Panel Discussion
Topic: Innovation – The Way Forward
Bio
Dr. Athar Osama is a science and innovation policy adviser and consultant and the founder and CEO of Pakistan Innovation Foundation (PIF). He is also the Founder and Chief Executive of Technomics International Ltd – a public policy research and consulting firm. At PIF, Dr. Osama has spearhead fundraising and executive responsibility for developing and delivering several innovation programmes including a National Innovation Grand Challenges (NIGC) initiative, an annual Conference (Pakistan Innovation Forum), a National Learning Innovation Challenge, and a Civic Innovation Initiative for Karachi. Prior to this, Dr. Osama was the Director of Middle East and Asia for Angle Plc. – a UK-based technology commercialization consulting, management, and venture capital firm that specialized innovation programmes, incubators, and research parks in Europe, North America, and the Middle East. From 1999-2006, Dr. Osama worked at the RAND Corporation where he helped designed eCommerce Strategies, consulted on the re-organisation of US Army’s R&D Infrastructure, and helped create the US Army’s Venture Capital Fund. Dr. Osama has advised and consulted for several state and national governments across Asia, Middle East, Europe, and North America and institutions like DfiD, ADB, UN, The OIC, The Carbon Trust, and The Royal Society, among others. Dr. Osama is the Fellow of the New York-based World Technology Network (WTN) and a Young Global Leader (2013-18) for the World Economic Forum (WEF). Dr. Osama graduated with a PhD in public policy from the Pardee RAND Graduate School in Santa Monica, CA and has a Bachelors degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Pakistan Airforce Academy where he won the coveted ‘Sword of Honor’.
Bio
CEO Vizteck Solutions and ex-chairman P@SHA, ex-Board member PSEB, ex-Steering Committee Member for National Center for AI, CyberSecurity and Big Data, Board Member NESTIO and Founder, P@SHA Network Group - a community group for Digital Pakistan
Bio
Dr Shoab Khan is of Prof Computer and Software Engineering NUST College of EME. He received his PhD from Georgia Institute of Technology USA. While in US he got extensive experience of working in several top notch technology companies like Scientific Atlanta, Picture Tel and Cisco System. In 1999 Dr Shoab Khan co-founded an exciting startup named Communication Enabling Technology (CET). The startup raised US $17 Million in venture funding. CET with Dr Khan as chief architect designed world highest density media processor chip for VoIP media gateways. For his innovate technology work, Dr Khan has 5 US patents to his credit. Dr Khan has contributed 300+ international publications and a world class text book on Digital Design of Signal Processing System published by John Wiley & Sons and followed in many universities across the globe. He is also founding member of CASE and CARE. CASE is a federally chartered primer degree granting engineering institution whereas CARE, under his leadership, has risen to be one of the most profound high technology engineering organizations in Pakistan. The organization is catering for dire technical needs of defense and strategic organization by executing cutting edge technology in network centric command and control systems. For his eminent industrial and academic profile, Dr Shoab has been awarded with numerous honors and awards. These include Tamgh-e-Imtiaz Pakistan, HEC best researcher award and NCR National Excellence Award in Engineering Education. He is currently serving as Deputy Chairperson of National Computing Council and has served as Chairman Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) for year 2014-15.
Bio
Syed Ahmad is founder & CEO of DPL, a leading software company based in Islamabad. Like no one else, DPL is setting a trend in Pakistan defying popular culture with its own counter-culture movement called “Rebel Ethos”. DPL’s mission statement reflects this: “Liberating minds to become the model IT enterprise in the region”. Syed founded DPL in 2003 with three co-founders straight out of university. Learning from its ruthless mentor i.e. the market, DPL is now a multi-million dollar company that has top global companies as its clients in the US and Northern Europe. Syed wants to build DPL into the first large-scale IT company from Pakistan that can compete at global stage with likes of InfoSys and Accenture. In order to achieve its goals, DPL is focusing on building a team comprised of top talent and giving them an environment and culture that is no less than the Silicon Valley. DPL has already won various awards and recognition and currently going through high-growth phase.
