SOFTEC

SOFTware Exhibition and Competition (SOFTEC)
Type	Student Organization
Headquarters	Lahore
Website	http://www.softecnu.org/

SOFTEC, the Software Exhibition and Competition, is an annual event held at National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences Lahore, Pakistan. The event contributes towards the advancement of technology and research in Pakistan’s IT industry. The event provides a platform recognizing talent, a forum for exchange of ideas and an opportunity for students with a passion in IT to interact with professionals from all over the globe.

History

SOFTEC started with a single competition in 1995. SOFTEC organized an All Asia event in 2005. SOFTEC 2006 brought participants from as far away as Nepal. SOFTEC 2007 brought students from the Middle Eastern countries such as Iran. Today SOFTEC runs nearly a dozen competitions and exhibitions. Participants in the competitions come from as far away as India, Iran, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, UK, USA, and Australia.

SOFTEC Society

SOFTEC Society, the organizing body of the annual SOFTEC event, is the largest student society of FAST-NU. Its establishment by a group of students of the FAST-NU Lahore campus came in 1995. In addition to the SOFTEC Society team, a large percentage of the student body of the Lahore campus work as volunteers to create the event.

Competitions

Software

The competition brings together students from across the world to display their software projects for judging by a team of experts, providing participants with feedback and experience of real-world evaluation benchmarks. Visitors to the exhibition may be students seeking projects with the potential for future development, or IT industry professionals looking for talent among the participants.

Engineering project

The hardware-based projects submitted to the software competition in recent years, as well as the institute’s steps into the hardware engineering education arena, prompted SOFTEC Society to initiate this competition exclusively for engineering projects of undergraduate students.

Programming

Programming under timed conditions tests the skills of the participants involved to the limit. This competition has traditionally been the most electrifying event at SOFTEC, mainly due to its highly competitive and challenging nature.

G3n.X Gaming

G3n.X stands for GENeration neXt and is an International Gamers Assembly run by gamers amongst the student body of FAST-NU. The founders of this assembly envisioned a platform where gamers from throughout the country could come together to compete.

In 2012, G3n.X hopes to bring together people from across the world to compete in the following:

Microcontroller Interfacing

This competition, like the Engineering Project competition, was launched in SOFTEC 2007. Part of the initiative to bring hardware concerns to the fore, the microcontroller interfacing competition followed the pattern of the programming competition.

Best Embedded Robot

The Robotics Exhibition at SOFTEC 2012 will provide engineers around Pakistan a platform to put their efforts on display.

IdeasXtreme

IdeasXtreme creates a forum for school-going children to show their ideas of the uses of IT in the future. Children are required to come up with wild, speculative ideas concerning novel applications of IT in the future, demonstrating their ideas via a chart or physical model. Winners are selected on the basis of how thoroughly thought out, beneficial, and inventive their ideas are.

Exhibitions

Software

SOFTEC 2012 will include an exhibition of all winning entries to the Software Competition allowing people to trace the influence SOFTEC has had on the IT industry.

Sponsor Enclosure

SOFTEC provides a platform to the Software and I.T. Companies to show off their technologies.

Software House Enclosure

The enclosure houses displays from Software Houses. A live rendering of the products assists in comprehending and appreciating the talents at display.

Kidz Corner

Kidz Corner is about entertaining and teaching children. In the past it has included computer games like “Super Goo”, face distortion competitions and Play It. Kids are also shown multimedia presentations about the history of computers. Quiz competitions are held along with prize distribution ceremonies.

Fun Eve

To neutralize the intensity of the competitions and exhibitions, SOFTEC organises an entertainment evening comprising musical performances by bands.

Presidential Hall of Honour

(President -1995)	Ms. Ayesha
(President -1996)	Mr. Kunwar
(President -1997)	Mr. Muhammad Tahir Chaudhry
(President -1998)	Mr. Omer Bin Enaam
(President -1999)	Mr. Bilal Mahmood
(President -2000)	Mr. Farid Sabri
(President -2001)	Mr. Sheheryar Iqbal
(President -2003)	Mr. Asim Aijaz
(President -2004)	Mr. Muhammad Waqas Zafar
(President -2005)	Mr. Umair Moheet Khan
(President -2006)	Mr. Usman Akmal
(President -2007)	Mr. Fahim Ali
(President -2008)	Mr. Muhammad Rafaeel Akbar Chaudhry
(President -2009)	Mr. Bilal Arshad
(President -2010)	Mr. Mohsin Zaka
(President -2011)	Mr. Zain Hamza
(President -2012)	Mr. Talal Hassan

SOFTEC 2012 Team

Executive Body

Designation	Name
President	Mr. Talal Hassan
Vice President	Ms. Syeda Sheharbano
Vice President	Mr. Bilal Saeed
Vice President	Mr. Muhammad Atif Javed
Assistant Vice President	Mr. Kinaan Khan Sherwani
Assistant Vice President	Mr. Abdullah Khan
Assistant Vice President	Ms. Sameen Fakhar
General Secretary	Mr. Jawad Waheed
Assistant General Secretary	Mr. Salik Farooq
Coordinator Competitions	Mr. Faisal Fayyaz

Volunteering members

SOFTEC comprises a culture of students coming together for a cause, working towards event success. Students start by volunteering at the departments they choose to be a part of, to be then elected as members of the Society based on volunteer experience. A president along with an executive team is chosen from the student body each year to organize the event. They further delegate tasks among the remaining society members.

In addition to the SOFTEC Society team, a large percentage of the student body of the Lahore campus works as volunteers to help the event. In SOFTEC 2011, volunteers from the student body numbered in excess of 500, out of a campus population of approximately 2500-3000.

See also

• National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (NUCES)

External links

• Official website of SOFTEC