IEEE COMSOC Lahore Chapter Annual Meet-up 2024
The IEEE ComSoc Lahore Chapter Annual Meetup 2024 took place on December 26, 2024, at KICS-UET Lahore. Mr. Kashif Bashir, Chair of the IEEE ComSoc Lahore Chapter and Vice Chair of the IEEE Lahore Section, warmly welcomed the distinguished guests and provided a detailed report on the chapter’s activities for the year.
Mr. Bashir highlighted the chapter’s impressive growth, noting that its membership had increased by 44%, rising from 265 members in 2023 to 382 members in December 2024. He also mentioned that IEEE ComSoc Lahore Chapter technically sponsored three major international conferences this year: ICIC at UMT Lahore, ETECTE 2024 at UOL, and ICOSST 2024 at UET Lahore.
In addition to supporting conferences, IEEE ComSoc Lahore Chapter organized several significant events, including the 2nd Smart City Summit 2024, Artificial Intelligent Workshop in Information and Communication 2024, two IEEE ComSoc Tech Meetups, Information Technology Career Symposium 2024 and the Brainiac Student Competition. Mr. Bashir also took the opportunity to recognize the achievements of the chapter’s outstanding student members, Dr. Waqaqs Toor, Anees Ur Rehman, Rafay Khokhar, and Abdul Muheet Saqib, who received honorable mentions in this year’s Global ComSoc Student Competition. This year, the competition projects were evaluated by an international committee of 55 experts, further underscoring the high caliber of the students’ work and their contribution to the field.
Dr. Yasir Saleem, Vice Chair of the IEEE ComSoc Lahore Chapter, provided an overview of key events, including the Smartcity Summit 2024 and the IoT Workshop, highlighting their success and impact. He also discussed the IEEE ComSoc Induction Drive, aimed at attracting new members and expanding the chapter’s network of professionals and students in communication and technology.
Prof. Dr. Majid Hussain, Vice Chair of Technical Events, presented the activities held in the Faisalabad region. He detailed events such as the 2nd International Conference on Advanced STEAM (ICASE-2024), the Artificial Intelligence Workshop in Information and Communication 2024, and the Innovative Lyallpur 1.0 and Innovative Lyallpur 2.0 student competitions. He also highlighted the Induction Drive conducted in Faisalabad to attract new members to the IEEE ComSoc chapter.
In her video message, Dr. Ana Gracia Armada, Vice President of Global Activities for ComSoc, praised the IEEE ComSoc Lahore Chapter for technically sponsoring three international conferences, hosting technical events, and supporting ComSoc students. She specifically acknowledged the students’ achievements in the Global ComSoc Competition, highlighting their excellence and the chapter’s commitment to innovation and learning.
Ms. Alina Munir also shared with the audience that she received an Honorary Mention in the 2021 Global ComSoc Student Competition and is now a faculty member of the CS Department at UET Lahore. She expressed her gratitude to Kashif Bashir and Dr. Yasir Saleem for their guidance and support in her journey.
Later, Anees Ur Rehman shared with the audience how his team applied for the Global ComSoc Student Competition and earned an Honorary Mention. He explained the process behind their project submission and the dedication that led to their recognition by the international panel of experts. Anees also acknowledged the guidance provided by Mr. Kashif Bashir, Chair of IEEE ComSoc, which played a key role in their success and recognition.
Dr. Waqas Tariq Toor, the adviser of the project, also acknowledged Mr. Kashif Bashir’s guidance, emphasizing the significant role his support played in the success of the team’s project and their recognition in the Global ComSoc Student Competition.
Among other speakers at the event, Prof. Dr. Waqar Mahmood spoke about importance of IEEE activities among students, Dr. Tariq Rahim Soomro chair IEEE Karachi Section appreciated the team and shared the importance of such events, Dr. Amjad Iqbal dean SIT UCP appreciated the COMSOC Lahore Chapter team support last year in INMIC 2023 conference at UCP for which he mentioned that UCP has organized their own conference this year, Dr. Yasir Niaz Chief Technical Officer Punjab Safe City Authority said COMSOC is one of the most active chapter in Lahore Section, he also shared that more engineers required in their department, Hamza Ihtisham Chair IEEE Young Professional Lahore Section talk about professionalism and his affiliation with COMSOC chapter since 2016 during first COMSOC Lahore Chapter Summer School at Punjab University, Syed Rizwan Naqvi Chair Student Activities Lahore Section mentioned the student opportunities present in IEEE and encourage members to take lerage from them, and Dr. Jamshaid Iqbal Janjua acknowledged that IEEE ComSoc Lahore Chapter is the best chapter of the IEEE Lahore Section, praising its outstanding contributions and impact in the field of ICT.
At the end of the event, the Chief Guest, Prof. Dr. Sohail Aftab Quereshi, Vice Chairman of the Punjab, Pakistan Engineering Council, commended the efforts of Kashif Bashir, Dr. Yasir Saleem, and Dr. Majid Hussain, acknowledging their outstanding contributions to the success of the IEEE ComSoc Lahore Chapter and the services they provided to ComSoc student members. He also congratulated the winning students for their remarkable achievements.
Later, recognition certificates were presented to Prof. Dr. Shahid Munir (VC UET Lahore), Prof. Dr. Tariq Rahim Soomro, Prof. Dr. Waqar Mahmood, Shahid Zulfiqar, Prof. Dr. Saleem Mian, Prof. Dr. Amjad Hussain, Shazeb J Rathore, Dr. Ghulam Abbass, Dr. Atif Alvi, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Usman Ghani Khan, Dr. Farooq Ahmad, Prof. Dr. Kamran Abid, Kamil Shahid, Syed Muhammad Rizwan, Prof.Dr. Sajid Mahmood, Muhammad Hamza Ihtisham, Dr. Zaid Ahmad, Dr. Sidra Zafar, Dr.Waqas Tariq Toor and Dr. Salman Fakhar. Recognition certificates and cash prizes were also distributed to students Anees Ur Rehman, Rafay Khokhar, Abdul Muheet Saqib and their advisor Dr. Waqas Toor. Additionally, shields were given to distinguished guests in appreciation of their contributions.
