Past Events
APO Vision 2025 Outreach Program on Inclusive Innovation-Led Productivity Growth
Venue: Avari Hotel, Lahore, Pakistan
Marketing Carnival 2023
Date: 6 - 18 January 2023
Venue: University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Session Description:
The Carnival included different activities including a Final Year Project Exhibition with the Theme of "New Product Development".
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Training Workshop on Design Thinking
Date: 30-12-23
Venue: University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Meet the Industry Expert
Speaker: Muhammad Talha Farooq
Date: 17-11-2021
Time: 3:00pm – 4:00pm (PST)
Language: Urdu / English
Venue: Virtual
Session Description:
Innovation and competitiveness are considered to be the backbone of private sector led economic growth and its sustainability. However, in Pakistan, very little is known about the nature and the extent of innovation as well as its determinants and obstacles. Textiles is the major manufacturing sector of Pakistan contributing one-fourth of industrial value added, employing 40 percent of industrial labor force, and on average 60 percent share of national exports. Since, it is competing in a global market; a continuous flow of innovation is required to at least maintain its share in the World trade.
About the Speaker:
Muhammad Talha Farooq, with an MBA in Marketing, started his career with Coca Cola as an Internee. He then moved on to Sapphire Textile Mills Limited, Pakistan as Supply Chain Officer with key responsibilities of issuing GOTS, GRS, RCS, OCS, and BCI Certificates. He also closely worked with the Control Union regarding New Product Codes and Stock Issue.
Currently, Muhammad Talha is working at Nishat Mills Limited, Pakistan as Marketing Executive and closely working with the Product Development Team. Muhammad Talha also has experience of Social / Community Welfare Activities.
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Innovation in AI and Bio-Technology Led Digital World
Speaker: Mr. Ali Owais Banth
Date: 29-07-2021
Time: 6:00pm – 7:00pm (PST)
Language: Urdu / English
Venue: Virtual
Session Description:
Now the world has entered into Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Bio-Technology led Digital Era which was once in 'Agriculture Era' and 'Industrial Era' respectively. This lecture will discuss new paradigms of' Innovation' in this recent 'Info-Tech' World where technological disruptions are multiple times more frequent than before.
About the Speaker:
Mr. Ali Owais is currently working as Deputy Director, University of Narowal, Pakistan. He is the founder of the 'Building New Pakistan' YouTube channel and provides mentor services for Civil Service Preparation.
Entrepreneurial Innovation and Challenges
Speaker: Mr. Ahmed, CEO, 4dots, Pakistan
Date: 15-06-2021
Time: 5:15pm – 6:00pm (PST)
Language: Urdu / English
Venue: Virtual
Session Description:
With 140 million people below the age of 30, Pakistan is one of the youngest countries in the world and one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia. As the country continues to develop, an additional 2.1 million middle-income households are expected to be established by 2025. Digital consumption is also on the rise, driven by an improvement in connectivity, with the number of third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation (4G) subscribers rising fourfold in the last three years. Overall, the ecosystem supports the growth of Pakistan’s start-up landscape, but the entrepreneurship potential is yet to be fully tapped, with fewer start-ups and less funding than comparable countries.
Mr. Ahmed would be discussing his entrepreneurial experiences, with a focus on Transforming New Ideas into Commercial Realities.
About the Speaker:
Mr. Ahmad is a young entrepreneur and running an event management company named 4dots since 2016, having its head office in Sahiwal, Pakistan and two more branches in Mianchanu and Islamabad, Pakistan.
Services Innovation
Speaker: Mr. Muhammad Ali, Regional Manager, IGI Family Takaful, Pakistan
Date: 17-06-2021
Time: 11:15am – 12:00pm (PST)
Language: Urdu / English
Venue: Virtual
Session Description:
In the national quest for ground-breaking R&D discoveries and inventions, service innovation is frequently ignored at considerable cost to an organization’s bottom line and a nation’s productivity. For the fact is that innovation applied systematically to all activities outside of R&D can make the difference between uninspiring results and substantial growth in every sector. Service Innovation must be conjoined and affiliated with the core reason of your business. It must be executed seamlessly by the company to be able to meet current and future customer needs.
About the Speaker:
Mr. Muhammad Ali is currently working as Regional Manager IGI FAMILY Takaful (Packages Group of Company). He has more than 10 years of working experience in the services sector of Pakistan. Previously he has served in State Life Insurance Company as Regional Manager of Sales & Marketing.
