SOFTEC

SOFTware Exhibition and Competition (SOFTEC)

Type	Student Organization
Headquarters	Lahore
Website	http://www.softecnu.org/

SOFTEC, the Software Exhibition and Competition, is an annual event held at National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences Lahore, Pakistan. The event contributes towards the advancement of technology and research in Pakistan’s IT industry. The event provides a platform recognizing talent, a forum for exchange of ideas and an opportunity for students with a passion in IT to interact with professionals from all over the globe. It is the largest IT extravaganza of Pakistan ^[1]

History

SOFTEC started with a single competition in 1995. SOFTEC organized an All Asia event in 2005. SOFTEC 2006 brought participants from as far away as Nepal. SOFTEC 2007 brought students from the Middle Eastern countries such as Iran. Today SOFTEC runs nearly a dozen competitions and exhibitions. Participants in the competitions come from as far away as India, Iran, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, UK, USA, and Australia.

SOFTEC Society

SOFTEC Society, the organizing body of the annual SOFTEC event, is the largest student society of FAST-NU.^[2] Its establishment by a group of students of the FAST-NU Lahore campus came in 1995. In addition to the SOFTEC Society team, a large percentage of the student body of the Lahore campus work as volunteers to create the event.

Competitions

Software Competition

The competition brings together students from across the world to display their software projects for judging by a team of experts, providing participants with feedback and experience of real-world evaluation benchmarks. Visitors to the exhibition may be students seeking projects with the potential for future development, or IT industry professionals looking for talent among the participants.

Engineering project Competition

The hardware-based projects submitted to the software competition in recent years, as well as the institute’s steps into the hardware engineering education arena, prompted SOFTEC Society to initiate this competition exclusively for engineering projects of undergraduate students.

Programming Competition

Programming under timed conditions tests the skills of the participants involved to the limit. This competition has traditionally been the most electrifying event at SOFTEC, mainly due to its highly competitive and challenging nature. Programming competition is organized in collaboration with FAST-NU Chapter of Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

G3n.X Gaming Competition

G3n.X stands for GENeration neXt and is an International Gamers Assembly run by gamers amongst the student body of FAST-NU. The founders of this assembly envisioned a platform where gamers from throughout the country could come together to compete.

Microcontroller Interfacing Competition

This competition, like the Engineering Project competition, was launched in SOFTEC 2007. Part of the initiative to bring hardware concerns to the fore, the microcontroller interfacing competition followed the pattern of the programming competition.

Best Embedded Robot Competition

The Robotics Exhibition at SOFTEC 2012 will provide engineers around Pakistan a platform to put their efforts on display.

Ideas Extreme

IdeasXtreme creates a forum for school-going children to show their ideas of the uses of IT in the future. Children are required to come up with wild, speculative ideas concerning novel applications of IT in the future, demonstrating their ideas via a chart or physical model. Winners are selected on the basis of how thoroughly thought out, beneficial, and inventive their ideas are. Ideas Extreme is one of the most successful events organized by SOFTEC.

Web Development Competition

Participate as an individual, or as a team, but when it comes to Web Development, there is no other challenging competition than SOFTEC. Different teams from renowned institutes participate to test their web development skills against a broader and tougher spectrum of students and get to know the most recent developments in the field by the experts. Competing with the tough and challenging opponents will not only provide you a fruitful experience but will also help you to analyze in depth, your weaknesses and strengths, helping you out later in your career. So if you don't want to miss the thrill, sign up and experience the stimulating atmosphere.

Exhibitions

Software

SOFTEC 2014 will include an exhibition of all winning entries to the Software Competition allowing people to trace the influence SOFTEC has had on the IT industry.

Sponsor Enclosure

SOFTEC provides a platform to the Software and I.T. Companies to show off their technologies.

Software House Enclosure

The enclosure houses displays from Software Houses. A live rendering of the products assists in comprehending and appreciating the talents at display.

Fun Eve

To neutralize the intensity of the competitions and exhibitions, SOFTEC organises an entertainment evening comprising musical performances by bands.

SOFTEC 2015 Team

Executive Body

Volunteering members

SOFTEC comprises a culture of students coming together for a cause, working towards event success. Students start by volunteering at the departments they choose to be a part of, to be then elected as members of the Society based on volunteer experience. A president along with an executive team is chosen from the student body each year to organize the event. They further delegate tasks among the remaining society members.

In addition to the SOFTEC Society team, a large percentage of the student body of the Lahore campus works as volunteers to help the event. In every SOFTEC, volunteers from the student body are numbered in excess of 2000, out of a campus population of approximately 4000-5,000.

Major sponsors

• PTCL (2008)
• Wi-Tribe (2011)
• Red Math (2012)
• Netsol Ebryx GameView Studios NorthBay Solutions (2013)
• Red Math (2014)
• i2c MindStorm Studios VentureDive Ebryx (2015)

See also

• National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (NUCES)
• Association for Computing Machinery

External links

• Official website of SOFTEC
• The Biggest I.T. Event of Pakistan

References

Information Technology Contests Software Industry Education