Jibran Khalid Memorial SOfE Nationals 2018

This year’s Speak Out for Engineering (SOfE) Nationals was held at the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME), NUST Islamabad. The national event was named in the memory of Jibran Khalid, who established the first student chapter of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) in Pakistan.

SOfE is a trademark event of IMechE which is conducted at various levels. Students first compete at their individual student chapters. The winners then qualify for the zonal level of the competition. The top three position holders from each zone then battle it out at the SOfE Nationals to secure a spot for the SOfE South Asia.

Many esteemed guests from the industry as well as officials from IMechE Pakistan attended the event. Mr Waseem Bhatti, Head of Manufacturing and Maintenance at Millat Tractors Limited Islamabad was invited as the chief guest for the event.

This year there were two separate heats. The first was the national heat between the 6 winners of SOfE South and SOfE North. The second was the SOfE Open which was held between 5 contestants of whom included two international participants from Srilanka and UAE respectively. One participant was from PNEC Karachi and two from SMME NUST. 

The ceremony started at around 10:15 am with the recitation of the Holy Quran. After a brief introduction about the event and the time plan, Jibran Khalid’s father was requested to express his feelings about the event. After a fairly emotional and nostalgic address, the principal of SMME gave his valuable advice and thanked the guests for attending the event.

The experienced and esteemed panel of judges was introduced to the audience which included Barrister Safiullah and Usama Nadeem from ToastMasters Club Islamabad, Mr Usama Nadeem from Millat tractors and Hassan Ghayasuddin Ansari, the Honorary Secretary of IMechE Pakistan.

The audience was briefed about the rules and regulations after which the presentations for the national heat began. The national heat presentations continued till 1:45 pm. The quality on display was eye catching and extraordinary. While Kamran Siddique gave a fine account of his final year project on ‘Vacuum Membrane Distillation’, Waleed bin Khalid awed the audience with his presentation on ‘Fluid Mechanics Test Bench’. The amusing and confident presentation of Bahzaad Ali on ‘Agaroglaze’ excited the crowd and Ammar Ali Abbas ended the National heat on the same elevated level as that of when it had begun with his impressive presentation on ‘Thermo Acoustic Refrigerator Device’.

After the lunch break the presentations for the Open heat began. The open heat proved to be very competitive as all contestants impressed the judges with their oratory skills. Mueed ur Rehman quite eloquently explained his project and research on ‘Robot Kinematics’ while Thirakan Mahalingam from Srilanka gave a flawless presentation on ‘Statistical Analysis and Efficient Engineering Simulation System’. The open heat came to a close with Abdul Qayyum’s informative and interactive presentation on ‘Hyper loop’ at around 5:15 pm.

The judges were given 15 minutes to compile their results while the guests and participants were served high tea. The chief guest, Honorable Mr Waheed Bhatti was then requested to address the crowd before the results were announced. Barrister Safiullah Ghauri was invited to share the results of both heats along with some invaluable advice for the participants. He admitted that the competition was far tougher than they had anticipated. The position holders for the event were as follows:

National Heat:

1. Winner: Bahzad Ali from NED University, Karachi
2. Runner Up: Waleed Bin Khalid from SMME NUST, Islamabad

Open Heat:

1. Winner: Thirakaran Mahalingam from Srilanka
2. Runner Up: Mueed ur Rehman from SMME NUST, Islamabad

The position holders were given shields, certificates and cash prizes including gifts from Jibran Khalid’s parents as a gesture of support and encouragement. Special souvenirs were given to the international participants and guests. The judges were given shields with appreciation and gratitude while all participants were given participation certificates. The event ended with the address of Barrister Safiullah Ghauri who congratulated the participants and the organizers for the conduction of a successful event. The event ended at around 6 pm.