PSF honours grand winners of Intel National Science Fair

Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) honoured the grand winners of Intel National Science Fair 2013 with cash awards and gift hampers at a ceremony held here on Thursday. Under a memorandum of understanding, PSF and Intel Pakistan have joined hands to promote science activities in the country to infuse a stronger spirit of discovery in schoolchildren and to increase their interest in science and technology.
Besides, PSF Chairman Professor Dr Manzoor H Soomro, scientists from different organisations, students, teachers and parents of the students attended the ceremony. The PSF and Intel Pakistan are working together to implement the science fairs programme across the country for the betterment of economic condition of the masses by creating awareness, promoting and popularisation of research in sciences and mathematics through mutual collaborative activities to strengthen science education at pre-college level.
The National Science Fair 2013 was held in Islamabad on January 27-30, in which students from all over the country competed and now the winners will participate in the International Science and Engineering Fair to be held in Arizona, USA next month.
Four grand winners in individual category including Javaria Nisar from Government Girls Higher Secondary School Singhpura Lahore, Haris Bin Ashraf from Defence Authority Sheikh Khalifa bin Zaid College Karachi, Isa Bin Qasim from Pak-Turk International School and College Peshawar and Muhammad Ahsan Nawaz from Government Model High School Mailsi, Vehari were awarded Rs 25,000 each as a cash prize.
The two students groups who won the competition in Group category included Fatima Moin Veera, Hania Hasan and Umme Salma from the Mama Parsi Girls Secondary School Karachi and Qaiser Ali Shah, Ali Yazdan and Sajid Khan from Agha Khan Higher Secondary School Gilgit. These students were awarded Rs 15,000 each. The winning students' teachers including Rehana Riaz, Masroor Kamali, Qalbe Abbas, Muhammad Muneer Akhter, Saman Ali and Naseemud Din were awarded Rs 10,000 each. The cash prizes were awarded by the PSF, while Intel Pakistan awarded gift hampers to the winners.
Dr Manzoor H Soomro congratulated the winners and wished that someone from them may become a Noble Laureate. He said PSF would arrange another big function in their honour when they would return victorious from US. He also asked scientists to promote co-operation and collaboration with other R&D organisations to boost science activities for betterment of the country.
PSF Member Science Dr Khalil Ahmed said PSF and Intel were undertaking a number of science educational activities jointly, adding that through Intel collaboration the Foundation felt strengthened. Khadija Bashir, Project Manager Education Initiative, Intel Pakistan said the Foundation was helping Intel in science fairs by providing science experts as judges of the fairs and awarding cash prizes to winner students to encourage them. She said PSF always encouraged and patronised their activities by helping through different means.