International Conference of Applied Psychology (ICAPP 2012) being organized by Institute of Applied Psychology in collaboration with Psychology Subcommittee of HEC’s Committee for the Development of Social Science and Humanities in Pakistan (CDSSHP) under the theme of “Psychology and Challenges of the Modern World” extended from 15th to 20th December, 2012. On the first day of Pre-Conference Workshops, Saturday December 15 2012, three workshops were conducted while on the second day, Sunday December 16 2012; four workshops were successfully accomplished related to different techniques and skill building in psychology, at Center for Clinical Psychology, University of the Punjab. The conference was inaugurated on December 17, 2012, in Faisal Auditorium, University of the Punjab. Prof. Mohammad Nazamuddin, who is the Chairperson, Committee for Development of Social Sciences and Humanities in Pakistan (CDSSHP), Higher Education Commission, was the chief guest; while Dr. Rukhsana Kausar, Chairperson of Institute of Applied Psychology delivered the welcome note. Distinguished professionals from India, United Kingdom, United States of America, Italy, Singapore, Australia, and Pakistan delivered their speeches. Such as Prof. Dr. Daniel Christie, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Ohio State University and Fulbright Specialist in Peace and Conflict Studies; Prof. Dr. Cecelia Essau, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Roehampton, London; Prof. Dr. Jitendra Mohan, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Punjab University, Chandigarh, India; and Prof. J?rg Huber, Professor of Behavioral Health Sciences, the University of Northampton, England. A key note delivered by Prof. Dr. Cecilia Essau.

Stalls were displayed during the two days (December 17 and 18, 2012) of ICCAP 2012 at Undergraduate Block, University of the Punjab, Lahore. A total of eight stalls included Pak Book Depot stall, offering wide range of books related to psychology and general reading. A stall displayed by SLIS presented arts and crafts made by special Kids. Meanwhile, a stall set by students of Center for Clinical Psychology was registering students for Pakistan Association of Clinical Psychologist (PACP) memberships. Among all, ROUTE-2 Health Shop was able to gather attention of most participants of ICCAP. Great activity and interest of members was seen there. This stall had given free opportunity of knowing Body Mass Index (BMI) and was giving free advice by nutritionist. Stall by Drug Free Pakistan Foundation (DFPF) was displaying different brochures related to psychoeducation for drug addicts and their families. A stall displayed by Institute of Applied Psychology was offering cups and pens with the monogram and picture of Institute of Applied Psychology (APSY) for the current students and alumni's of institute. SCAS for guiding students was also displayed, which is a service for all Punjab University students.

On day one of ICAPP, December 17, 2012, eight scientific sessions, chaired by eminent foreign and local scholars, and poster presentations were conducted at the Undergraduate block, University of The Punjab. On the whole, forty-five research papers were presented. The first day of conference, ended with a key note 'Positive Psychology across Cultures' by Prof. Dr. Jitendra Mohan.

The second day of conference, December 17, 2012, commenced with the key note on 'Applications of Psychology to War and Peace' by Prof. Daniel Christie. Overall, 53 research papers were presented on different spheres in psychology in the eleven scientific sessions. Key note was delivered by Prof. J?rg Huber on 'Does Resilience Protect against Depression and Improve Self-care in People with Diabetes?' and a special lecture on 'Islamic Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy' was given by Ms. Saima Salman, Clinical Psychologist/Director of Rational Living Inc, Singapore. The second day of Conference was successfully ended with Panel Discussion of renowned professionals Prof. Daniel Christie, Prof. J?rg Huber, Prof. Jitendra Mohan, Dr. AsirAjmal, Ms. Saima Salman, Prof. Rafia Hassan, she has been the chairperson of Institute of Applied Psychology for many years, Prof. Giorgio Bertolotti, Head of Psychology Unit -Scientific Institute of Tradate, S. Maugeri Foundation, IRCCS since 1995, Prof. Iftikhar Un Nisa Hassan, Social Sciences Research consultant at Karakoram University, Gilgit; Dr. Nashi Khan, Assistant Professor, Center for Clinical Psychology, University of the Punjab.

Four post-conference workshops of ICAPP were conducted on December 19, 2012, while three workshops were successfully accomplished on December 20, 2012. A large number of eminent foreign and local professionals, and students presented their valuable research work in the field of psychology at ICAPP 2012. Participants benefited from the valuable work presented and emphasized on the need of such educational events in future.

