Mobilink’s BlackBerry® Solutions to Empower Campus Life at LUMS
Pakistan Times Wire Service

LAHORE: Mobilink, the country’s market leader in innovative mobile solutions, with a growing base of over 27 million customers countrywide and part of Orascom Telecom, recently announced its collaboration with the country’s top-most business school, the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) to provide exclusive BlackBerry® communications solutions to its campus life.

Mobilink is offering unique communications solutions to the Lahore University of Management Sciences faculty and students, which will facilitate them in keeping in touch with their peers and teaching staff. After successfully providing Blackberry solution to the key businesses in Pakistan, Mobilink is now focusing its attention towards the education sector.

Zouhair A. Khaliq, President & CEO, Mobilink while launching the service, said, “Our commitment to reshaping lives from all walks of life, is as steadfast and dynamic as our resolve to strengthen the bonds of our corporate social responsibility. Therefore, Mobilink is proud today to have taken a leap forward to empower the educational sector at the University level by offering its BlackBerry solution. We are very pleased with our partnership with LUMS and hope that our pioneering effort in creating Pakistan’s first “mobile enabled education system will give support to the educational sector in times to come.”

Dr. Syed Zahoor Hassan, Vice Chancellor LUMS appreciated the offer made to LUMS by Mobilink. He opined, “Exposure of faculty, staff, and students to an integrated wireless solution like BlackBerry would dovetail magnificently with a number of other IT initiatives that the university is undertaking and lead to a marked increase in productivity. There is every reason to believe, that LUMS could collaborate with Mobilink in the development of applications for BlackBerry through the involvement of its Computer Science faculty and students”.

Both LUMS and Mobilink will harness their respective expertise in developing specialized campus applications that will give mobile access to the university’s existing processes, such as viewing schedules, grades, assignment submission guidelines, class announcements and even the dining center menu! Teachers and staff will also be able to streamline their busy days with the scheduling system of the Solution and get more out of their working days.

On the other hand, students will be able to check their email and receive course notification’s while out of classrooms or on the go, be it the playing field, the dining center or their hostels. They will also be able to browse the Internet through the superior browsing speed of the BlackBerry® devices, stay in touch with their friends and family through the BlackBerry® messenger and manage their daily routine through the Calendar. BlackBerry® device also comes with multimedia capability for them to relax and enjoy their time off.

“Apart from providing complete backend infrastructure to upgrade the university’s mail system to BlackBerry® technology, Mobilink is offering special rates to enable the educational sector along with discounted handset rates; and this partnership with LUMS is just a first step in this direction,” added Mr. Khaliq.

Mobilink launched its BlackBerry services in Pakistan in December 2005 and has achieved a unique distinction in the world of fast and efficient communications. The device is a business tool, which improves an individual’s productivity and efficiency, qualifying the handset to be an indispensable asset for every organization and its human resources.

About Mobilink

Mobilink is an Orascom Telecom Group company and is Pakistan’s leading cellular service provider with a subscriber growth of 104% in 2006. The company has achieved an unprecedented customer base of over 27 million.

Mobilink provides the most extensive network coverage footprint across Pakistan through an integrated technology infrastructure in more than 5,000 cities, towns, villages, and countless remote destinations, including International Roaming in 127 countries through 300 partner operators.

The company directly employs over 4,000 people and has the largest distribution network with 200,000 outlets across Pakistan. Mobilink’s corporate social responsibility program contributes significantly in key areas of health, education, social uplift and cultural development causes in Pakistan.

The company is the official cellular service of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Mobilink is the only corporate in Pakistan to issue a 'high-yield' bond worth US$ 250 million in the International Market and has portrayed a positive image of the country as a secure destination for business activity.

About LUMS

The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) is a national university, established by sponsors belonging to the country's leading private and public sector corporations. The goal of the sponsors was to develop an institution, which would provide rigorous academic and intellectual training and a viable alternative to education comparable to leading universities around the world.

After two decades of relentless effort, LUMS now has three schools: School of Science and Engineering, Suleman Dawood School of Business and School of Humanities and Social Sciences through which LUMS is producing experts in Business Administration, Computer Sciences, Economics, Social Sciences, Mathematics and other disciplines.

The various academic programs presently offered, include MBA, BSc (Hons), BA-LLB, MS & PhD in Computer Sciences, MSc in Economics, the Executive MBA and PhD in Mathematics. It also provides executive development education through its Executive Administration Centre (REDC).

In addition to the academic programs, LUMS also undertakes research work and offers consultancy services. Over the years the University has established a reputation for academic excellence and has received accolades for its programs from within and outside the country.●