| NUST Team Wins Imagine Cup 2020 National Finals | NUST Team Wins Imagine Cup 2020 National Finals | <p style="text-align:justify;">Islamabad, February 18, 2020: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Microsoft Pakistan have announced National University of Sciences and Technology's team, Flowlines, as the winner of the Imagine Cup 2020 National Finals. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">NUST team's idea to use augmented reality to connect it's users to the physical world outclassed 60 finalist teams from across the country. The Flowlines will now represent Pakistan in the upcoming regional semifinals in Amsterdam, Holland, to compete among global teams for a prize of over US $ 20,000. The top two teams of the semifinals will advance to the 2020 Imagine Cup World Championship. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Imagine Cup is a global competition for students over 16 years of age. For nearly two decades, students from around the world have been participating in the Microsoft's global technology competition, bringing their unique technological solutions to life. Throughout the Imagine Cup competition, Microsoft Pakistan continues to foster innovation among students and enables them to transform their ambitions into reality. The competition witnesses strong participation from Pakistan as well as from the world over. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">For the Imagine Cup 2020, HEC and Microsoft Pakistan reached out to more than 100 campuses this year through multiple outreach campaigns in a bid to create awareness about the competition and effectively market it to the audience. This effort resulted in record breaking project entries, i.e., more than 600, in this competition.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Mr. Usman Dar visited stalls setup by the participating teams, displaying their projects, at Pak-China Friendship Centre. He appreciated participating students for their innovative project ideas. He said the ideas generated by the students, especially on climate change and waste management, are brilliant and need to be marketed. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">"The Government is committed to the well-being of Pakistani youth, as it considers them a national asset. Prime Minister Imran Khan has launched the <em>Kamyab Jawan</em> Programme to provide the youth with opportunities to excel in their respective fields. The programme includes various important schemes, including Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme, Start-up Pakistan Programme, and National Internship Programme. These schemes will enable a healthy social and economic engagement of Pakistani youth," said Mr. Dar. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Talking to participants of the competition, Chairman HEC Tariq Banuri said Imagine Cup is all about innovation, transformation and what comes next. He observed that Imagine Cup continues to cultivate a spirit of social and technological entrepreneurship, empowering students to use their creativity to address real societal problems through technology. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">"We have seen extremely innovative ideas coming in and many of the students, who have been participating in competitions like the Imagine Cup, have established their own start-ups which are now becoming multimillion dollar companies." He hoped that the national final winner team will bring laurels to Pakistan. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Senior Education Director for Microsoft Middle East and Africa Harb Bou-Harb said Microsoft strives to bring the right set of tools and technology to students to expose them to the skills required for the future of work. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Imagine Cup is one of Microsoft's efforts to transform skill development, nurture budding technologists and foster collaborative and innovative spirit. This global technology competition is characterised by several success stories, as it is a great platform to innovate, get recognised and eventually get enabled to bring about a positive change. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Pakistan ranks as the top country in the world with the highest number of project submissions and competitors in the Imagine Cup. Students were initially evaluated in regional finals held in different cities, while the best teams competed in the national finals. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Country Manager Microsoft Pakistan Shahzad Khan said, "The talent we have in Pakistan is phenomenal and competitions like Imagine Cup only help highlight this raw talent and give them a platform to reach the global community." He stressed the need for focusing on producing skillful, technically enabled and certified graduates to meet the global market needs for engineering talent. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">===============<br></p> | 19-02-2020 07:23:40 | <img alt="" src="/english/PublishingImages/ThematicImages/HEC%20ICON-15.png" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | https://hec.gov.pk/english/news/news/Pages/ImagineCup-2020.aspx |
