Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Computer Science (KICS), UET, Lahore took the initiative 16 years back to organize International Conference on Open-Source Systems and Technologies (ICOSST). ICOSST is a signature event of KICS happening successfully at the institute since 2006. Like all previous conferences, the 16th edition was also massively successful and unique in its features inspiring researchers, academics, Industrial experts, public sector, and private organizations not only from across the country but also from around the world to witness quality research papers, invited talks, panel discussion and virtual exposition. The 2-day international conference was organized by Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Computer Science (KICS), University of Engineering & Technology Lahore in technically co-sponsorship by IEEE USA.

The Chairman Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC), Dr. Shahid Munir graced the opening ceremony of ICOSST-2022 with his presence as a Chief Guest. CTO, Punjab Safe Cities Authority, Mr. Tariq Malik, Senior Vice Chairman PASHA, Mr. Ali Ihsan, and CEO Netsole, Mr. Saleem Ghauri were invited as Distinguished Guests. The Chairman PHEC congratulated the organizers and participants of ICOSST 2022. He said, “As we all know that we are living in the era of knowledge-based economy and it is a proven fact that open-source systems and technologies are going to grab more share from the knowledge-based economy and the IT industry in the future”. Addressing to the participants of opening ceremony, Senior Vice President PASHA, Mr. Ali Ihsan said “We have to work in spaces where a lot of work has not been done so open-source technology allows us to operate across the spectrum in any new tech which hasn’t established players yet” whereas CEO Netsole Technologies, Mr. Salim Ghauri said “Today, we are recognized and accepted as an IT country in the world. Now is the time to take a lead in the IT sector and for this we need to focus on producing students with skills to avail more opportunities”. Special video messages from Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad, Chairman PM Task Force on Science & Technology, Prof. Dr. Atta ur Rehman, and Dr. Mbemba from the University of the Gambia were also played at the opening ceremony.

Collectively 66 researchers submitted their manuscripts from various countries including Pakistan, China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia; only a handful top quality papers were accepted by the Technical Evaluation Committee qualifying the merit-based criteria. Speakers were invited from prestigious universities of Pakistan and other countries like Australia, China, Berlin, UK to deliver talks in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Big data & Cloud computing, Robotics, Image Classification, Cyber Security, Blockchain, and the Internet of Things (lot). A panel discussion was also held as a module of the conference themed “Catching the Web 3.0 Wave for Pakistan” moderated by Jamil Goheer, Director Kualitetum – CEC P@SHA (Brand Committee Chair).  The distinguished panel comprised Mr. Abraham, Director Marketing PEOPLE (Leading HR Management & Recruitment Company), Mr. Ahmed Muzammil, Director Mezino Technologies (Tech Industry Expert), Mr. Fakhar Khan, Director SoftPyramid (Industry Expert – Top Rated Upwork Team), and Mr. Atif Javaid, Director Aventrio (Industry – Business Development & Freelancing Expert), and Dr. Usman Ghani from UET Lahore.

Director KICS, Prof. Dr. Waqar Mahmood shared the modules of the conference with the participants and also highlighted the history of the International Conference on Open-Source Systems & Technologies at the opening ceremony. An exposition was also organized where products from different research labs of KICS were displayed. More than 20 industries came for the recruitment drive for the students. Participating industries include Cogent labs, Tekboox, Evsinc, Cure MD, Dynamics Solution and Technology, i2C, learning hub, Metadort, PASHA, Manafa, Crosshair Technology, Advance Systemes pvt. Ltd, and Xebex.

A students-based competition “BRAINIAC’22” and BRAINIAC workshops were also organized by IEEE UET Lahore in collaboration with IEEE Lahore Section and KICS where students from various institutes participated in different modules including Artificial Intelligence/ML Coding competition, Internet of Things Project Idea Competition, Logo and Branding Competition, Impact – A Startup Idea Competition with the price money of up to Rs. 100,000. 

The closing ceremony of the conference took place on the second day of the conference. Director General Pro Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDM), Mr. Faisal Fareed participated as a Chief Guest. “The difference between the developed and the developing countries is basically the difference of knowledge and technology. If we want to join the stream of developed countries, it is important for our young generation to equip themselves with the latest technology” said Director General PDM, Mr. Faisal Fareed at the closing ceremony of ICOSST 2022. Director KICS, Dr. Waqar described briefly the 2-day event along with the recommendations made at the panel discussion. Vice Chancellor UET, Prof. Dr. Syed Mansoor Sarwar praised Dr. Waqar and his team for conducting the 16th in its series conference successfully. Addressing the participants, he said “We are trying to bridge the gap between industry and academia by providing more internship opportunities to the students, by having industry professionals to teach technology-oriented courses, and by holding training sessions for the faculty so that they can work for some time in the industry”.

At the closing ceremony, an MoU was also signed between Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Computer Science (KICS), UET Lahore and Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDM) to promote technical and research collaboration. Director KICS, Prof. Dr. Waqar Mahmood, and Director General, PDM, Mr. Faisal Fareed signed the MoU. The conference ended up with the certificate distribution to the participants and organizers. The winners of the students’ competitions were also announced and given the prizes.

As Chapter Chair Mr. Kashif Bashir Chair IEEE ComSoc Lahore Chapter and Manager Trainings KICS-UET Participated in Global Chapter Chair Congress (GCCC’22). The IEEE ComSoc GCCC’22 took place at IEEE GlobeCom’22 at Windsor Barra Hotel, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 4-5 Decembers 2022. The purpose of GCCC’22 is to facilitate and encourage sharing, feedback, and networking among Chapter Chairs, staff, and ComSoc officers. The Chapter Chairs were from the countries like USA, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, UK, France, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, Pakistan, and many others. Besides GCCC’22 meeting there was a networking dinner with the chapter chairs and a lunch with the chapter chairs and IEEE ComSoc Board of Governors as well.

 Mr. Kashif Bashir also delivered a presentation on the year 2021-22 research activities taken place in different universities of Pakistan. He especially mentioned A Summit on Artificial Intelligence in information and Communication 2021 and 2022, A Summit on Internet of Things 2022, and collaborated events like All Pakistan Congress 2022, Seasonal School on Video Surveillance and four IEEE Communication Society sponsored Internationals Conferences which includes International conference on Open-Source Systems and Technologies ICOSST 2022, International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering Sciences and Technology ICES&T 2022, International Conference on Emerging Trends in Electrical, Control and Telecommunication Engineering (ETECTE)” 2022 and International conference on Electrical Engineering and Sustainable Technologies 2022.