Statistics alert: Pakistan has been ranked 113th out of 127 in the Global Innovation Index Report 2017. Sounds like a depressing piece of news for engineering and technology students!
UNI EVENTS
Statistics alert: Pakistan has been ranked 113th out of 127 in the Global Innovation Index Report 2017. Sounds like a depressing piece of news for engineering and technology students! With the lowest education budget in South Asia, poor infrastructure, and indifferent politicians, one can’t expect improvement in the ranking in the coming years (Hopeful Pakistanis, please don’t bash me for this!).
But what about the success stories of Pakistani App developers, like Abu Turab (Foodible), Faizan, Javeria and Hashim (Optasia); of a team of software engineers who designed a Hearing Loss Detector for the INJAZ competition; and of young talented students participating in ISEF with their projects like Musical Torch and Bracelet Aid. These stories are indicators of progress! And, it doesn’t matter if the progress is slow.
The need is to open up spaces and create platforms where students from various fields and universities can present their ideas and get feedback from fellow students and professionals. Bahria Innovation and Technological Society (BITS) is one such platform. Recently, they organized their second engineering event Electria ‘17 at Bahria University, Karachi. On the day of the event, the campus was buzzing with energy; young aspiring engineers were testing their robots, talking to their teachers and were, of course, enjoying snacks and tea with their friends.
Kamran Faisal, a final year student, told us about the event, “Electria ‘17 is an engineering event where students from various universities, like IBA Sukkar, NED, Iqra University, Dawood Institute of Engineering and Technology, DHA Suffa University, Habib University, National University of Sciences and Technology, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology have participated in the competitions held under the categories of Aerorush, Robo-Track, Startup Pitch and Circuit Designing.”
Emerging technologies has a lot to do with Robotics; for engineers around the world, industrial robots, artificial intelligence, robowars are major areas of interest. It seemed at Electria Pakistani students don’t want to lag behind the rest of the world.
Line Following Robots Competition had the highest number of participants. Students designed their mini toy-like robots and controlled them while they moved on a track. Some students were freaking out over their robots that went round and round in circles while some were still fixing them. But only the students who were able to make their robot follow the track accurately were announced winners.
“Robotics is very close to the heart of BITS; Electria ‘16 was only about the Robo-Track Competitions and we had no other categories like we have this year,” Taha Suhail shared.
After Robo-Track, Startup Pitch competitio was another exciting segment of Electria ‘17. Five teams got a chance to present their idea to a team of 10 judges who were experts from corporate sectors. The great thing was the winner of this competition got a business incubator as the “prize”. The incubator will help them develop their startup by providing services such as management training, funds, etc. Students usually have great ideas for their final year projects, but due to lack of resources, they aren’t able to take them forward. Incubators can come as a blessing for them!
Industry needs hard working engineers who don’t just know how to run machines and do calculation, but are innovative. Such assets help their factories develop and keep them up to date with modern technology. “After attending lectures, students should be able to implement the knowledge properly. Through such events, students get enough space and guidance to polish their skills,” Soonhan Soomro, the Vice President of BITS, expressed her views.
Additional information by Tooba Ghani
Taha Suhail, President BITS
“Bahria Innovative and Technological Society was formed to connect engineering students to the industries and corporate sector. BITS also wanted students to showcase their ideas in front of the world.
“BITS is run by a dedicated body of students and faculty members of Bahria University. Professor M. Umair Arif is the man behind the society and Soonhan Soomro is acting as the vice-president.
“Bahria Soceity of Robotics is another society organized by students who are passionate about Robotics. They have been to various mega competitions like Procom, Techathon 2.0 and ZAB E-Fest.”
Electria ‘17 winners
Robo-Track Competition: Abdur Rehman from PAF-KIET
Startup Pitch Competition: Team Wingneers from Institute of Industrial Electronics and Engineering
Aerorush: Team Griffin from Bahria University
Circuit Designing: Team FLASH NED from NED University of Engineering and Technology
Promoting lifelong learning systems in Pakistan
Aga khan university examination board recently hosted its third annual Principals’ Conference. The conference, attended by over 360 principals from all over Pakistan, is the only event of its kind in the country that brings together a diverse group of school leaders on a single platform and showcases original classroom research. 31 abstracts were presented on issues such as formative assessment in primary schools, case studies of educational institutions serving impoverished communities and the role of inquiry as a dynamic teaching learning approach. Principals were able to exchange views and discuss the problems they face in their bid to provide quality education.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Shehzad Jeeva, Director Aga Khan University Examination Board outlined the challenges our students have to confront. “Our students face an increasingly globalised world, which places a heavy emphasis on a knowledge-based economy and multidisciplinary skills.
“The challenge for educational institutions in Pakistan, therefore, is to inculcate a sense of intellectual curiosity and a passion for learning that goes beyond formal academic years within their students. And it is not only students that need to evolve into lifelong learners - this is a pertinent need for all of us and therefore requires system level change in education for teachers, parents, principals and communities to develop into enduring pupils.”
- S.K
