Ms. Ardi Stoios-Braken, Ambassador of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Pakistan, attended an event hosted by the Centre for Business and Society (CBS) and Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB) at LUMS on April 30, 2019. Ms. Ardi was welcomed by Dr. Bushra Naqvi, Assistant Professor SDSB, and was hosted by the Vice Chancellor’s office for an invigorating discussion with Dr. Arshad Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, LUMS.
The ambassador’s meeting with the VC was followed by a meet and greet with several faculty members and other team members of CBS and SDSB.
Ms. Ardi is an experienced Deputy Director with a history of working in the government administration industry. She’s skilled in Public Affairs, Sustainable Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Political Science, and Environmental Issues. She’s a strong business development professional who graduated from diplomatic training at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the session at SDSB, Ms. Ardi spoke about education as an equaliser which brings about gender parity, and the relevance and importance of women empowerment and their role in the workplace. She emphasised the importance of industry linkages with vocational training, and educational institutes to develop those skills in high demand to boost employment opportunities.
The Ambassador also visited Rausing Executive Development Centre (REDC). The Netherlands Government — through its embassy in Islamabad — has supported the Executive Certificate in Agribusiness Management (ECAM) programme at REDC through sponsored seats reserved for dairy professionals, and also facilitated a dairy management workshop conducted by an expert from a leading institution in the Netherlands.
The Ambassador looked forward to the continuation of similar collaborations with LUMS in the future.
