PHOTO: AFP
ABBOTABAD:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board (KPITB) announced the launch of a three-year project called Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Applications (KPApps) Challenge 2016 Meet-up. The challenge will offer students from across the globe with an opportunity to develop innovative mobile phone and IT-based applications to address the civic and social needs of people in the province.
Tech Valley Abbottabad arranged the first orientation session for graduates and students of Hazara varsities at its office on Saturday. The KPApps challenge has been co-organised by KPITB, Code for Pakistan, Tech Valley Abbottabad and World Bank.
Goals
Briefing participants, Tech Valley CEO Umar Farooq, World Bank delegate on IT Shan Rehman, Code for Pakistan's Sidra Jalil and KPITB official Shahnaz explained KPApps was an online hackathon that will provide opportunities to techies, designers and entrepreneurs to create mobile and web applications, websites and similar tools to benefit people of the province.
They said the project aims to encourage entrepreneurship, increase the government’s use of innovative tech and strengthen the network of youth interested in using technology as a force for positive social change.
Modus operandi
Speakers in their presentations said IT graduates and students from across the globe would submit prototypes of their tech tools under three categories – civic engagement, governance and health. The media can include web, SMS applications or mobile applications for agriculture, finance or education.
Under the category of civic engagement, KPApps would welcome tools that aim to help residents of K-P in community building, assist them in finding solutions to their social problems and provide opportunities to interact with government functionaries.
Through the category of governance, IT students would be required to help the provincial government in its ongoing efforts to use technology to ensure transparency, accountability and improve efficiency of the government processes. Under health, the project seeks to create innovations in public health service delivery through digital tools that can expand access to care, information and improve efficiency in low-income communities.
The speakers also said the category of mobile applications for agriculture, finance, or education should fall under one of the additional thematic categories of Pakistan Telecommunications Authority platform, ‘Smart Pakistan’.
Incentives
The presenters said every team would consist of five IT graduates or students and their prototypes would be accepted by March 14. A team of judges would announce winners at a function scheduled for March 25 in Abbottabad.
The speakers said the winner would get a cash prize of Rs600,000 and the winning team would be engaged at incubation centres in Abbottabad, Islamabad and Peshawar for further training and support for six months.
Long term successes
Talking to The Express Tribune, KPITB Project Director Asim Jamshed said this three-year project would cost Rs1 billion. “Under [KPApps], around 400 new IT companies would be set up in the province and 40,000 individuals would get jobs, helping the government fight unemployment and poverty,” he said.
Jamshed added by 2018, public facilities system would be IT-based from the district to the union council level.
In response to a question, he said with the completion of the project, the provincial government would be able to hold next general elections using a biometric system.
Referring to the visible success of the system, Jamshed said with a small funding of Rs0.48 million, the use of IT applications to control traffic in Peshawar has increased revenue by at least four times.
Delegates from PTA, doctHers, Techjuice and local companies also attended the interactive session.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 28th, 2016.
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