Category: IT news

Islamabad – VEON is Pakistan’s most advanced internet platform, which has been launched by VEON Limited with Jazz as its first telco partner. The platform promises to completely revolutionize the digital landscape of the country and how Pakistanis communicate. VEON is more than a platform. It is a unique ecosystem that combines usual telecom services, popular OTT services and a smart core based on AI and Big Data analysis. It is more than a messenger platform. It combines everything that a modern mobile internet user wants to see in one platform – chats, VoIP calls, popular content, public channels, affiliate offers, a wallet (in the future), and of course, a personal account for managing mobility services of one’s Jazz account as well as a support service chat room for subscribers. The Pakistani version of VEON allows users to communicate with friends in the messenger, controlling costs of and managing mobile services, getting special offers from the telco partner (Jazz) and other partners i.e. McDonald’s, Daraz.pk, Chenone etc., subscribing to interesting content selected by our editors based on the user’s preferences.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) –  LG Electronics (LG) is attempting to prove that amidst the criticism that the IT sector isn’t as inclusive as it could be when it comes to gender and age, one thing is certain – IT has no limitations when it comes to one’s physical capabilities.

To prove this point, LG is partnering with Rehabilitation International Korea (RI Korea) and organized the seventh annual Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities in Hanoi, Vietnam in September 19-21. Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare and LG hosted this event sponsored by Korean Ministry of Science and ICT, UNESCAP, RI (Rehabilitation International) and Community Chest of Korea. Physically challenged middle and high school students from across 16 countries in the Asia region that includes China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Kazahstan, Uzbekistan and the Philippines among others, were selected to compete across several IT categories. Vietnam was selected as the host country in recognition of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the nation and the Republic of Korea.

Since its debut in 2011, the Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities has pursued the goal to minimize the digital divide in the participants’ ability to access technology and improve their chances of finding meaningful careers. More importantly, the competition helps young adults increase their confidence and dream bigger dreams. “For me, this is a stepping stone to get into a university and become a photo editor,” said 17-year-old Nguyen Doan An of Hanoi.

Competitors will be judged by a panel made up of representatives from Korea’s top Seoul National University’s Computer Engineering Department, experts from LG Electronics’ R&D Center and IT specialists. The students will be evaluated on their ability to solve problems and think creatively using today’s technology tools. In addition to the invaluable experience, winners will receive cash prizes to assist with educational expenses.

“The challenges disabled individuals face in Asia won’t disappear overnight but with the proper training and attitude, we can help lower the barrier to entry into the IT workforce,” said Kim Young-lak, president of LG Electronics Vietnam. “LG is providing a foundation for today’s challenged youth to discover new possibilities and unleash their true potential. We are confident that these students will leave the competition knowing that they can achieve anything.”

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Karachi – Crossover Pakistan has carved its mark by becoming part of the biggest IT & Telecom event of Pakistan ITCN Asia 2017. The 3 day event is taking place at the Karachi Expo Centre, located in the heart of the business hub of the country. The Crossover Pakistan stall in Hall 1 was visited by numerous professionals from IT universities and software houses.

Crossover, also known as Crossover for Work not only connects companies to the best talent from around the world, but also provides a seamless end to end solution for remote team management.

Their global mission is to help global society develop a concrete framework for high paying IT jobs and skill development in the IT Sector of Pakistan. The company currently employees 75 professional from the IT sector of Pakistan from various cities. Overall, there are 2400+ employees of Crossover, worldwide.

Speaking to the media, the Country Brand Ambassador of Crossover Pakistan, Mr. Waqar Abdul Ghaffar, highlighted the areas where the company can help establish the local database of professionals for International exposure and affiliations. He also emphasized on the need to better the quality of IT education in the country and provision of updated technology for the people working in the industry. He also informed the visitors of ITCN ASIA about their upcoming projects for IT experts in Pakistan and how they can become a part of CROSSOVER global team.

The company has already organized two hiring tournaments in the country, 1^st in Lahore and the 2^nd in Karachi from which numerous professionals were selected and are now working for Crossover. The company plans to organize the 3^rd hiring tournament very soon in Islamabad.

