April 22nd, Karachi – 10Pearls University hosted the third episode of their annual Women in Tech event. The full-day marathon event was designed to create a space for women to come together to compete, network and showcase their talents. The event was attended by more than 150 women of all backgrounds including professionals, students as well as homemakers.
Women Tech Quest is a competition providing women in the technology sector space where they not only come forward to compete but also get an opportunity to network within the community, encouraging them to come to the forefront and strengthen their role in the tech industry. The event aims to highlight the work of women in IT and challenge stigmas by creating a platform where they can engage with like-minded strong women in a friendly competition. Apart from professionals actively working in the IT sector, Women Tech Quest also has participation from students and stay-at-home mothers, proving that the tech industry has the potential to become fertile ground for female technologists if they are provided with a conducive and supportive working environment.
At Women Tech Quest 2019, the Coding Competition included a series of problems that were presented to the participants, requiring them to use a programming language of their proficiency to solve them. The Testing Competition presented contestants with a set of objectives to test their database and automation concepts, challenging their technical skills to refine requirements and identify problem areas in applications. It is a mix of test case writing, UI/UX testing, database testing, and API testing. The Design Competition required participants to design a thematic concept using Photoshop or Illustrator. The participants who scored the most challenges in a limited time was considered the winner.
10Pearls’ Managing Director Zeeshan Aftab explained the idea behind holding the Women Tech Quest: “We organize this annual event to provide a platform for women in the tech space to demonstrate their creativity and expertise and get recognition for their efforts. Such opportunities allow them to network and help them broaden their vision.”
We are proud to announce the following winners of the 2019 competitions:
| Coding Competition | Testing Competition | Design Competition | |
| Winners | Nadia Nasir | Nuzhat Sana | Gulzar Fatima |
| Farah Mukarab | |||
| Runners Up | Maidah Rizvi | Hoor Khan | Zernab Akif |
| Shafaq Rashid | |||
“I felt lucky to be a part of Women Tech Quest this year and secured the first position”, said Nadia Nasir, Winner of Coding Competition. “The problems presented to us were quite challenging and I enjoyed myself thoroughly as I solved them. I believe that through such programs women like us who have to look after their homes but are also passionate enough to focus on their careers, get an opportunity to know where they are standing in the fast-moving technological world. I thank 10Pearls for giving me and all the other women of the IT industry a great platform to enhance our skills.”
Rabia Azfar Nizami, Member of the Provincial Assembly joined in as Chief Guest for the Closing Ceremony along with some prominent ladies as Keynote Speakers; Uzma Alkarim – Head of Gender Sensitivity at GEO TV & Hafsa Abbasy– Head of HR & Learning at Bank Alfalah.
The event was supported by various organizations including:
- P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT and ITES)
- #WomenInTechPK (A community for Pakistani Women in Technology)
- Circle Pakistan (Social Enterprise for Women’s advancement and empowerment)
- Triumph
- Roshni Rides
- Finclude
- California Pizza
- Geo TV, Hum News, Sindh TV & Aap News
The entire event of Women Tech Quest displayed a fun-filled spirit of competition and gave the women an opportunity to come together and express their creativity. 10Pearls hopes that the competition continues to pave the way for talented young women to leave their mark in the tech space. We plan on continuing to hold such events in order to develop an ecosystem of female technologists that can propel the IT sector forward.
Here are the glimpses of the event:
