Summary:

The Abul Kalam Design Challenge 2019 took place on 14th November at the School of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering (SMME), at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) Islamabad, marking the fourth successful undertaking of this endeavor. The attendees consisted of 20 esteemed guests, from prestigious industries of the country, 40 contestants and around 150 students including IMechE members.

Brief Summary:

Since its inception in 2016, the Abul Kalam Design Challenge has remained one of IMechE’s flagship events, aiming to push boundaries every year with bigger and better contests that allow students to use their imagination in conjunction with technical knowledge in pursuit of engineering excellence. This year’s competition, design and manufacturing of an external pipeline climber, was spearheaded by a new and invigorated Organizing Committee led by the Event Head, Mr. Sameer bin Khalid, and Co-Event Heads, Mr. Raffay Waseem and Mr. Anas Muzammil.

Event Timeline:

The event commenced at 0930 hours with Dr. Mohammed Uneeb, Vice Chair of IMechE Pakistan and Chair for the event, providing a briefing to the panel of judges which consisted of six esteemed personalities, namely Mr. Shahid Mumtaz, Mr. M. Arslan Haider, Mr. Safi Ghauri, Mr. Hassan Ghayasuddin Ansari, Dr. Kamran Afaq and Dr. Mohammad Uneeb, the Chief Judge himself. The opening ceremony ensued at 1000 hours, hosted by Ms. Laveeza Fatima and Mr. Shahzaib Asim, in which Dr. David Ball, Chair of IMechE Northwest Region UK, and Head of the IMechE Design Challenge, made a video address to the attendees consisting of 40 contestants and around 20 honorable guests from industries including Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited, Millat Tractors, ICI Pakistan Limited, KSB Pumps Company Limited, Uch Power Limited, Toastmasters and Dignitary from Engineering and Development Board. The contest then officially began with two Heats in which the eight competing teams took turns showing off their designed projects to the judges. The objective was to create an external pipeline climber, and each team competently executed their own approach to the challenge in the form of their devices.



After examining the technical prowess of each team, the judges proceeded with the Poster Competition, in which various related posters made by each team were observed and marked. At 1200 hours, the Presentation Phase began, hosted by Mr. Adil Awan, and the teams were tasked with presenting and explaining their projects to the respected judges, giving the contestants an opportunity to demonstrate their thought process, and the intricacies of their creation. After a short refreshment break, a third Heat took place around 1300 hours, involving further dissection of the efforts of each group, and the merits of their projects. The contest culminated in a final Heat involving the top three teams. This Heat was attended by Mr. Tahir Javaid, CEO HUBCO Power Services Ltd, the Chief Guest for the event. Once the competition had concluded, the judges and industrial guests were taken on a tour of the various labs and workspaces housed by SMME. The tour was followed by the closing ceremony at 1430 hours, with Ms. Sjaa Mukhtar and Ms. Kinza Naveed as Masters of Ceremony, during which the Director Quality Assurance NUST, Dr. Riaz Ahmed, and the chief guest for the event, Mr. Tahir Javaid addressed a seminar hall full of about 190 attendees. Further addresses were made by the Principal of SMME, Professor Dr. Shahid Ikramullah Butt, and the Chair of the Pakistan Design Challenge, Dr. Mohammad Uneeb. The formalities wrapped up with the Prize Distribution. Here, the winning teams were awarded shields, and all contestants were given certificates of participation to acknowledge their immense enthusiasm and commitment which fueled the competition. The judges were also given tokens of appreciation in the form of shields. The Poster Competition was won by Dynamic Thriller, Idealists, and Gear, whereas the Best Presentation award went to Dynamic Thriller and Pentagon. Pentagon also secured the overall Runners Up position, but Dynamic Thriller was declared the Grand Winner of the competition – the recorded time for device to go up and down being 3.92 seconds.



所以,一场激烈的比赛和多事的一天结束ed, with another successful Abul Kalam Design Challenge under IMechE’s belt. The immense success of this year’s event was made possible through the support of our sponsors, the Hub Power Company (HUBCO) – the first and largest privately-funded Independent Power Producer (IPP) in Pakistan with a combined production capacity of over 1600 MW.

Event Outcomes:

Events such as this play a significant role in highlighting the importance of practical application of theoretical knowledge. They allow future engineers and problem-solvers to spread their wings and gain invaluable professional experience, which ultimately ensures that the knowledge being gained by such students can be implemented towards the benefit of society. And at the end of the day, isn’t that the true purpose of education?





Written By:Mr. Sulaymaan Ahmad (SMME, NUST, Pakistan)