Agricultural Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation
Speaker: Mr. Muhammad Shahzaib, Production Manager, Limit Seeds Ltd, Pakistan;
Date: 09-06-2021
Time: 7:45pm – 8:45pm (PST)
Language: Urdu / English
Venue: Virtual
Session Description:
In Pakistan, the agriculture sector is one of the major contributors of economic activity having a 19.8 percent share in GDP and it is the largest employer absorbing 42.3 percent of the country’s total labor force mainly from rural areas. However, the agriculture sector’s economic performance and its impact on poverty have not yielded the required results on Pakistan’s population which has crossed the 200 million of which more than 65% live in rural areas. Thus indicating that the rural development strategies need to be revised for poverty reduction through economic development. In order to achieve inclusive and sustainable economic growth in rural areas, there is a need of exploiting the potential of the agriculture sector by fostering agri entrepreneurship in rural areas of Pakistan. This could lead to an increased focus on agro-industrial value-added and employment along the entire agribusiness value chain in agriculture.
About the Speaker:
Mr. Muhammad Shahzaib holds a BS Honors Degree in computer sciences from COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan. He has five years of corporate experience at the Senior Level in different National and International organizations. Currently, he is working as Production Manager at Limit Seeds Ltd, Pakistan and oversees the Production process, coordinating all production activities and operations.
Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Trends and Challenges in Pakistan
Date: 14-04-2021
Time: 7:15pm – 9:00pm (PST)
Venue: Virtual
Dr. Mirza Ashfaq Ahmed
Having twenty years of Industrial and Academic experience, Dr. Ahmed received his Doctoral degree in 2013 and completed his Post Doctoral fellowship in 2016. He specializes in the areas of Social Entrepreneurship; Innovation Management; and Political Branding. Currently working as Head Department of Management Sciences, University of Gujrat, Pakistan, Dr. Ahmed has more than 40 research papers on his account. He is actively engaged in Social Entrepreneurial activities, has mentored many successful startups, and has been awarded the honorary Rosalind Membership by London Journals Press for the year 2020.
He can be contacted at: ashfaq.ahmed@uog.edu.pk
- Pakistan recorded 161.8 million mobile subscribers in May 2019 which increased from 150.2 million from the preceding year, thus marking a 7.72 percent increase.
- Developers, startups, and technology businesses across Asia and in Pakistan are accepting the challenge to keep pace with the needs and expectations of Internet populations increasingly used to having the world at their fingertips.
- Where innovation once flowed from the larger digital economies, these groups, are now empowered to deliver locally relevant and innovative products and services, and that’s creating a richer Asian online ecosystem custom-made for the region’s diverse communities.
- Pakistan: The next big Asian market for tech startups. Pakistan's young and tech-savvy population, market of over 220 million people and increasing levels of local capital are creating opportunities for tech entrepreneurs.
- Frugal Innovation: Models, Means and Methods. Pakistan is going through some testing times, the key aims of all businesses and organizations should be to assess the viability of innovative approaches and solutions that address the challenges faced by society, organizations and indeed the planet.
Open Innovation Vs Closed Innovation: Which Model Suits the Local Industry
Speaker: Dr. Raja Irfan Sabir, Associate Professor, University of Central Punjab, Pakistan
Date: 21-01-2021
Time: 7:30pm – 8:30pm (PST)
Language: Urdu / English
Venue: Virtual
Session Description:
With the ever-changing business dynamics, continuous innovation has become a necessity for survival as well as excellence. Though there can be different perceptions as to how innovation can be realized, yet, two major schools of thought are of most interest, i.e. the Open Innovation Model, and, the Closed Innovation Model.
This session would try to facilitate the understanding of both models of innovation, and suggest which is more beneficial for the local (Pakistan) industry.
Disruptive Innovation in Services Industry
Speaker: Mark Adkins, CEO, LeanMed; Director, PDMA
Date: 17-12-2020
Venue: Virtual
Artificial Intelligence and its Role in Business
Speaker: Dr. Yawar Abbas Bangash, Assistant Professor, National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad
Moderator: Dr Muhammad Anwar ul Haq, University of Gujrat, Pakistan
Date: 20-11-2020
Venue: Virtual
Consumer Psychology and New Product Development
Speaker: Dr. Sobia Bano, Assistant Professor, GIFT University, Gujranwala
Moderator: Dr Raja Irfan Sabir
Date: 16-11-2020
Venue: University of Central Punjab, Pakistan
Big Data and New Product Development
Speaker: Dr Saif UR Rehman, Associate Professor, Lahore Garrison University
Moderator: Dr Raja Irfan Sabir
Date: 12-11-2020
Venue: University of Central Punjab, Pakistan
Present and future of HRM: New practices and a focus on competencies.
What happens during and post pandemic
Speaker: Dr. Francesca Di Virgilio, Associate Professor of Organization Theory and HRM
Moderator: Dr. Muhammad Anwar ul Haq, University of Central Punjab, Pakistan
Date: 23-10-2020
Venue: University of Molise, Italy