Lahore, The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore hosted a series of competitions including scientific model, photography and videography, and green innovation as part of its Spring Festival 2024 celebrations at the City Campus on Tuesday. These competitions, supervised by the UVAS Senior Tutor Office, showcased the diverse talents and innovative thinking of the students across various disciplines.
According to University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, the scientific model competition saw the team led by Ali Haider from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences clinching the first position, with Noor-ul-Saba’s team from the same institute coming in second. The third position was shared between Mariam Afzal’s team from the Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology and Huda Zafar’s team from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
In the photography competition, Azwar from Microbiology secured the top spot, followed by Abdullah Kamran from the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program in second place, and Ahmad Zahoor from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in third. The videography competition winners were Asad and Hammad from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, with the second place going to Hamza and Awais also from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Hammad Saeed from DVM securing third place.
The green innovation competition highlighted environmental creativity, where the team led by Tayyaba from Environmental Sciences won the first position. Jawad’s team, also from Environmental Sciences, took the second place, while Momina and Mahrukh’s teams both stood at the third position.
The event was graced by Prof Dr Muhammad Mansha from the University of Education and Dr Mohsin Ahmad Khan from Punjab University as chief guests for the scientific model contest, while Asad Ghafoor and Aun Abbas were the chief guests for the photography and videography contests. They, along with UVAS Registrar Sajjad Hyder and Senior Tutor Prof Dr Ali Raza Awan, presented shields to the winners. The ceremony was attended by a large number of students from various departments, showcasing the wide participation and interest in the festival’s competitions.
Lahore, In a significant achievement for Pakistani entrepreneurship, Breshna, a startup founded by Mariam Nusrat, a MS Economics graduate from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), emerged as the winner of the Web Summit Qatar’s PITCH competition. Competing against 1,043 startups from around the globe, Breshna distinguished itself in a contest that is considered a prestigious platform for early-stage startups to showcase their innovations.
According to Lahore University of Management Sciences, the Web Summit, known as the world’s largest technology conference, attracted 15,453 attendees from 118 countries this year. Out of nearly ten thousand applicants, only forty startups made it to the three-day competition, with Breshna securing the top spot. The PITCH competition is renowned for bringing together the most promising early-stage startups for a live contest, targeting companies that have received less than €5 million in funding.
Mariam Nusrat expressed her elation over the victory, highlighting the intense competition and the hard work put in by her team. Breshna’s triumph is seen as a testament to their dedication towards leveraging video games for storytelling and educational purposes. Nusrat’s venture, GRID (Gaming Revolution for Inspirational Development), focuses on creating low-cost mobile games aimed at positive behavior change. Breshna, which means lightning in Pashto, enables users to create, share, and monetize their educational video games without any coding knowledge.
Nusrat’s journey in the purposeful video games industry spans over a decade, with her work at the World Bank complementing her passion for using games as a medium for educational and social change. She underscored the potential of video games in education and behavior modification, which led to the inception of Breshna. The platform allows for the creation of “snackable” games for various purposes, addressing the high demand for such content and empowering users to contribute to the field.
This recognition at the Web Summit Qatar underscores the global potential of Pakistani startups and the innovative approach of entrepreneurs like Nusrat in using technology for societal benefits. Breshna’s success at the PITCH competition not only highlights the company’s innovative platform but also puts Pakistan’s tech and entrepreneurial ecosystem on the global map.