Singer enthralls the audience. PHOTO: MYRA IQBAL/ZAFAR ASLAM/EXPRESS
Unlike typical academic events The Express Education and Career Expo turned was entertaining, informative and offered fun-filled activities for students and fresh graduates.
The second day was even more entertaining than the first and Pak-China Friendship Centre’s auditorium was jam-packed during a fashion show and a music competition between bands of different universities. “I thought it would be all about books and education but there is so much to enjoy here. You get bored by just visiting the stalls,” said Faiza, an MBA student from the International Islamic University Islamabad.
For universities and schools and companies, the event offered a unique opportunity to showcase their organisations. “This was an exclusive opportunity for us to make people aware of our brand and services,” said The Educators’ Regional Director (North) Shahida Mahmud. It was an interesting experience to share information about our institution. Many people came to drop off their curricula vitae (CVS) and seek information on starting a franchise, she said.
For Manager Sales Qamar Ejaz of The Educators, the expo was the most organised event he has attended so far. “We have been presenting our institution in Lahore and other cities but here people were focused about their queries,” he added.
Nida Riaz, who was deputed at a stall for Brightspyre, a job outsourcing organisation, said she guided over 100 people on writing a CV. We’ve received over 500 CVs from students for 21 jobs we had displayed on a chart at our stall, she added.
Few people knew about the Centre for Advanced Studies in Engineering (CASE) but at the expo many students came to know of its campus in Islamabad. “For us it was a great chance to introduce our university to engineering students,” said Iqbal Tabbassum, an organiser at CASE’s stall, who was enthusiastic over the large turnout.
The fashion show was unsurprisingly the most well-attended event at the expo. Models sashayed down the ramp in the main auditorium and received resounding applause from the audience which included their class and university fellows. Adorned in traditional and western dresses, students from Hamdard University, University of Lahore (Islamabad campus), and other varsities catwalked amid cheers and whistles.
For Mona from the University of Lahore such events should be held more often to groom young talent and give them a chance to gain confidence for formal shows. Saboor, also from the University of Lahore, who had organised the fashion show for his varsity, said it took him just two days to prepare the fashion segment.
Similarly, the closing ceremony was also filled with dazzling performances. It as followed by award distribution, in which winners and runner up from different competitions of the two-day event were handed out prizes.
Defense Housing Authority Rawalpindi Managing Director Mushtaq Arif, Daily Express Bureau Chief Amir Ilyaz Rana, Resident Editor Daily Express Tanveer Qaiser Shahid and The Express Tribune City Editor Farman Ali distributed the prizes among the winning teams. The winning trophy was grabbed by Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad while Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan got the title of runner up team.
The announcement of names of the university made the winners jubilant and all of the participants of both the universities went on stage and danced in enthusiasm and euphoria grabbing their trophies.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 31st, 2013.
COMMENTS (3)
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Was it domestic focused event ? Any international HR Consultant / recuiters were invited or attended ?
What if I want to say something about this Expo? will ET publish it?