CONNEXIONS 2011
One of the biggest problems adding to the widening gap between the industry and academia is the isolation in which students and organizations operate in. While students have the ideas, time and capacity to develop innovative, cutting edge projects, few such projects actually see the light of day. This is either because the IT industry is unaware of the project or those who will be the ultimate users for the project (users outside the tech industry), don’t have the confidence in universities to actually develop workable projects. Pakistani organizations have also struggled to gain exposure of their developed projects and applications in the domestic market. This is happening simply because there aren’t enough platforms that are exposing locally developed projects to local buyers and users. Keeping this in mind, the IBA Information Systems Society (Infosys) is organizing an IT Matchmaking event called CONNEXIONS. The event puts up a platform to help not only showcase the talent and projects that students studying IT have created, but will also bring the potential users of these technology solutions who will have the opportunity to evaluate the projects and if appropriate, choose to implement them. There are five parts to CONNEXIONS:
• Stalls will be provided to students from across universities to display FYPs, along with organizations, where they will be able to set up and showcase their solutions (software and mobile applications). We are extending the platform to not just students, but also to organizations who wish to demonstrate their developed products and solutions.
• Business organizations, teamed with IT professionals (PSEB and P@SHA-listed companies) who can provide them with technical expertise, will tour the stalls looking for the solutions which interest them. Users and influencers from across organizations will be invited to assess and evaluate projects of their interest.
• The FYP Competition: Many Final Year Projects (FYPs) are relatively more mature than the average developed student project. There are often many FYPs that are ‘exactly what the market needs’, but die out only due to the lack of funding. We’re inviting a Venture Capitalist and a technical team to evaluate the FYPs displayed on stalls. The Top Five FYPs will be given a 10-minute pitch of their project’s sustainability and demonstrate how their idea stands out. The Top 3 teams will be awarded prize money.
• Seminar and Mentoring Session: Esteemed industry speakers will give their perspective to students regarding the latest industry trends and technology and the future of IT industry in Pakistan. A mentoring session will be conducted following the seminar.
• Job Fair: Students will be invited to bring their CVs to sit and interview with organizations who are hiring for full time, part-time or internship positions
Ample meeting and networking space will be provided for students and their supervisors and organization team leads to interact with business and IT heads from organizations. In an age of one-to-one interaction, interactive platforms must also raise the bar in how they expose potential ideas to potential customers. Every university hosts events that encourage competition amongst students. And while this is healthy for students in helping them to better assess where they stand vis a vis the other institutions, there are fewer ‘winners’ that are exposed to the industry. At IBA InfoSys Society and Web Society, we feel that there is a greater need for more near-graduating batches to interact with the industry that they are going to be joining, for a greater win-win situation. Target Audience: PSEB and P@SHA-listed companies, IT Students and Faculty
Capacity: 400 individuals (100 IBA students + 300 from other institutions and organizations)
Venue: IBA Main Campus, Karachi
Tentative List of Speakers
Dr. Shahid Qureshi, Director Center for entrepreneurship, IBA
Dr. Ishrat Husain, Dean & Director IBA
Ms. Jehan Ara, President P@SHA
Dr. Saeed Ghani, Associate Dean IBA
Dr. Zaheeruddin Asif, FCS Program Director and Faculty IBA
