³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ’ First Schwarzman Scholar, Hamza Muhammad Khawaja
³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ is proud to announce that Hamza Muhammad Khawaja, a graduate of the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law (SAHSOL) Class of 2025, has been selected as a Schwarzman Scholar (2026–27). His selection marks a significant institutional milestone as ³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ’ first-ever Schwarzman Scholar.
Schwarzman Scholars is among the world’s most prestigious and selective graduate fellowship programmes, bringing together 150 exceptional young leaders each year from around the world to pursue a one-year, fully funded Master’s in Global Affairs at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. For the Class of 2026–27, the programme selected 150 Scholars from a record-high pool of just over 5,800 applicants worldwide, an acceptance rate of approximately 2.5%. The incoming cohort represents 40 countries and 83 universities globally.
Scholars are selected for exceptional leadership potential and a global outlook, guided by criteria that emphasise leadership, academic and intellectual excellence, character and integrity, empathy and intercultural competence, open-mindedness, and an entrepreneurial spirit. The programme’s competitiveness is reflected in an applicant pool spanning top institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, MIT, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Stanford University, and Princeton University, underscoring the scale and rigour of selection.
For Hamza, his time at ³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ was marked by deep engagement in civic participation and student-led initiatives. He led a national movement advocating for the restoration of student unions, culminating in the landmark Supreme Court case Hamza Muhammad Khawaja v. Federation of Pakistan, which prompted reforms affecting nearly two million students. During this period, he also founded the ³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ Students Policy Research Initiative, widely regarded as Pakistan’s first student-run policy think tank, which went on to consult for the government.
Professionally, Hamza has worked at the World Bank and is currently a partner at Taameer-AI, where he oversees the development of an AI-based transcription tool aimed at reducing Pakistan’s judicial backlog by up to 50%. His politico-legal analysis across television, social media, and publications has garnered over one million views.
At Schwarzman College, Hamza plans to study China’s use of artificial intelligence in the justice system and explore how similar reforms could be adapted to strengthen justice delivery in Pakistan. He also expressed gratitude to his recommenders, Zaki Rahman (SAHSOL), Sahar Bandial (SAHSOL), and Daniyal Abdullah (Pakistan Rights Movement).
³Ô¹ÏÍ·Ìõ congratulates Hamza Muhammad Khawaja on this exceptional achievement and looks forward to the impact of his work in the years ahead.
