Nisa Butt, Pakistan

I was a MEG 8, a DAAD scholar, the first Pakistani to join this program. Before joining MEG on full scholarship, I worked at the Environmental Ministry in Pakistan, where my role was related to Training and Monitoring in Waste Management. Coming from a country where many girls do not get the opportunity to study and work internationally, it was indeed a privilege to collaborate and interact with students from diverse nationalities and backgrounds. I found MEG to be a very well-structured international program, which helped me learn and grow tremendously every single day. I still cherish the countless inspiring discussions and debates that we used to have within and outside the classroom environment, where one would listen and understand the viewpoint of students from around the world. It was only through this experience, that I could fully grasp and appreciate the magnitude and breadth of the topic of environment, and how it is interlinked with other Political and Socio-economic questions.

As I was always interested in the domain of Monitoring and Training, I opted for a similar topic for my master thesis, where I conducted research on children's Education and Food security. I continued to work in the same domain for another 3.5 years, as part of a project with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. In 2018, I landed in the world of Pharmaceuticals. Currently, I am working as a Clinical Specialist, overseeing Clinical Trials for Cardiovascular diseases. I am responsible for the training, monitoring and performance evaluation of different products on one hand, and
interacting/negotiating with different stakeholders in the health sector, government officials and regulatory bodies, on the other. My MEG background motivated and enabled me to be a part of the sustainability team at the office, introducing the concepts of carbon neutrality and working on science-based target initiatives, for reducing carbon emissions through supplier engagement.