Islamabad – Pakistan based IT companies are making their way towards international markets through their mobile applications and gaming apps. Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) is determined to support all such IT companies for creating constructive and conceptual mobile games.
According to PSEB, there was dire need to promote gaming, animation at international level to increase the market revenue for Pakistani developers. There are already plenty of Pakistani IT companies working in international arena mainly named as ‘Mindstorm Studios’, ‘GameView Studios’,‘Pepper PK’ and ‘TkXeL’etc.
From these companies, ‘TkXel’ has created mobile applications and gaming companies from a university lab in Lahore while Pepper PK made history by developing paid BlackBerry applications which reached top rankings on BlackBerry’s App World store. ‘Tintashhas’ designed many innovative casual games for iPhone, iPad, and Android platforms.
Games are not the only avenue on the mobile platform that Pakistani companies are focusing on, bit a number of companies have looked at broader educational and infotainment markets.
Folio3 – Judged as one of the Harvard Business School’s All-World Fast Growth 500 companies in 2010 – has interesting products in its portfolio.
Folio3 has been instrumental in creating an online educational platform for Secret Builders – a company that boasts a virtual world for children 5 to 14 years old powered by a Web 2.0 community of children, parents, educators, writers, artists and game developers.
Pakistan has produced some great gaming studios. The title animation sequence of Game of Thrones, the world’s most-watched TV series these days, has been produced by Hameed Shaukat, a US-born Pakistani. Cricket Companion application which received worldwide recognition was also developed by Tricast Media, a Pakistani startup.
Pakistani Visual Effects Artist, Mir Zafar Ali has received three Oscar awards for his work in The Golden Compass, Life of Pi and Frozen.
Novaira Masood, a Pakistani animator, effects in some of the most popular Hollywood movies including Maleficent, A Christmas Carol, Thor, Transformers 3 and Jack the Giant Slayer.
Like Novaira Masood, Laraib Atta is another emerging visual artist from Pakistan who has worked on visual effects for popular Hollywood flicks such as X-men, Godzilla, and Gravity to name a few.
Talking to APP, official of Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) said, the board facilitated the IT Industry through a series of project and programmes for promoting innovation and technologies.
He said, various benefits were being offered to the companies which got register with PSEB, it supported them in participating in International events.
He said , Pakistan Software Export Board in collaboration with National ICT R&D Fund had launched a new internship program titled “Prime Minister’s ICT Internship Programme”.
Through this program, PSEB has trained 3,000 ICT graduates with 16 or 18 years academic degrees which aims to develop a career in the ICT Industry.
PSEB also was also playing important role in providing office space to IT companies and such facilities were necessary for creating a platform for information exchange and linkage between academia, industry and the government, he added.—APP

ISLAMABAD  (Web Desk) – Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoIT) is formulating a proposed Digital Pakistan Policy 2016-17 to rapidly transform the IT and related sectors of economy.

The Ministry will submit the said policy document to ECC for its approval.

The basic objective of the policy is to take into account the increasingly transformed role of Information Technology (IT) across all sectors of socio-economic development, accelerated digitization and a holistic knowledge based economy. According to an official document issued here, this policy would serve as foundation of a holistic Digital Eco-system with advanced concepts and components for rapid delivery of next generation digital services, applications and content.

It will also provide opportunities for local entrepreneurs and firms to acquire core competencies, experience and credibility and better position them to compete at international level.

During first three quarters of this fiscal year, extensive stakeholders’ consultations including inter-division, as per rules of business were undertaken in form of meetings, workshops and seminars.

PHOTO CAPTION:

Lahore – Winners of the Intel National Science Fair held in November 2016 proceeding to compete at the annual event of International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) being held in Los Angeles, California this year from May 15 – May 19, 2017.

Seen in the picture: Students from Danish Higher Secondary School, Aga Khan Higher Secondary School, Pak Turk International Schools and Colleges and Islamabad Model College; who will be representing Pakistan at the ISEF.

Karachi – Widely recognized IT Show of Pakistan, running for the fifth consecutive year now, 5th Pakistan CIO Summit began Tuesday in a local hotel in Karachi. The show brings together over 300 CIOs, IT Heads and Technologists from all over Pakistan under one platform to share knowledge and information about latest trends in IT.
The summit was inaugurated by Dr Irfan Ali, Executive Director (BP&RG), State Bank of Pakistan. The Chief Guest appreciated the efforts of the organizers and said that shows like this would bring a positive image of the country and are important to highlight issues that the IT industry is facing today. He also said that it is imperative for companies to have a board of directors in which at least one person is tech savvy to give the strategic direction on how companies objectives can be met using technology.
The allied expo, 3rd IT Showcase Pakistan brought together 16 companies from Pakistan, along with several others from UAE, China & UK. The theme of the summit was ‘Solutions for Tomorrow – Agility for Digital Enterprise’, where speakers, technologists and panelists spoke on the latest topics including; Cloud Computing & Business Agility, Enterprise Agility & IT Management and Data Security in Agile Digital Enterprise.
The event was organized by Solutions Inc, with e-Creatorz as the ‘Strategic Partner’. The sponsors include; PTCL, GBM Pakistan, Rapid Compute, ArcPoint Technologies, Sophos, CSquare Consulting, Yahsat & Allied Bank.

