A high-level task force from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) visited Government College University (GCU) Lahore on Thursday as part of the Second Five-Year Review of Pakistan’s Associate Membership with CERN. Additional Registrar, Dr. Shaukat Ali and Director Institute of Physics (IOP), Prof. Dr. Muhammad Nouman Sarwar Qureshi, welcomed the guests.

The delegation, comprising senior CERN officials, Ms. Charlotte L. Warakaulle, Director for International Relations; Prof. Joachim Mnich, Director for Research and Computing; Prof. Emmanuel Tsesmelis, Head of Relations AM States; Dr. Andrzej Charkiewicz, Experimental Physics Department and Prof. Tadeusz Lesiak, CERN Council Delegate for Poland, met with the Director IOP, Prof. Dr. M.N.S. Qureshi and senior faculty members, Dr. Naveed Afzal, Dr. Gohar Abbas, Dr. Atif Shahbaz and Dr. Sajid Ai. Dr. Masood Iqbal, Member Science from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and Director CERN Secretariat Pakistan, Dr. Zafar Yasin were also present. Dr. Mazhar Hussain presented an overview of the IOPs’ research activities.

The extended research collaboration possibilities were discussed during the meeting. CERN representatives also visited the Centre for Advanced Studies in Physics (CASP) at GCU, where they inspected research facilities and reviewed ongoing academic and scientific activities.

The visit aimed to assess Pakistan’s scientific and institutional progress as an associate member of CERN since 2015. GCU Lahore, as one of the country’s leading science and technology institutions, has long played a significant role in Pakistan’s collaboration with CERN, contributing to research, training, and international scientific partnerships.

The task force’s interactions with GCU faculty underscored the University’s contributions to high-energy physics research and its potential for greater integration with CERN’s global scientific community.