Softcom 2012: The clash of brains

The 13th Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology All Pakistan Softcom is just around the corner and the event is generating a lot of excitement from participants all over Pakistan.
Softcom will be conducted at the prestigious GIKI from November 16 to 18. GIKI provides the much needed appealing yet invigorating environment for students from all over Pakistan to participate in state-of-the-art technical competitions that are held at Softcom.
The Softcom modules this year will provide the participants with various opportunities and will enable them to indulge in their technical and aesthetic interests, instilling in them the qualities of team work and leadership.
The organisers of this year’s Softcom are none other than the zealous members of ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) GIKI chapter, who have the experience of holding multiple such events. ACM is also backed by the experience of conducting 12 successive Softcom events with over 300 participants from all over Pakistan from institutions like LUMS, NUST, FAST, IBA and many more.
The modules of this year’s Softcom are not only innovative but also entertaining. Softcom 2012 is conducting a Social Media App Development Competition sponsored by Walnut Media which gives participants a chance to present their own app having the potential for top brands to use and advertise.
“People are expecting this year’s Softcom to be bigger and better than last year. Our team has put in a lot of effort in order to provide the participants raw exposure to the technological world and a chance to showcase their skills,” Ammad Ilyas, president of the ACM-GIKI Chapter, said.
Other modules include a Web Development Competition, Quiz Competition, Multimedia Competition, Speed Programming Competition, Poster Design Competition and Software Development Competitions.
Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT and ITES (P@SHA) will also be holding an idea-storming session during the event where all participants will be able to share their business ideas. Not only this but Softcom will also have Tech Talks where individuals from the technological world will guide students and share their experiences in order to bridge the gap between the students and the industry.
A Start up competition will be hosted by Softcom where business ideas will be welcomed from participants and potential projects will be considered by P@SHA for their social innovation fund.
Softcom 2012 has the privilege to be sponsored by leading technological and media companies. The National ICT R&D Fund is one of the major sponsors of the event.
Walnut Media, the leading social media management company in Pakistan, is the initiator of the Social Media App Development Competition. It is also responsible for online streaming of the entire event. The event’s online media partner is www.mustaqbil.com, the leading jobs site of Pakistan with over more than 1 million active and engaged web users. Phone media coverage is being handled by Pring, Pakistan’s fastest growing mobile social network which will also be conducting its very own event named as Hackathon, which will expose participants to creating apps in Raven API.
However, all work and no play is not the mantra of Softcom 2012. The event is loaded with entertaining activities for participants. The event will feature a killer comedy show, a treasure hunt, hiking trips, theme dinner and an e-gaming competition. Interested participants can also check Softcom’s Facebook page which features its very own registration app.
Zaid Rehman, the event coordinator says, “This year’s event has loads in store for you. This time around we are going way over and beyond than what have been done in the previous Softcoms. We are not only expecting a greater number of teams but also more competitive participation. This year we are also raising the bar with the belief in the more the merrier.”
Complete registration and event details are provided at www.acmgiki.com