A team of Pakistani middle-school students, Asma Fatima and Inaya Khan, along with their teacher Gohar Khursheed, won the first prize in the Social Innovation category at Teknofest 2025 — a prestigious aerospace and technology festival held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Their project, “Emotion Detector Gadget for Quadriplegic”, impressed the judges and outshone 268 finalist teams from six countries.
The students’ innovative gadget aims to help linguistically paralysed individuals convey their emotions. The team’s victory is a testament to their hard work, determination, and creativity. According to Inaya, their experience at Teknofest was phenomenal, and they poured their hearts into the project which ultimately paid off.
This is not only a win for the team but also a significant milestone for Pakistan’s younger generation. This achievement follows another one by Pakistani students, who won three bronze medals in the 54th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) held in Iran last year. These accomplishments highlight the talent and potential of Pakistani students on the global stage.
Bakhtiyar Phullan
Turbat
