Resolving Pakistan’s water security challenges

Australia Awards alumna Naila Gul Shaikh is dedicated to addressing Pakistan’s water security challenges and contributing towards improving government policies.

Naila completed the Australia Awards Short Course ‘Strengthening Water Security in South Asia: Integrated Water Resource Management’ in 2018, along with other water resource experts from Bhutan, India, Nepal, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh.

“It was really an amazing experience for me; I learned a lot regarding water management issues, water quality and quantity, as well as gender cross-cutting issues,” says Naila. “I initially applied for the Short Course because I want to build my capacity in all water-related areas and, of course, to discover even more opportunities for advanced research and research collaboration.”

Naila completed a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan, in 2012, and a Master of Environmental Engineering and Management in 2016, also at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology. She currently works as a laboratory technician at the U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology in Jamshoro. The Center, with support from USAID, trains and builds the capacity of a new generation of Pakistan’s engineers and water professionals, to try to resolve the water security challenges of the 21^st century. Naila is proud of her central role in setting up the research laboratory at the Center ‘from scratch’; now that the laboratory is operating, her main responsibility involves supervising researchers at the laboratory and helping them in conducting their research. “My other responsibilities at the Center include conducting laboratory practical sessions for masters students taking part in various research projects on water quality and wastewater; calibrating all the laboratory equipment; preparing reports of samples analysed in the laboratory; and preparing tenders for purchasing laboratory supplies.”

According to Naila, the Short Course developed her interest in working towards river sustainability and improving government policies and system thinking, using loop analysis.

“I want to become an expert in loop analysis regarding the environmental system and ecosystem, and also to learn more about monitoring environmental pollution to improve sustainability. The Short Course taught me how to think in broader concepts to address water scarcity issues and to meet the global Sustainable Development Goals,” she says.

She believes that implementing the return-to-work plan she developed for the Short Course will result in significant improvements at her organisation in the areas of research and the technical skills of the Center’s students, as well as those of her colleagues. Since Naila completed the Short Course, her supervisor has been proactive and supportive in resolving any challenges in implementing her new skills and knowledge at her workplace.

“I am lucky that my work at the Center in Jamshoro provides me with many opportunities to communicate my new knowledge and skills with my colleagues as well as with students, and to promote collaborative work regarding water-saving strategies for treating water within the community and country,” Naila explains.

Naila also says that the links established with other course participants from across the South Asia region, as well as with the course presenters in Australia, are proving to be very effective: “We are connected even more than before, and getting help and advice from one another. All of the people from the course are really amazing and ready to help every time. We are a living technical family—helping each other to work smoothly and efficiently.”

The exposure Naila received through the Short Course goes beyond her improved technical capacity.

“Studying in Australia gave me an opportunity to build my capacity and confidence for work, and improved my networking and English language skills,” she says.

In the future, Naila sees herself carrying out work that will help address water-related issues in Pakistan and globally, perhaps through further research in water treatment and quality control. She believes this can be achieved through using social networking to engage with non-governmental organisations and to collaborate with Australian experts in the field of integrated water resources management.

“As a result of my experience, I am also keen to encourage other people from Pakistan to get involved in Australia Awards and to apply for the short courses that are offered,” says Naila.