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An Epic Journey of Experiential Learning in Skardu

Welcome to an educational adventure of a lifetime! This summer, students will have the chance to live and learn for four weeks in the extraordinary Skardu in Gilgit Baltistan.

Last year, LUMS launched Learning Without Borders - The Baltistan Experience, with faculty teaching five experiential learning courses that immersed participants in the local community in Skardu. This year, we are excited to offer seven courses, ranging from personal effectiveness, entrepreneurship, e-commerce, law, and tourism, to green energy, water management, biosciences, energy access, and the universe around us.

Follow along as students from LUMS and the University of Baltistan engage with local Balti communities to discover Gilgit-Baltistan’s local traditions and history, and collaborate on innovative solutions to problems that directly impact local communities.

Join us for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

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Photo Gallery

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People in Baltistan have unique traditions and relatively longer lifespans. To understand this indigenous community better, students conducted surveys and interviewed more than 200 elderly Balti men and women to learn about their dietary and lifestyle habits.
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People in Baltistan have unique traditions and relatively longer lifespans. To understand this indigenous community better, students conducted surveys and interviewed more than 200 elderly Balti men and women to learn about their dietary and lifestyle habits.
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The inaugural cohort pose in front of an “I Love Skardu” sign
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Students from the Water Resource Management course stop for a photo during a field visit
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As part of their class project, Entrepreneurship students organised the ‘Kachura Float Fest’ in Skardu. Set at a dock by Upper Kachura lake, this fun-filled experience offered customers delicious food and scenic boat rides against a serene backdrop
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Students collected and studied different kinds of flora and fauna native to the region
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In their free time, students enjoyed horse riding and various other activities in Skardu
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Baltistan is famous for its gemstones. Our students paired up with many local vendors to develop e-commerce platforms for them, including websites complete with catchy slogans to position their business
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Farewell for now! Family members came to see-off the students
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All aboard! Students gather for a photo before jetting off to Skardu for the summer
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In good hands! LUMS staff members ensure that everything runs smoothly
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LUMS Rector, Vice Chancellor and faculty members take in the sights with the locals
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Dr. Muhammad Tariq, LUMS faculty, gets a taste of the famous Balti hospitality
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Students made nature their classroom and explored water streams and untouched land to collect samples and data at the Deosai Plains
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Students from the Water Resource Management and Life Science courses attending a class in the scenic setting of Deosai National Park
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Experience true nature.
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LUMSxUoBS Life Science students interview locals above the age of 50 about their dietary and lifestyle habits. Pictured is a Balti elder having a candid conversation with our student. At 95 years old, he is on no medication and still wakes up at 5 am each day to earn a living.
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Nasir Hussain (BS 2023), UoBS and Salman Baig (BSc, 2023), LUMS who met each other on the very first day at Skardu at the welcome party are now best buddies

Courses Offered

With 30 per cent in-class and 70 per cent in-field classes, all courses are designed to broaden your horizons. Engage and learn while in Skardu through these dynamic courses.

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Introduction to Life and Biosciences

The overarching theme of this course is to explore how life is organised; how living organisms develop through interaction with their healthy environment.


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Green Energy

This course introduces students to energy sources for generating and harnessing electricity, demand and supply analysis, energy and storage technologies ...


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E-Commerce

This course is an experiential learning course enabling the participants to understand and create digital marketing and sales channels across ...


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Personal Effectiveness

This experiential learning course has been developed iteratively through multiple executions with undergraduate students and built around frameworks ...


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Tourism: Economics, Industry and Management

The experiential learning course is an introduction to the key aspects of tourism that include a description and analysis of the tourism industry ...


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Law, Tourism and Environment

The planned experiential learning course will explore the business of hospitality and tourism in the context of the legal and constitutional status of Gilgit-Baltistan.


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The Universe Around Us

This is an introductory course on Astronomy which discusses the physical basis of our understanding of our place in the Cosmos.


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Meet Our Faculty

In this first-of-its-kind collaboration, LUMS and University of Baltistan (UoBS) instructors have come together to co-create, co-design and co-teach five courses this summer. Meet the dynamic experts bringing this initiative to life.

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Adnan Zahid

Assistant Professor
Suleman Dawood School of Business, LUMS
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Alamdar Hussain

Head of Department
Department of Botany, UoBS
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Aman Abid

Visiting Assistant Professor
Suleman Dawood School of Business, LUMS
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Amir Faisal

Associate Professor
Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, LUMS
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Ashfaque Ahmad Shah

Dean
Faculty of Education, Humanities, Social Sciences, UoBs
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Atarad Ali

Additional Director (QEC)
UoBs
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Faiza Ismail

Assistant Professor
Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law, LUMS
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Ibrahim Hussain

Assistant Professor
Department of Business Management, UoBS
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Kiran Siraj

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
LUMS
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M Sabieh Anwar

Dean
Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, LUMS
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Mehdi Hassan

Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry, UoBs
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Mir Alam

Assistant Professor,
Department of Business Management, UoBS
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Muhamamd Askari

Research Fellow
Department of Chemistry, UoBS
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Munawar Abbas

Assistant Professor,
UoBs
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Naveed Arshad

Associate Professor
Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, LUMS
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Rizwan Khalid

Associate Professor,
Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, LUMS
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Shireen Waheed

Adjunct Faculty
Suleman Dawood School of Business, LUMS
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Suleman Shahid

Associate Professor
Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, LUMS
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Syed Turab Hassan

Associate Professor
Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences, LUMS
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Wajid Khan

Assistant Professor
Department of Business Management, UoBs
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Zaigham Shahzad

Associate Professor
Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, LUMS
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Zakir Hussain Qamar

Head of Department
Department of Mathematics UoBS