ITU event starts

LAHORE: MIT Enterprise Forum Pakistan in collaboration with Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) of Information Technology University (ITU) the Punjab, opens a three-day event Smart City: The Hackathon, here Friday, which will continue until tomorrow (Sunday). Smart City: The Hackathon is Pakistan’s first-ever, large-scale hackathon organised with the aim to start informed conversations around Smart City initiatives.

Smart Cities involve the use of technology for increasing the operational efficiency, sustainability, economic outlook and quality of life for people living and working in a city. Participating teams have come from diverse backgrounds with a mix of students and professionals.

On the opening day, participants were required to select challenges and work both in their own groups and in random pairs. Day one activities included storytelling and story extraction, persona development and intro to design thinking.

On this occasion, Areej Mehdi, Programme Manager MIT Enterprise Forum Pakistan, said, “Smart City: The Hackathon is more than a competition, it is a small effort to leverage the inherent smartness of cities. Our collaboration with CIE at Information Technology University is a nod to the various exciting smart city initiatives being researched and developed at the university.” The participants will formally work on their selected ideas today (Saturday), based on the concepts learned on day one.

The participants shall also be provided with mentorship sessions to assist them in finalising their products within the sectors of health, education, transportation, power, and environment. The event will conclude tomorrow (Sunday), with final pitches.