Campus Conversations South Tour’11 Gets The Innovators To Backpack at FAST!

Innovating For a Better Tomorrow

Job trends have veered from the more traditional 9 to 5, ‘white collar jobs’ to striking it out on your own. However, while the statistics of experienced professionals turning into entrepreneurs continues to rise, the percentage of fresh IT graduates using their final year projects to launch themselves as entrepreneurs remains low. To address the fact, CIO-Pakistan hosted a Campus Conversations at FAST University. The event was entitled ‘Packaging Innovations’ and this event had a slightly different take on how to bridge the gap between the academia and the industry.

As per the norm, a number of esteemed members of Pakistan’s IT Industry had been invited as guests to the event. These included Zia Babar from CIO from Tameer Bank, Nabeel Nawaz who is also the Head of IT at KESC, Ghalia Naseer who not only represented Oracle at the event but also happened to be a FAST alumnus herself, and Rabia Nizami who is the Solutions Manager at Forum Nokia.

Speaking at the event, Zia Babar spoke of how ‘narrow-minded’ Pakistani society becomes whenever one hears of somebody wanting to start off with a business idea of their own. Before they even manage to launch the idea, fear of failure stops them from either starting or trying out whole-heartedly to make their entrepreneurial venture a success. “Pakistani environment and the society do not easily accept something new. However, my advice to all those would-be innovators sitting out here would be to adopt something that has already been tried and is a success in other parts of the world, and then adopt it to Pakistani society and standards.”

FAST University has rightfully, earned a place for itself as being one of the leading universities of Pakistan. As such therefore, students do not face the dearth of jobs that most fresh graduates in Pakistan face. Admitting to the fact, one student said as much and received a volley of response from the guests, faculty and other students present at the event.

Nabeel Nawaz felt that until and unless the students do not “stretch themselves, unless they are not challenged, they will be unable to innovate or grow professionally. He further stated that to bring change of any sort, within ourselves or our society, we need to change our mindsets,” so that we can work towards making a positive change around us. Rabia Nizami agreed with her contemporary advising students that unless they ‘stretch themselves,’ they would not be able to succeed in their careers either. “On job, one is required to do a lot of things they have no idea about, and that is where if you are able to innovate, you are able to grow and survive professionally.’

In order to further tempt the students to try and ‘innovate’ and become more creative entrepreneurs rather than just people who can slog away at a job, the guests offered students help of various sorts. Zia Babar said that he would be willing to introduce any student to a venture capitalist of whom he knew plenty, ‘but I need a very good, solid idea. The student must convince me first that their idea is good enough to be launched in the market and then I will do everything possible to help them,” he promised. Rabia Nizami backed this offer up with another of her own. “Nokia is willing to place a few students, who come to us with a recommendation from their faculty with our partner organizations. However, the students must be dedicated, motivated and serious about their work she said. KESC itself is being funded by Abraj Capital, and that is the company that Nabeel nawaz belongs to. “My company would also be willing to fund and good, worthy project made by any student recommended by the University,” he said.

Ghalia Naseer aptly summed up the need of the event by saying that a hundred people apply for a job with her organization, of which they hire only one. “Although that one person is given a huge salary, he is also expected to do the task of ten people,” she said. “The other 99 applicants who did not get the job must learn to innovate and build a career for themselves,” she stated.

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