ICICT 2019

The 8th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies (ICICT 2019) organized by the Faculty of Computer Science, was held successfully on 16th and 17th of November, 2019 at the J.S Auditorium, IBA City Campus, Karachi.

The conference started off with an inauguration ceremony. The ceremony started with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, followed by an opening address by the Acting Executive Director, Dr. Sayeed Ghani. He spoke about how the conference over the past 15 years became well established internationally, and as a result has over the years received research papers from North America, Europe, the Middle East, the Far East and China.

Dr. Ghani highlighted the themes of the conference with a focus on Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Internet of Things, Blockchain and FinTech. The Chairperson of the Computer Science department, Dr. Shakeel Ahmed Khoja also addressed the students to explain more about the history and the structure of the conference. He further stated that 80% of paper submissions were based on applications development. While, 20% were based purely on research.

The speakers from across the world were invited to share their perspectives on Next Generation Technologies. Dr. Murtaza Haider, Director, Urban Analytics Institute, Dr. Imran Muhammad from the University of Glasgow, and Dr. Adnan Noor Mian and Dr. Gus Gutoski conducted keynote sessions and spoke about how Machine Learning, IoT, BigData, and Artificial Intelligence can help solve real world problems and make this world a better place.

Tutorials were organized to provide a hands-on learning environment for the students.

The first day of the conference was concluded with the Presidential Dinner at the Governor House. The dinner was attended by the President of Pakistan. The Dinner ceremony started off with an address by Dr. Ghani followed by an address by the chief guest, Dr. Arif Alvi.

He spoke about how technology has evolved over the past few decades. He stated that the Government realizes the potential in the technological domain, and has been trying to provide platforms, and opportunities to promote this cause. He praised the audience for pursuing research in the field of Next Generation Technologies and Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Alvi elaborated on the challenges that lie ahead in the journey of transforming Pakistan in the field of technology and the solutions to overcome these challenges. Dr Alvi's address also reflected on his deep passion to unleash the potential that technology carries for Pakistan. The President also presented mementos to the esteemed international and national delegates and authors along with faculty members and staff of IBA. The address was followed by dinner which marked the end of the ceremony.

The second day was also lined up in a similar fashion with keynotes, along with technical papers sessions and tutorials. The conference concluded with a closing ceremony. Mementos and certificates were distributed among the delegates, guest speakers, and organizers.