Institute of Applied Psychology organized a Basic Skills Training workshop with the help of RESCUE 1122. District Emergency Officer Rescue 1122 Dr Ahmad Raza gave presentation on Rescue 1122: The Life Saving Force. Mr Azam, Ms. Firdous, and Ms. Marium were the main trainers, supported by other team members. After presentation, practical demonstration of medical first aid and firefighting was given to the students. Institute of Applied Psychology Chairperson Prof. Dr. RukhsanaKausar, workshop coordinator MsShahnila Tariq, other faculty members and a large number of students attended the complete training and demo session. She also acknowledged the working of Rescue 1122 for the community.

The Institute of Applied Psychology organized a three day workshop on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to enhance the research skills of the students. Dr. Jamil A. Malik, Assistant Professor, National Institute of Applied Psychology, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad was the resource person for the workshop which was attended by M.Phil and Ph.D. scholars who were at the stage of synopsis writing and benefitted a lot from it.

A talk on women harassment was organized to highlight the issues of harassment in our society and how women can get awareness about it. Eminent gender expert, Dr. FauziaSaeed, Member Implementation Watch Committee, Government of Punjab and Chair and Founder AASHA was the speaker for the event and highlighted the issue while stressing on the role of men who can play a vital role is curtailing this social evil. A large number of faculty members and students attend the event.

A seminar was organized for creating awareness regarding drug addiction and its effects on the individuals. While addressing the seminar, Former IG Punjab Police and Project Director Drug Free City, Mr. AltafQamar shared that over 9 million were addicted to different kinds of drugs among whom 2-2.5 million were between the ages of 15-25 years, which is alarming. Addressing the seminar, Chairperson Institute of applied Psychology, Director Center for clinical Psychology, Prof. Dr. RukhsanaKausar highlighted the psychological impact of drug addiction and how it causes significant distress among the addicts, family, community and society at large.

To enhance and refresh the knowledge of the field and to update the pedagogy, Institute of Applied Psychology also held refresher courses for the faculty of affiliated colleges. The courses addressed Research Methods, thesis Writing, Positive Psychology, Environmental Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience and were conducted by experienced faculty members Prof. Dr. RukhsanaKausar, Chairperson Institute of Applied Psychology, Dr. NaumanAmjad, Assistant Professor, Ms. AfsheenMasood, Lecturer, Ms. AfifaAnjum, Lecturer and Mr. FaizYounas, Lecturer from the institute. Faculty members from the institutes of Applied Psychology at Postgraduate Colleges from Jhang, Gujranwala, MAO College, Lahore, Govt. College for Women, Wahdat Road, Lahore and Queen Marry College, Lahore participated in this course.

In connection to the provincial level events and seminars on the dengue fever, Institute of Applied Psychology also arranged an awareness lecture regarding the nature and symptoms of the dengue fever and the ways in which we can prevent contracting it. A large number of faculty members and assisting staff attended the lecture and in the end, the institute was visited in order to check the precautionary measures taken to deal with this problem.

Annual Mehifl-e-milad was held at the institute to commemorate the auspicious event of Rabi-ulAwwal. The event started with Quran khani and was followed by naats in which many students participated. In the end, tabruk was distributed among all in the attendance.

To commemorate the national days for our national poet AllamaIqbal and for the founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Institute of Applied Psychology organized special events in which students presented speeches, national songs and skits as a tribute to the most significant personalities of our national history and pride. The events were attended by a large number of students as well as by teachers.

Annual Sports day was organized in which a large number of students participated in different sports like cricket, badminton, football, table tennis and various races. Director External Linkages, Ms. Maria Isabelle inaugurated the event and appreciated the efforts of the students as well faculty for arranging such an event whereas Dr. MansoorSarwar, Director of IBIT, Director IT and Director Sports (Men), University of the Punjab and Ms. SamsaHashmi, Director Sports (Women) were the chief guests for the concluding session and distributed the medals and trophies among the winners.

Institute of Applied Psychology, University of the Punjab, Lahore collaborated with Drug Free Pakistan Foundation (DFPF) to organize fourth Pakistan Youth Congress in Lahore. The purpose of this congress is to provide life skills to the youth of Pakistan in order to empower them for a better future of the nation. Several students of the institute participated in this event as well few students were youth mobilizers and were involved in the management of the whole event.

Institute of Applied Psychology, University of the Punjab organized a two days workshop on Neuro Lingusitic Programming (NLP). The workshop was conducted by Lord Dr. Shaukat Nawaz Khan, Chairperson British Pakistani Foundation (UK) and Dr. Saman Hassan, from Ottawa University, Northwood and University of the Phoenix (USA). Both the experts imparted valuable professional knowledge on NLP and shared their experiences with the students and professionals in attendance. A large number of MPhil and PhD students and faculty members from different universities attended the workshop and benefited from it. The workshop was concluded with a vote of thanks by Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Kausar, Chairperson Institute of Applied Psychology and certificate distribution ceremony among Participants.

Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Kausar
Chairperson

The workshop held to meet three main objectives: To develop an understanding of the needs of teachers involved in teaching at postgraduate level specifically with reference to teaching research methods course and students research supervision; to update and familiarize teaching faculty with effective teaching research methodology course i.e. conception of research idea; procedure; ethics; data handing, writing, publishing and supervising research and to provide a forum for supervisors and Ph.d scholars to discuss and share research skills in order to teach and supervise research methods course effectively at post-graduate level.

Eminent academician and researcher in the field of Applied Psychology were the resource persons. Prof. Dr. Najma Najam, Prof. Dr. Iftikhar-un-Nisa Hassan, Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Kausar, Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad, Prof. Dr. Anila Kamal, Dr. Farah Malik, Dr. Naumana Amjad, Dr. Shabbir Rana, and Mr. Murtaza Noor Project Manager (SS&H), HEC conducted sessions in their areas of expertise. Teachers from post graduate colleges and universities from different cities of Pakistan as well as PhD scholars attended the workshop.

In the concluding session, while addressing to the delegates Prof. Dr. Ch Jamil Anwar, Pro Vice Chancellor, University of the Punjab emphasized that keeping in view the current situation of the country, the psychologists must focus their attention on local / indigenous issues and problems. Mr. Murtaza Noor Project Manger SS&H also spoke on the occasion and emphasized the faculty members to come forward to avail the opportunities being offered by HEC especially in the fields social sciences, arts and humanities. In the end Prof. Dr. Ch Jamil Anwar and Prof. Dr. Shahida Husnain Dean Faculty of Life Sciences distributed certificates among the participants and the organizers.

This workshop enabled participants to improve and strengthen their teaching and research skills; update them with latest and effective trends in teaching and conducting research: to plan, design, conduct, and analyze both qualitative and quantitative research data. The participants also got information about the HEC initiatives and programmes being offered in the field of social sciences, arts and humanities. This workshop was greatly helpful in writing and supervising research report and publication of research work. A hundred mile journey starts with a small step and this workshop is just a humble beginning which will proceed in more workshops on important areas of research.

To commemorate the International Women's Day 2010, Institute of Applied Psychology, University of the Punjab, Lahore organized a National Conference entitled “Resilience, Coping Strategies and Reconstruction of Self Among Women” on 11th March 2010 at the auspicious hall of Undergraduate Block University of the Punjab. The conference was attended by eminent scholars and dignitaries across Pakistan along with a large number of students.

Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Kausar, Chairperson Institute of Applied Psychology, highlighted the significance of the Women's Day and the contributions and resilience among women in her welcome note. The Key Note Speaker Prof. Dr. Najma Najam, Vice Chancellor, Karakoram International University, Gilgit discussed how women reconstruct their self throughout different stages of life. Prof. Dr. Mujahid Kamran, Vice Chancellor, University of the Punjab, Lahore the Chief Guest shared his impressions regarding the contributions of women in the society and he praised their resilience especially in academic and educational institutions.

Prof. Dr. Iftikhar-un-Nisa Hassan chaired the first scientific Session in which Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Kausar presented a paper on “ Relationship between Resilience and Mood Post Cancer Onset” , Ms. Ambreen Naz on “ Coping Strategies of Women Experiencing Domestic Violence” and Dr. Farah Malik on “ Coping with Trauma of Earthquake: Gender Perspective” . Prof. Dr. Rafia Hassan chaired the second Scientific Session in which Dr. Nauman Amjad, presented paper on “ Resuming Life Functioning and Adversarial Growth among Women Affected by Earthquake 2005” , Ms. Saima Kalsoom on “ The Perception of Self Concept and Perception of Other, And the Self Efficacy of Married and Unmarried Working Women” , Ms. Adeela Rehman on “S ocial Fabrication of Gender Identity, Its Resilience among Women: A Feminist Analysis” and Ms. Nyla Anjum on “ Identifying Problems and Coping Strategies Used by Women With Disability” . Queries were entertained at the end of each session along with the concluding remarks from the respective chairs.

Human Rights Day was celebrated at Institute of Applied Psychology, University of the Punjab, New Campus, Lahore. The theme of the day was “Psychological Effects of Human Rights Violation”. Students of the institute presented skits and mime show based on ideas of human rights violation.

Speeches and Poetry competition were also held. Stalls from various NGOs including Aurat Foundation, Doors of Awareness, Shirkat Gah, Medecins DU Monde and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan were also displayed

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Kausar, Chairperson expressed her appreciation for students, faculty and staff's efforts. She emphasized that on this day we must remind ourselves if we are vigilant in protecting others' rights and not causing any type of distress to the fellow beings. The Chairperson, faculty members and students prayed for peace, equality and justice for all humanity.