RIYADH: The Institution of Engineers, Saudi Arabian Center (IEP-SAC) held its 62nd Technical Seminar on May 4 at the King Salman Social Center.
The keynote speaker on the occasion was Dr. Sohail Munir, who is a digital futurist, an innovator and a thought leader in government digital transformation.
The topic of his presentation was ‘Smart cities to cognitive cities — trends and opportunities’.
In his talk, Dr. Munir elaborated on the differences in the use of two terminologies — the ‘Smart city’ and the ‘Cognitive city’. Smart cities are those that collect and analyse data to optimise city services while cognitive cities are those futuristic cities that will not only interpret data, but will also predict demand, make decisions and take autonomous actions.
He introduced the latest computer technologies to the audience that are helping to make the cities ‘smart’ and would further transform them to ‘cognitive’.
Dr. Munir holds two doctorate degrees from two prestigious universities of the USA. He is considered among the best computer scientists of the world who provided a new digital outlook to Dubai and is now engaged in bringing a new cognitive revolution to many cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The programme started with the recitation of the Holy Quran by Engr. Dr. Hafiz Imran. The chief guest on the occasion was Muhammad Zulqarnain Chheena, Charge d’ Affaires, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Riyadh.
The seminar’s convener Engr. Mian Abdul Hamid after welcoming the chief guest and seminar participants, introduced the keynote speaker and presented the agenda of the programme.
Engr. Asim Siddiqui, IEP-SAC General Secretary, briefed the audience on the center’s activities. Engr. Akbani from the Eastern province presented the Eastern Region’s activities report. Chairman of the Scholarships Committee Engr. Farooq Iqbal presented the scholarships report. The IEP-SAC has been awarding 96 scholarships to deserving students in 12 public sector engineering universities in Pakistan.
Muhammad Zulqarnain Chhenna, in his speech, thanked the IEP-SAC and the speaker for delivering a very informative seminar. He elaborated on the relevance of the topic in today’s world and lauded the services of the Pakistani engineers, both inside and outside Pakistan. He appreciated their willingness to remain abreast with technological advancements because in this age of digitisation and smart devices, it is essential for them to enhance their qualifications and experience in order to stay in the race. He appreciated the services that IEP-SAC offers to the Pakistani engineering community in Saudi Arabia and assured the embassy’s continued support to their activities.
Chairman IEP-SAC Engr. Prof. Dr. Rafiq Chaudhary, in his speech, congratulated the events committee for organising a very informative seminar and thanked the participants for making it a success. He assured them that such programmes will continue in future as well. He appreciated the efforts of the publications committee that made possible the publication of the IEP-SAC Journal in a very short time. He extended special thanks to the Embassy of Pakistan for their continued patronage and support without which it would not be possible for IEP-SAC to carry on its activities. He thanked all the sponsors of the event and requested them to extend their support for future events too. He made special thanks to the electronic and print media outlets for covering all IEP-SAC activities.
Lastly, Prof. Dr. Rafiq Chaudhary thanked the government of Saudi Arabia for providing a professional working environment to the Pakistani engineers through which they are continuously upgrading their skills and gaining experience.
At the end, newly enrolled members in the Institution of Engineers, Pakistan were awarded their badges. Certificates were given to the authors who contributed technical papers for the IEP-SAC Journal. An honorary shield was presented to the speaker for his keynote address by the chief guest. The chairman IEP-SAC presented a shield to the chief guest, in appreciation of the embassy’s continued patronage of IEP-SAC.
The event ended with a group photo and dinner for the participants.
