“A Force for Good in Pakistan’s Energy Sector”"
Nadia Karim is the first to stand up and speak out for women’s education and training.
A Planning Engineer, Nadia currently works as Assistant Manager (Tech) GSO for Pakistan’s Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (known locally as HESCO). An electric distribution company, HESCO supplies electricity to Pakistan’s southern districts.
Nadia Karim is the first to stand up and speak out for women's education and training.
A Planning Engineer, Nadia currently works as Assistant Manager (Tech) GSO for Pakistan's Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (known locally as HESCO). An electric distribution company, HESCO supplies electricity to Pakistan's southern districts.
As Nadia explains, "one of the major gaps in my organisation is that females are not given the chance to do training, so we end up lacking confidence."
For Nadia, the WePOWER SAR100 course has changed all of that.
"This was an amazing opportunity, getting nominated for the prestigious SAR100 training. I have gained so much more knowledge about energy markets. I can also now speak up in front of an audience, which used to be one of my greatest fears!".
Nadia graduated from the SAR100 training program alongside 100 other female engineers from across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, after 8-months of study between 2023-2024.
Delivered by the Bangkok-based Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), SAR100 (and its final capstone week in Bangkok) were made possible through the AU $32 million South Asia Regional Infrastructure Connectivity (SARIC) Program, which is funded by the Australian Government and implemented by Palladium alongside the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.
"During the course we were motivated to bring up our ideas, and there were more opportunities raised for female participants," says Nadia. "I learnt about new software programs for the exams too, like PSSE and MATLAB, and I can now work on forecasting and transmission planning more easily."
Alongside her allocated group, Nadia's capstone research focused on market insights and analysis of agri and floating photovoltaic systems (current and future scenarios) – a truly relevant topic in today's power market.
Academics aside, for Nadia, the SAR100 course also proved to be a master class in life balance. In December 2023, she even welcomed a new family member!
"I had some challenges with home responsibilities [during the course] but still, every day, I motivated myself to stay active and I really learnt some amazing things."
Nadia also points to the power of collaboration.
"Above all, the networking and interactions were the most important thing we gained during SAR100, learning more about other nations!"