NETCom 2007 – Engineering the Future!

Come what may – we just had to make it successful! A fire burning inside this small team, tied up by a dozen limitations and difficulties. This event just had to be a success for the sake of God knows what, but it just had to!

Emotions ran high in the build up to the event, untiring efforts, work and night stays! Eleventh our crisis and what not!

NETCom 2007 – The first National Engineering and Technology Competition, held at FAST-NUCES (Karachi Campus) forced an unlikely success, much to the surprise of the faculty and students.

The event featured five competitions:

- - . Animations and Short Movies Competition

- - . M.I.C (Microcontroller Interfacing Competition)

- - . Circuit Designing Competition

- - . E-Zenith (Extreme Zenith, about making wonders from junkyard stuff)

- - . Innovative Business Ideas competition

There were cash prizes for winners and runners up’s while a few prizes were given off by the courtesy of two companies.

The event kicked off with an unofficial opening ceremony at almost 10 in the morning, with a handful of participants, because the chief guest could not arrive so early in the morning. The competitions began and nerves ran high. Everyone wanted to win. Every participant was a flag-bearer of his or her university.

The official ceremony started at around 12.30, I had the honour of hosting both, the official and the unofficial opening ceremonies. The chief guest, Noman Saigol declared the event officially open and addressed the participants and the faculty.

I would here like to especially mention the projects on display at the Microcontroller Interfacing Competition, which was truly awe-inspiring! Planes, Robotics, cars, GPS systems and what not!

The Animations and Short movies competition was breath taking, with awesome videos and animations with some very good photography, camera work and sound coupled with great out-of-the-box ideas and concepts.

I had the honour of leading the Computer design and creativity team for the event, lighting up the face of NETCom 2007, making tireless efforts to make the event, the place it was being held, aesthetically pleasing for the visitors and participants.

The event could never have been possible without our great and very enthusiastic team, the “ENTIRE” team! The best thing about the event was that we worked day and night, irrespective of whose domain we were working for, but towards the success of an event we all dreamed to be a success.

I would especially like to mention the untiring efforts of Haseeb, without him Netcom wouldn’t have been possible. His excellent guidance and skill, the way he managed everyone, internal issues and conflicts, I found him to be a gem of a person, who seemed to have solutions for every crisis that arose. LOL! Not to mention the last minute shield crisis =P I have never seen such a person, who effectively was Netcom in himself, be so humble even after everything he was doing. Pride was something seen not even in the distance to this man. He has been, undoubtedly, the best person I have ever had the experience of working with. Thank you for being there Haseeb whenever we were stuck! Thank you for your awesome leadership!

Netcom 2007 taught me a lot, groomed me a lot as a person, interacting and understanding people of diverse personalities and nature.

I would like to appreciate the efforts of the IEEE-NUCES chairperson Syed Faisal-ur-Rehman for his broad-minded leadership, his gut and firm resolve, the hard work and great handling of responsibility by the IEEE-NUCES General Secretary – Obaid, his seriousness and his efforts – Thumbs up Obi! But most of all, I would like to appreciate the IEEE-NUCES Treasurer Zoraiz, the way he managed the funds. I was personally with him when we went out shopping for stuff – the way he fought bargains with shopkeepers, the way we searched the markets, went shop to shop for better prices was something outstanding. The tight control he kept over the expenses deserves a lot of appreciation. Great work Zoraiz!

Lubna Baji, I congratulate you and your team on having, in my view, a very successful competition. Breath-taking is the only word that flashes to mind when I think of your competition.

Rakesh Bhai – See the whole point behind the success of e-Zenith was that damned wallpaper – LOL!! I Loved your event and the concept behind it, and the long hours in Saddar searching for your stuff =P Heartfelt congratulations to you and your team.

Vikash Bhai – I couldn’t get to see the CDC competition personally but I’ve heard it went good, congratulations to you and your team as well.

Fawwad Bhai – Thumbs for the IBI competition, I could have given you guys a better logo and better banners though, apologies if the creative work didn’t suit you, but in the end, congratulations for the success of IBI.

Zubair Shahid – The projects I saw at MIC were awe-inspiring – the best part of NETCom was the MIC and the projects on display there! Congratulations to you and your team!

I would like to Congratulate Nabeel (Nabbooo bhai) and his event management team, Rabia baji and her team, Sufyan bhai and his team, Ammara baji, Fahad bhai and their team, The Press and Media people for bringing excellent media coverage to Netcom, Muhammad Ali for Information and Security, Sumair for helping me out with one banner in the final moments, Salman bhai for help with the opening ceremony and the whole Netcom team.

I congratulate everyone, I Thank everyone for doing such a great job! Netcom 2007 has really been a milestone.

Finally, to my Designing & Creativity boys, I mean girls and boys – TERRIFIC job, people might not agree, but given the short time, a very small team and extremely limited resources, Farheen, Basmah, Ali, Mahir, Hina, Anum, Sidra – You people rocked. Special thanks to Fahad Hafeez for all the help. On the outset, people might not have liked it, but on the inside, everyone knows how difficult it was getting on with 5000 buntings, decoration and setting up the place for a cool NETCom!

If I am forgetting anyone’s name – Please forgive me – The whole team executed the Netcom 2007 in a superb fashion!

We’ll grow, Yes we will, we will be the best next time if not now, we will rule, The National Engineering & Technology Competition will go far beyond 2007, for decades to come insha Allah!

I feel proud at being part of a proud team – WE ROCKED, WE RULED AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO!

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED NETCOM – THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED ME – THANK YOU HASEEB BHAI – THANK YOU TEAM!

=’)

With Best Regards,
Syed Ammar Faheem
HEAD – Designing and Creativity
NETCOM 2007