TECHELITE 2009 – MORE THAN A SUCCESS

TechELITE, an All Pakistan mega IT event has been hosted by CIS dept for the past three years and has become a legacy in the series of events that are hosted in NED every year. This year TechELITE was held on 4th May, 2009 in NED University of Engineering and Technology. With Telenor as our event sponsor & event co-sponsored by TPS. Other sponsors like Microsoft, Wavetec, CISCO, Folio3, Systems Limited, Pepsi, Intel, 360 training.com, PSO, PTCL, WeManage, Hamariweb.com, E-nnovators our official photographers, TCS as our Official Logistic partner, DAWN NEWS our Official media partner, CIO IDG Official Technology Media Partner & Radio Partner FM 107.

TechELITE invited the students from different Engineering Universities of Pakistan to display their expertise in the following four fields of IT sector:

Speed Programming Competition: The competition aimed at taking to limit the participants programming skills in a race, not only against other teams, but also against time. The teams were expected to provide solutions to the problems using optimum algorithm and data structures.

Network Management Competition: This was a new addition to the event. It was intended to highlight the importance of Network Management in the world of information technology. The participants were provided with real time network scenarios and were required to implement security in the best possible fashion in the given networks. This competition was sponsored by CISCO.

Software & Hardware Project Competitions: The competitions aimed to test the vision of participants to conceive a project that provides an efficient solution to real world problems. The participants were encouraged to make their projects innovative, creative and practical. These competitions provided a platform for teams to display their projects in front of teachers, researchers and professionals from the high-tech world. The software and hardware project competitions were sponsored by folio3 and Wavetec respectively.

Our motive was to bring forth even better prospects than before and we succeeded in advancing to higher professional standards as well. In succession to the progress of TechELITE, we lived up to the expectations of many. Around 40 major universities from all over Pakistan participated this year. In comparison with last year 20~30 more teams had competed in our Speed competition. Network Management was introduced in place of Network Security. Better media coverage was there to publicize the event on large scale. Free passes were provided to other universities welcoming their students and faculty members explicitly to come and witness this arena of academic and professional excellence.

The event commenced with a graceful opening ceremony held at the main auditorium. The event was officially inaugurated by the honorable Vice Chancellor of NED UET, Engr. Abul Kalam, who expressed his feelings about the occasion with this message

“It is always a great pleasure to see what our students can do when they combine the results of their learning with their originality and enthusiasm for the new projects…”

The Dean ECE – Prof. Dr. Talat Altaf and the chairman CISD – Prof. Akhtar Nadyme followed him and expressed their sentiments. Afterwards, Najam-us-Saqib Feroz, President of TechELITE’09, spoke a few words to commemorate the occasion and provided brief information about the event.

“After a very successful beginning, nurturing to the technology blast, TechELITE maintains the history of innovation, mind power, and utilization of the young brains…”

Soon after the conclusion of the opening ceremony the participating teams were guided to their respective labs by the organizers & volunteers. All four competitions kick started at 12 noon and continued till 6 pm.

Teams from more than ten universities across the nation took part in the competitions. Around 150 teams or 400 participants were competing for prize money of 2.5 lacs. The Elite team made special arrangements for the accommodation of out-station teams.

Apart from the competitions, seminars and lectures were being held at CIS Lecture hall simultaneously. A number of officials, representing various IT companies, were invited to discuss the current trends in the market and to brief the students with the requirements and expectations of the industry from them. Promotional booths were set up for all the supporting companies outside the main auditorium. This provided an excellent opportunity for the students to interact with professionals. Several companies were also collecting resumes at their stalls for recruiting fresh graduates. A food court was also set up at the booth area, comprising major food chains giving festive touch to the occasion.

The Elite team had put up a great effort in making TechELITE a landmark and this would not have been possible without the motivation, encouragement and support from the Vice Chancellor, the Chairman, faculty and lab assistants of CISE. The events success can be judged by the acknowledgments that it received from the IT companies and the universities across the nation.

TechELITE’09 was concluded with a closing ceremony in which chairperson P@SHA Ms. Jehan Ara was invited as the Chief Guest. Rabia Garib Chief Editor of CIO Magazine hosted the closing ceremony.

Later on, prizes were distributed by the chief guest to successful teams amid great applause and acknowledgment. Special memoirs were also presented to the judges, guests and sponsors by the Chairman. The event finally was officially over. A grand dinner was arranged for the ELITE teams, organizers & volunteers after the conclusion of closing ceremony.

TechELITE 2009 was a huge success for the team of techELITE. Thanks to Almighty Allah that in the current era of recession, the ELITE team able to conduct such a huge event, this again in the history of CISE was marked as success.