Australia Awards South and West Asia

Ali Hasnain Sayed completed his Master in Environment and Sustainability from Monash University through an Australia Awards Scholarship in 2008. Since his Australia Awards Scholarship, he has been working for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as Senior Manager, Water Security, and Stewardship.

“My Australia Awards Scholarship has changed my life. It has given me a way of thinking and a way of perceiving problems.”

Through his work, Ali aims to generate private sector interest in the water management sector, helping them develop policies for better water management practices. “We are currently working with Levis, H&M, and IKEA to lower their water footprints by responsible and sustainable use of water resources under our Better Cotton” he said.

Ali is responsible for supporting and designing policies relating to water security, integrated river basin management, food, and energy security.

“I also coordinate WWF’s network policies and implementation strategies under its Global Programme Framework (GPF) as the focal person for WWF Pakistan on water security and stewardship issues.”

“My job also entails regular interactions on policy issues with provincial, as well as national governments, bureaucracy, civil society, corporate sector and regulatory regimes.”

Having over twelve years of work experience, attained in Pakistan and Australia through extensive fieldwork, Ali has been able to initiate numerous projects and programs for WWF in the sustainable water security sector.

“I gained a significant amount of experience from my scholarship, especially in my internship with the Department of Sustainability and Environment in Australia where I conducted field research on climate change.”

In Australia, he met practitioners in universities who brought knowledge and experience from the field to the classroom. Ali is also a member of the visiting faculty at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

“I believe the most valuable lesson I learned was; without field knowledge, academia cannot even make a dent in society.”

Before leaving for Australia, Ali had completed his Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, and a Master of Business Administration from The University of The Punjab Ali was employed by Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, the largest integrated gas company in Pakistan, as an Assistant Engineer.