the Centre for Transdisciplinarity, Design and Innovation at Habib University.

Kulsoom Khadija Ghias

Associate Professor

Dr Kulsoom Ghias completed her PhD and post-doctoral training at Northwestern University’s Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at the Aga Khan University (AKU) Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan. Her grant-funded research focuses on head and neck cancers and colorectal cancers. She co-chairs the undergraduate medical Curriculum Committee at AKU Medical College and teaches in the undergraduate and graduate programs.

Nida Kirmani

Associate professor

Nida Kirmani is Associate Professor of Sociology in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. She has published widely on issues related to gender, Islam, women’s movements, development and urban studies in South Asia. Her book, Questioning ‘the Muslim Woman’: Identity and Insecurity in an Urban Indian Locality, which focuses on a Muslim mohalla in Delhi, was published in 2013 by Routledge. Her current research focuses on urban violence, gender and insecurity in Karachi.

Saad Haroon

Stand up Comedian / Radio Jockey

Saad Haroon is a standup comedian, improviser, director, scriptwriter and producer who created Pakistan’s first improvisational comedy troupe, Blackfish.He has represented Pakistan in various international events and festivals. Alongside, Saad also uses his skills to conduct corporate workshops and has held training sessions for large multinational corporations. Currently, he hosts ‘The Breakfast Show’ on City FM 89.

Sabyn Javeri

Assistant professor

Dr. Sabyn Javeri is an Assistant Professor at the Arzu center for Literature and Languages at Habib University. She has a Masters from Oxford University and a doctorate from the University of Leicester. She is an award-winning short story writer and the author of bestselling novel ‘Nobody Killed Her’. Her texts on creative writing have also been widely published. Dr. Javeri is interested in rediscovering our creative heritage and literary past. Her research is currently exploring the works of forgotten literary heroes of the subcontinent and developing a discourse related to cultural identity through creative writing.

Shehzad Ghias

Shehzad Ghias Shaikh is a comedian, writer and theatre practitioner. In 2010, Shehzad established Cogito Productions - a theatre production company committed to producing original plays promoting thought and social change in Pakistan. After completing his B.A./L.L.B. from LUMS, Shehzad received a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a M.A. in Theatre from Brooklyn College, New York. While in New York Shehzad received a scholarship to study comedy at UCB. Last year Shehzad debuted his stand up special at the Broadway Comedy Club in New York and he is currently touring Pakistan with his latest special, "Clinically Funny" - a stand up show about his experiences with clinical depression. Shehzad frequently writes for Express Tribune and Dawn. He also works as a theatre teacher at The Lyceum School and the National Academy of Performing Arts.

Shehzil Malik

Artist / Illustrator

Shehzil Malik is a designer and illustrator with a practice based on design for social change. Her passions of design and social responsibility result in collaborative projects with a focus on societal issues like women’s rights, feminism and identity constructs. She has previously worked as art director at Ogilvy & Mather. She has worked with the Arcade Creative Group at Sony Music in New York City, and served as the art director of a socially conscious startup, Uth Oye! in Lahore. She is also a member of the International Development Innovation Network (IDIN) which is a program led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s D-Lab.

Tahera Hasan

Lawyer

Tahera Hasan is a lawyer and Advocate High Court by profession who specializes entertainment law, intellectual property and family law with a special focus on international and domestic adoption cases. Tahera has been particularly active in adoption counselling and advocacy and is the founder of the Karachi Adoption Resource Centre and Imkaan Welfare Organisation which were established to have a more holistic approach towards child adoption and welfare. She is also the Director of the Imkaan Welfare Organisation which focuses on the welfare and development of underprivileged children and are currently running projects in one of Karachi’s largest informal settlements.

Zartash Uzmi

Assoicate Professor

Dr. Zartash Uzmi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at LUMS. He got his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. His research interests are Wireless Systems and Large Scale Internet.

Zeenia Shaukat Ali

Activitst

Zeenia Shaukat Ali started off as a journalist. She got her Masters in International Communications from Leed University in the UK. She joined Sherry Rehman in 2007 as her research and communication support. She worked on PPP’s manifesto in 2008. She was made the Policy Manager in the Ministry of Information when Rehman became Information Minister. She is now working with Justice (retd.) Majida Rizvi, head of the Sindh Human Rights Commission which pursues cases of human rights violations.