Siemens held an information session at N.E.D. University Karachi as part of a series of university visits across Pakistan to challenge the region's brightest young minds to develop real-world solutions to real-world challenges as part of its Student Award 2013 competition.
The event was attended by a large number of students and faculty member. Guenter Zwickl, MD and CEO Siemens Pakistan, Professor Dr Muzaffar Mehmood, Pro Vice Chancellor N.E.D. and M.N. Arslan, Head of HR at Siemens addressed the students. This year's award was announced by Peter Loescher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG, during the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi on January 15.
The award tasks students with selecting one of four assignments and developing a practical and creative solution to it. The assignments, which are defined by Siemens experts, address real-life challenges in the Middle East and Pakistan that will need to be tackled to support sustainable development in the region.
"Through this initiative, we aim to engage the brightest students in Pakistan and provide them with an outlet for their creative ideas," said Gunter Zwickl, CEO and Managing Director of Siemens Pakistan. "The competition is open to all university students across the country to participate and showcase their sustainable solutions to the challenges of today."
Out of four finalists, the frontrunner will be rewarded with a cash prize of US $25,000 (Twenty Five Thousand), followed by US $10,000 (Ten Thousand) for each of the three runners-up and US $1,500 (Fifteen Hundred) for the winner of a people's choice award. Submissions will be evaluated by a high-profile jury whose members contributed to sustainable initiatives around the Middle East and Pakistan.
In addition to University Days in Pakistan, Siemens plans to conduct several other visits across the Middle East region in countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, and Libya. The deadline for submissions online at www.siemens.com/studentaward is May 15 and the winners will be announced during an awards ceremony in Qatar in November.-PR