South Asia Investor Review

Pakistan has seen several boot camps started in recent years to respond to growing demand for practical tech training in the country. Two of my fellow  NED University  alumni in Silicon Valley - Saeed Kazmi and Idris Kothari - are "helping an initiative in Pakistan with a company xLoop Digital ( www.xloopdigital.com ), to provide advanced software Bootcamp training to fresh grads in computer science and engineering".  Idris and Saeed are senior NEDians who graduated from our alma mater in early 1970s.  I have personally known them since the early1980s when I first arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area. Both have solid track records as successful tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley.  Here are excerpts of their email sent to me on the subject:  "The training center is located in Karachi . The first batch started in November 22.  Currently, we have about 50 developers under training in  two tracks  -1. Cloud Native Software Development, 2....

Over a million students, about a third of total 3 million students (1.4 million women, 1.6 million men) enrolled in Pakistani universities and degree colleges, are currently studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM Education), according to data released by the country's Higher Education Commission ( HEC ). Of these students, 415,008 are studying natural sciences and mathematics, 276,659 are in information and communication technologies (ICT), 178,260 are in health sciences and 166,457 are in engineering. Pakistan produced 157,102 STEM graduates last year, putting it among the world's top dozen or so countries. About 43,000 of these graduates are in information technology (IT).   Student Enrollment By Field of Study at Pakistani Higher Education Institutions. Source: HEC Nearly half a million Pakistani women are currently enrolled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses at universities, accounting for nearly 46% of all STEM studen...

The results of a test called "Supertest", developed by researchers from the US, China, Russia and India,, show that Indian engineering students perform very poorly relative to their  peers in other countries. Supertest is the first study to track the progress of students in computer science and electrical engineering over the course of their studies with regard to their abilities in physics, mathematics and critical thinking and compare the results among four countries.   Supertest was initiated by Stanford University, HSE University Moscow, the Educational Testing Service (ETS), and partner universities in China and India, according to Phys.org .  Here's an excerpt of the article in journal that explains the test: "More than 30,000 undergraduate students participated in the study. The researchers collected a sample of students from elite and large universities, roughly equal in number for each country. In Russia, the sample included students from six Project 5-100 u...

Aqsa Ajmal, a graduate of Pakistan's National University of Science and Technology, is among six finalists for Lexus Design Award 2020 for industrial design.  Each of these finalists will receive 3 million Yen (over $25,000) in funding and mentorship in an exclusive program in New York City under the guidance of prominent design leaders from a variety of design fields. Pursewit Sewing Machine. Source: Lexus Aqsa's entry is named Pursewit. The device provides an easier way to incorporate sewing skills into income generation for the blind who rely upon touch and other senses. The thread path is much more simplified and streamlined; the user follows a straight, outlined path from the spool pin to the machine’s arm and through a loop, then down to the needle. The machine provides feedback at each step to ensure the process is completed, according to Lexus. Aqsa Ajmal. Photo Credit Lexus Aqsa's entry ranked among the top 6 from 2,042 submissions from 79 countries. T...