Lahore – TECHNICAL Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) is introducing 4 months duration free Microsoft Certified I.T. Course from next month. This course is being offered at TEVTA Institutes across the province of the Punjab with the collaboration of Microsoft. Chairperson TEVTA Irfan Qaiser Sheikh was addressing the officers to review the progress of the course at TEVTA Secretariat. Chief Operating Officer Jawad Ahmed Qureshi, TEVTA Officers Akhtar Abbas Bharwana, Aamir Aziz, Azhar Iqbal Shad, Maqsood Ahmad, Mustafa Kamal Pasha, Aisha Qazi and other were also present on this occasion.
Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that the field of I.T. has emerged as leading technology of era which has changed the life styles and industry trends. It has also served as a dominant sector for employment opportunities for youth.
This training program has been chalked out according to the need and demand of local and global markets.
Chairperson TEVTA further said that collaboration of TEVTA with Microsoft is successfully being taking place in line with the policy guidelines.

Islamabad – After the approval of construction of first state-of-the-art Information Technology (IT) Park in Islamabad by Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC), the project is likely to kick start soon. Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has leased about 45 acres of land in Chak Shahzad to build the park. PSEB is mandated to facilitate Pakistan’s IT industry and increase exports of software and services from Pakistan. According to officials, PSEB has been conducting surveys since 2004. The results indicate that absence of IT parks is one of the top three concerns for the IT industry. The Korean Exim Bank has agreed to finance the establishment of the first Technology Park in Pakistan to promote IT and telecom sector to be completed at the cost of $50 million. According to blue print buildings with around covered area of 1, 000, 00-1, 500,000 square feet will be constructed on 15 acres of land to host more than 100 IT companies.

But despite claim of PSEB that IT companies are demanding IT parks, many question authenticity of surveys and believe IT companies would not be interested in availing the facility.

It is too late for that, all operational companies have already their premises, why any settled company would shift to new offices, an IT official said.

Islamabad – Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Anusha Rahman Tuesday said the information technology software park being set up in the federal capital would help boost exports from the country. Approval for the software park, which would be established by Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) in collaboration with Korea Exim Bank, had already been obtained, she said while speaking at the IT Awards 2016 ceremony.
She said the information technology (IT) sector was facing many challenges. The government would help IT, telecom and software companies to improve the volume of export, she added. Anusha said the Exim Bank was investing $50 million for the IT park in the capital. The park spreading over an area of 45 acres would help promote the IT industry, local software experts, attract international companies to the local market, and increase IT exports by an estimated $120 million, she added.
Some 150 IT companies, she said, would be accommodated in the software park. She said two IT parks would be established in Lahore and Karachi also. She said the PSEB was doing valuable work and the new IT park would only further add to their efforts in strengthening Pakistan’s IT industry. The main purpose of the IT Park would be to drive companies in developing more hardware and software solutions, thus boosting the country’s IT export, she added.
Anusha said,”I am confident that with this resolve and under the visionary guidance of Prime Ministe Muhammad Nawaz Shareef, we shall make Pakistan a digital Pakistan.” The minister said the Incubator in Islamabad was going to start work next month with the efforts of PTA chairman in which 3000 interns would get IT training, 30 per cent of them would be female.
After Islamabad the incubators would be established in Peshawar, Quetta, Karachi, Lahore and backward areas of Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan, she added. The minister said the Google team had expressed its will to work with the youth of Pakistan as they were very vibrant, intelligent and challenging.
“Our main agenda is to digitalize Pakistan. Over 60% of 200 million people of Pakistan comprise of young people and they are the main strength and we are here to groom them and convert them into entrepreneurs to make them productive citizens of the country,” she added. She said the actual volume of software extorts was four time more than the amount recorded by the State Bank of Pakistan. According to a survey, Pakistan’s IT export revenue was Rs2.7 billion while as the SBP it was Rs500 million, she added.
Anusha said,” With our USF arm we are launching projects worth multi-billion to pass on the benefits of telecommunication and broadband services to the underserved and unserved masses.”