KARACHI: The Department of Computer Science and Information Technology of Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology (SSUET) organised a workshop on Fostering Innovation: Exploring a Multidisciplinary Approach to Final Year Projects through Brainstorming. The chief guest of the session was the renowned motivational speaker Asad Ullah Chaudhry.

Expressing his view, Vice Chancellor SSUET, Prof Dr Vali Uddin, said that business innovation is the process of generating new ideas or approaching existing products, services, business models, and concepts in new ways. The business world is a fast-paced environment fuelled by new technologies, trends, and other elements. Responding to the changes, corporate leaders need to keep their fingers on the pulse of the market to identify opportunities for innovation and mitigate potential threats.

Speaking on the occasion, the President of the Sir Syed University Alumni Association, Asad Ullah Chaudhry, said that the projects must have the features needed to make them marketable. We should know how to commercialize the projects, how to experiment with the idea, and how to take it to SEED funding. Don’t ask companies for funding, convince them to invest money in your projects, assuring them a fair return. Companies give money to growing funding. You can earn through mass customization.

Renowned motivational speaker Asad Ullah Chaudhry said that you can make a business plan if it has penetration in the market. Companies doing business on business models. The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a strategic management tool to quickly and easily define and communicate a business idea or concept. A business plan is made when we have data available. Company objectives are derived from the company vision and strategy for building a successful company. Product objectives, on the other hand, are derived from the product strategy and vision.

Addressing the session as Convenor, Dean of the Faculty of Computing & Applied Sciences, Prof Dr Muhammad Asif said that we have been doing final year projects for the last 25 years. Earlier, there was a trend of presenting research papers from 2009 to 2011, then people started to patent their papers. Now is the trend of converting projects into products. We should look at how we can make final-year projects interdisciplinary. Why can’t we take our projects to international forums when we have multiple disciplines but our participation is not at an international level? We want Sir Syed University to participate in the ITCN Asia 2024 exhibition. We just need one successful story to move forward.

The Chairperson of the Business Administration Department, Dr Ammad ul Haq, said that every project can not be marketable. Only one or two projects may be up to the mark among hundreds of projects. It is not necessary to come up with new ideas every time, but you can revitalize or regenerate the previous ideas with a new look. Any concept that is contributing to economic prosperity is a new idea.

Chairperson of the Computer Science and IT Department, Prof Dr Waleej Haider said that supervisors of FYP themselves must be properly trained who are going to guide students in preparing the projects. It is necessary for supervisors to make business map and to learn about the business models and modules.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023