| HEC Organises Speech Competition to Express Solidarity with Kashmiris | HEC Organises Speech Competition to Express Solidarity with Kashmiris | <p style="text-align:justify;">Islamabad, February 4, 2020: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) organized on Tuesday a speech competition in connection with the Kashmir Solidarity Day. Students from different universities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi region participated in the event. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Honorable Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood was chief guest in the opening ceremony, while Parliamentary Secretary Ms. Wajeeha Akram graced the prize distribution ceremony. Chairman HEC Mr. Tariq Banuri and DG (Academics) HEC Mr. Raza Chohan and a larger number of students from universities in the twin cities were present at the occasion. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Sher Ali Daim from Allama Iqbal Open University excelled among other contestants and won the competition. Azhar Iqbal from Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Islamabad clinched second position and Kainat Latif from Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi won the third position. The winners were awarded cash prizes worth Rs. 50,000, Rs. 30,000, and Rs. 20,000, respectively.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Judges for the competition comprised the renowned journalist and anchorperson Mr. Arshad Sharif, Dr. Abdul Aziz Sahir from Department of Urdu, AIOU and Makhdoom Shahabuddin.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">In his address, the Minister stressed that India, under the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has been gripped by a wave of fascism and Hindutva ideology and is committing genocide of the innocent Muslims. He added that the government is taking concrete steps to internationalise the issue and as a result, three UN sessions have recently been held on the burning issue of Kashmir dispute. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">The Minister appreciated HEC for highlighting the Kashmir cause and holding the competition to provide the youth an opportunity to express their sentiments on the Kashmir issue. He observed that it is very significant to create awareness among our youth about the importance of Kashmir for Pakistan. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">In her remarks, Ms. Wajiha Akram stressed that every individual or institution needs to raise the voice of Kashmiris in their respective capacities. She said the world needs to recognise the struggle of Kashmiri people for freedom. She appreciated the students for their spirit and knowledge about Kashmir issue and urged them to keep their sentiments alive. She said Pakistan stands by the Kashmiri people in their struggle to achieve their right to self-determination. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">===============<br></p> | 04-02-2020 13:15:19 | <img alt="" src="/english/PublishingImages/ThematicImages/HEC%20ICON-15.png" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | https://hec.gov.pk/english/news/news/Pages/HEC-Solidarity-with-Kashmiris.aspx |
| 1st Steering Committee Meeting of HEDP Project held at HEC | 1st Steering Committee Meeting of HEDP Project held at HEC | <p style="text-align:justify;">Islamabad, January 24, 2020: The first meeting of the Steering Committee of Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project was held at HEC Secretariat, Islamabad. The meeting was attended by members comprising provincial Higher Education Departments (HEDs), Vice Chancellors of different Universities and representatives of different ministries. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Fateh Marri, Executive Director HEC. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Dr. Marri welcomed the honorable members and informed them about HEDP project objective. The Steering Committee was briefed about the background and details of the project by Mr. Fazal Abbas Maken, Consultant Institutional Reforms and Focal Point for HEDP. It was highlighted that HEC Vision 2025 is based on Government's Vision 2025, which aims at improving teaching and learning along with strengthening governance in the higher education sector. HEDP has also been formulated to achieve the objectives set forth in HEC Vision 2025. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">He informed the members that project's life is of 60 months. The project objectives will be achieved through five components, which involve different sets of development activities focusing on teaching, use of technology, and collaboration in research. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Afterward, the component owners briefed the Committee about the set of activities planned for the next 18 months. The Vice Chancellors appreciated the efforts of HEC and assured their active participation in the project activities. The Committee approved the work plan and operation manual with the recommendation to involve stakeholders for developing criteria, policies, and designing training. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">The Executive Director appreciated the active participation of the Steering Committee members and expected that the project team would be guided by the Committee for achieving its objectives. In his concluding remarks, Dr. Sajid Ali Yousifani, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Education, and Professional Training appreciated the launch of this project by HEC and underlined the need for consistent efforts to ensure the provision of quality education, through integrating technology in teaching, learning, and research.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">===============<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><br></p> | 24-01-2020 11:55:15 | <img alt="" src="/english/PublishingImages/ThematicImages/HEC%20ICON-15.png" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | https://hec.gov.pk/english/news/news/Pages/SCM-HEDP.aspx |