Young entrepreneurs: Bio gas plant, remote home device win

Winners get to spend the evening with cricketers, tennis star, besides cash prizes.


Express April 07, 2011

LAHORE:


“All you need is 15 kilogrammes of cow dung and two kilogrammes of food leftovers to produce two kilogrammes of natural gas,” Rahit Abbasi, a University of Engineering and Technology (UET) student said.


Abbasi was explaining the details of the winning project, presented by the UET team, for the Young Entrepreneurial Business Plan Competition 2011 at the University of Management and Technology (UMT) on Wednesday.

The event was organised by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the government of Punjab as a part of the Lahore Shopping Festival.

The UET team had come up with a bio-gas plant and called it the Pak Energy Solution. Abbasi explained that the plant, that costs Rs25,000, could bring a revolution in the country and help recycle waste. “It does not need electricity. It is once-in-a-lifetime investment,” he added.

Student entrepreneurs from several colleges and universities of Lahore presented their business models during the competition with focus at ‘using technology to make life easy.’

UMT, Lahore University of Management Sciences, UET, Punjab University, University of Peshawar, Lahore Business School, Kinnaird College, National College of Business and Administration, COMSATS, Hailey College of Commerce and Beaconhouse National University had qualified for the final round.

The UET team succeeded in impressing the jury and the audience with their business plan and was awarded the Best Plan and a Rs100,000 cash prize.

UMT won the runners up place with their GSM Home project and Rs50,000 cash prize.

The winning teams were also invited to spend the evening with the Pakistan cricket team, tennis player Aisamul Haq and Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif in the UMT.

UMT’s project called the GSM Home was a remote-control device for home appliances.

“Using GSM technology, the users can send messages to the device that then instructs the home appliance it is connected to such as TV, refrigerator, air conditioner, lights,” Mavra Naeem, a UMT team member explained.

She said at present six appliances could be attached to a single device, but the team was working to increase the number.

UMT rector Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad said that such competitions were healthy for young kinds.

“They involve young people in innovative projects and enhance their exposure besides providing them practical approach,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 7th, 2011.

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