OPP Scholars 2025-26
Three exceptional scholars — a physicist, a social scientist, and a physicist-astronomer — bringing Pakistan's brightest minds to Oxford through merit, resilience, and a shared commitment to service.
OPP's 2025–26 Cohort
The Oxford Pakistan Programme is proud to announce its scholars for the 2025–26 academic year. This cohort reflects the programme's continued commitment to academic excellence across disciplines — from theoretical physics to early-childhood policy research.
The 2025–26 cohort includes the Malala Yousafzai Scholar and the inaugural Munir Hussain Scholar, alongside an OPP Scholar supported as a Leverhulme awardee — together representing three distinct pathways to Oxford and three distinct visions for Pakistan's future.
Now in its fifth year, the OPP has supported over 52 Pakistani and British Pakistani students at the University of Oxford, building a growing network of leaders committed to national and global progress.
"These scholars embody what OPP was founded to do — open doors at Oxford for exceptional Pakistanis who would otherwise never have the means to walk through them."
Oxford Pakistan Programme · 2025–26Class of 2025–26
New Scholars
Aiman Nauman
MScMathematical and Theoretical Physics
LUMS · NMF Gold Medal in Physics
Aiman Nauman
Malala Yousafzai Scholar 2025–26Aiman is a gifted physicist with a passion for discovery. She earned a 1580 SAT score and entered LUMS on a merit scholarship at 17, consistently outperforming her Physics cohort with high distinction, completing research in high-energy theoretical physics, and winning the NMF Gold Medal for Physics. She has delivered lectures on relativity and quantum mechanics for LUMS's National Outreach Programme, taught mathematics at the Syedanwala School problem-solving camp, and served as a Director of LUMS Women in Computing. She has also volunteered with Science Fuse, writing and translating science stories. Deeply committed to advancing women's participation in science, Aiman aspires to pursue a PhD and return to Pakistan as an academic leader in physics.
Kayanat Iltaf
DPhilSocial Intervention and Policy Evaluation
QAU · Erasmus Mundus · World Bank Research
Kayanat Iltaf
OPP Scholar · Leverhulme Scholar 2025–26Kayanat's academic journey stands as a testament to resilience, excellence, and an enduring commitment to social progress. She received a Gold Medal for first position in her Higher Secondary examinations, then graduated among the top 3% of her class at Quaid-i-Azam University with a CGPA of 3.8. In 2022 she won the prestigious Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's Scholarship for the Global Development Policy programme, graduating with distinction across three leading European universities. Before Oxford she served as a pre-doctoral research fellow at the University of Göttingen, contributing to collaborative research with the World Bank. At Oxford, supervised by Professor Jane Barlow, her doctoral research examines how maternal risk factors during the perinatal period shape children's socioemotional trajectories in low-resource settings, with a focus on Pakistan. She is driven by a commitment to education, empowerment, and breaking cycles of limitation for women in her community.
Muhammad Huzaifa Naeem
MScMathematical and Theoretical Physics
NUST · President's Gold Medal · IPhO Lithuania
Muhammad Huzaifa Naeem
Munir Hussain Scholar 2025–26Muhammad Huzaifa Naeem graduated from NUST with distinction, earning the President's Gold Medal for first place academically with a CGPA of 3.99, the Rector's Gold Medal for best final-year project, the Best Project Award at the Open House, and the Best Community Service Student Award. As President of the NUST Physics and Astronomy Society and recipient of the Best Space Ambassador Award from SUPARCO, he has championed science outreach throughout his career. He was recognised among Pakistan's Top 5 under-20 physicists after winning the National Physics Talent Contest and was selected to represent Pakistan at the International Physics Olympiad in Lithuania. Huzaifa aspires to pursue a PhD in physics and return to Pakistan as a researcher and academic, contributing to the country's scientific ecosystem.
Disciplines in 2025–26
The fifth cohort spans theoretical physics, early-childhood policy research and applied social science — three disciplines with direct relevance to Pakistan's development challenges.