Ignite National Technology fund launches National Education Challenge 2020 through NIC

Ignite the National Technology Fund under the auspices of the Ministry of IT & Telecom has launched the “National Education Challenge 2020” through National Incubation Center Karachi.

Federal Minister for IT & Telecom Amin Ul Haq in his message said “Ministry of IT & Telecom is delighted to support all innovative initiatives across various fields that can thwart the impact of this global pandemic. We believe that technology can serve as a great enabler in all sectors especially education.”

Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Federal Secretary Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication lauded this initiative and said “In times when industries and academia are locked globally, Pakistani organizations decide to solve one of the most pressing issues of humanity i.e. provision of education and increment of literacy rate. I am hopeful that these 25 solutions generated from this challenge will be replicated by other societies.”

The Challenge encompasses schools, colleges, universities, out of school children, illiterate adults, continuing education, and knowledge economy. Startups and innovators working in the education technology (ed-tech) space, organizations using digital and non-digital mediums, government departments making a difference, people working on access or content or technology — this is an open call to address Pakistan’s most pressing challenge with innovation and in a scalable way: make the country 100% literate and build the new knowledge economy. The grand finale featuring top 25 innovators is scheduled in the first week of July 2020.

Syed Junaid Imam, CEO, Ignite said “with over 75 million 3G/4G connections, digitalization has enabled us to reach a vast majority of our population — young and old — we can spread the life skills. We believe that we can “leapfrog” towards a new knowledge-based economy with a focus to achieve a 100% literacy rate.

Shahjahan Chaudhary, Director, NIC Karachi said “Our goal is to identify Pakistan’s top 25 learning innovators. They will have a chance to showcase their solutions to the national media and win prizes worth over Rs. 3 million. The Challenge will also connect innovators to various government and non-government stakeholders.