LONDON: e-Magine, a Pakistani based ed-tech start up, founded by Ms. Huda Garib in late 2016, is an organization that prides itself on conducting customized, dynamic, and immersive programs and workshops for high school students to equip them with the skills that will prove to be a major asset regardless of the industry in which they belong.
Moreover, in addition to the hands-on learning experiences the firm offers, it has also successfully managed to take its flagship event for high schoolers, the Visionaries series to the United Kingdom – an initiative that seeks to engage innovators, change-makers, and future thinkers to #DARETOEMAGINE and come up with innovative and practical solutions to real world problems.
Having conducted several editions of this grand event in its home city of Karachi and expanded to Lahore, this time round the team collaborated with the Digital Schoolhouse and Alexandra Palace to host its first ever international event, on the 30th of January 2020 at the Alexandra Palace, London – where the focus once again on youth development. However, in this edition, the theme that was chosen was ‘Women in Tech’, and hence, the emphasis was primarily placed on encouraging young teenage women (between the ages of 11-13) interested in tech to start to realize their true potential and enable them to work on solutions that they once thought was not possible.
Moreover, staying true to the very premise of the Visionaries legacy, the competition was held in a similar manner to the way it was conducted in its home city of Karachi, as well as in Lahore. Therefore, in addition to creating prototypes for their ideas using basic materials such as card paper, markers, and playdough, to add an element of 3D visualization to their work, the participants were also asked to create a pitch-deck presentation on the spot for a game changing idea that can enhance the overall sustainability of the chosen venue for the event, Alexandra Palace.
However, the students weren’t left alone at sea during this daunting task. Instead, they had the help and guidance of mentors from some of the world’s leading organizations in the creative industry, which included Minna (the assistant in-game animation manager at TT Games), Angela Dickson (the sales director for the UK region from Activision Blizzard), Isabel Arjona (the development manager from Electronic Arts), Emily Rudd (the Education Manager at Ubisoft), Kerry Rizzo (the senior communications manager at NDreams), Emma Bunce (the senior PR manager at Nintendo), just to name a few.
Once the development stage was completed, the participants were then asked to present their work in their teams, with each group having 3-5 minutes in front a panel of judges that consisted of Ms. Huda Garib, Ms., Shahneila Saeed, and Ms. Isobel Aptakar – i.e.representatives from all three hosting organizations. The top three winners were then selected unanimously by the judges based on the overall work, presentations, as well as the display of teamwork and camaraderie shown during the event.
Furthermore, certain organizations such as Intel, Nintendo, and Ubisoft also joined forces with us by providing their resources to help make this very event a success.
With Huda and her team finding every opportunity to serve as proud ambassadors of this nation, and the overwhelming welcome that it received in the United Kingdom, according to Ms. Garib “The organization is Mashallah certainly well and truly on its way of growing the e-Magine community globally, and simultaneously striving to address pressing issues that impact our planet with practical solutions, as together we #DARETOEMAGINE and InshALLAH strive to create a better world not only for ourselves; but also, for generations to come.” Certainly, a clear sign of how e-Magine is now planning to expand operations nationally, as well as across borders – undoubtedly an initiative that we all should support in what ever way we can. For, no contribution is ever too small! Last, but, not least, we wish Huda and her colleagues the best of luck in all their future endeavours!
