Dr. Muhammad Azeem Ali Shah, Senior Regional Researcher: Governance of Water institutions, International Water Management Institute, held a session on "Prospects for PhD Graduates beyond Academia". Dr. Shah holds a PhD. in Management Sciences from Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences.
The session primarily focused on career opportunities for LUMS PhD graduates beyond the academic sector. Dr. Shah shared his experiences in the research and development sector, and discussed some of the important skills required to carry out impactful research. He discussed his experience of writing successful proposals for large projects and what constitutes an excellent proposal. Finally, he discussed how current PhD students could build their credentials and become convincing candidates for the R&D sector.
Dr. Shah is a water governance professional with a key interest in applied research in order to resolve development challenges in the water sector. He has led various projects at IWMI in Pakistan and the South Asia region, where his research revolves around improving water governance in public sector institutions, resolving transboundary water challenges through the promotion of shared basin approach, and promoting innovative technologies to overcome challenges in the irrigated agriculture sector of Pakistan. His current project portfolio includes a USAID funded multimillion dollar project where he is providing project leadership as “Deputy Chief of Party”, and leading two components of the project which include “Strengthened agricultural water management and governance in KP and former FATA” and “Increased Afghanistan-Pakistan collaboration on water policy, practices, and water sector challenges common to each”. He is also leading the Pakistan chapter of a regional multimillion dollar project funded by SDC on the topic of “Solar Irrigation for Agricultural Resilience”. Most recently, Dr. Shah has been nominated as Regional Consultant for Asia to develop the “Water Sector Policy” for the Islamic Development Bank.
Dr. Shah's work has been published in some of the top journals which include Water Resources Research, Agricultural Water Management, Ecology and Society, Water, Climate and Development. He has also published book chapters for Academic Foundation and Routledge. He has also co-authored reports for The World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
