Engineering sector has gained a significant importance in the modern times as the world technology and development mainly depends on this sector’s growth and the young minds are the major potential source of relevant development.

“National engineering exhibitions not only infuse a very positive sense of competition among students but also provide a platform to assess their technical skills at national level,” said Vice Chancellor Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, Dr. A.Q.K. Rajput, in his address at the mega event National Engineering eXhibition 2011 (NEX11) held last week.

The event, arranged by Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, encompassed nine competitions & workshops including Project/Competition, Speed Programming, Circuit Designing, Gaming Competition, Techno-Post Galleria, Techno-Fusion Quiz, CISCO Networking Skills, Education Fair and National Workshop on Project Based Learning (PBL).

More than 230 teams and 791 students and faculty members from 18 universities/institutions from all over the country, including UET Lahore, IBA Sukkur, SSUET, QUEST, Bahria University, Baluchistan University, NED, UIT, PAK KEIT, Sindh University, Karachi University, HIAST and NU FAST,  participated in these events.

Interaction with students and faculty from all over Pakistan provided an excellent opportunity to students to broaden their horizons, acquire new ideas and learn about different projects and technological advancements in the field of engineering & technology at national level.

The panel of judges comprised a total of 62 judges from various universities, institutes and industry of Pakistan. The event was organized in collaboration with HEC and cosponsored by industry.

Prof. Dr. B.S. Chowdhry, Dean Faculty of Electrical, Electronics & Computer System Engineering and Chief Organizer of the event, said that innovative & creative engineering projects exhibited in the competition have narrowed the gap between academia and industry.

Prof. Dr. M.A. Uqaili, Pro Vice Chancellor, MUET, envisaged that the competition had helped in transfusion of art & technology where students showcased their imagination towards emerging technologies through artistic expressions. The presented by students covered diversified areas such as “Going Green” and innovative solutions to everyday problems, thus enabling them to think away from conventional thoughts and expanding their aesthetic horizons.

The project competition tested the mettle of final year engineering students from across the nation. However, projects having high level of design, concept & integrity, although made by junior batches were also entertained.

The techno-Fusion quiz competition resulted in discovering the hidden potential of students. With an informative, interesting and entertaining blend of the basic subjects and general knowledge techno-fusion not only provided the participants, but also the general audience, a source to gain knowledge the unconventional way.

In his key speech on “Project Based Learning” (PBL) workshop, Prof. Dr. Bilal Alvi from IOBM Karachi focused on difference between traditional subject-oriented education and project-oriented model.

Prof. Dr. B.S. Chowdhry, in his presentation, mentioned that problem based concept moves the perspective from understanding of common knowledge into ability to develop new knowledge. The aim of project work is “Learning by doing” or “Action Learning”.