PHOTO: FACEBOOK
LAHORE: A three-day hackathon focusing on the use of technology for increasing the operational efficiency, sustainability, economic outlook and quality of life for people living and working in a city kicked off on Friday.
MIT Enterprise Forum Pakistan in collaboration with the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) of the Information Technology University (ITU) Punjab organised the event.
Smart City: The Hackathon is Pakistan's first-ever, large-scale hackathon organised with the aim to start informed conversations around Smart City initiatives. The concept of smart cities involves the use of technology for improving the lives of people living in cities. Participating teams have come from diverse backgrounds with a mix of students and professionals.
On an opening day, participants were required to select challenges and work both in their own groups and in random pairs. On the first day, activities included storytelling and story extraction, personal development and intro to design thinking.
Speaking on the occasion, MIT Enterprise Forum Pakistan Program Manager Areej Mehdi said, "Smart City: The Hackathon is more than a competition. It is a small effort to leverage the inherent smartness of cities.
Our collaboration with CIE at Information Technology University is a nod to the various exciting smart city initiatives being researched and developed at the university."
During the three days of the event participants will work on their selected ideas on March 10, based on the concepts learned on the first day. The participants will also be provided with mentorship sessions to assist them in finalizing their products within the sectors of health, education, transportation, power, and environment. The event will conclude on Sunday (tomorrow) with final pitches.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2018.
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