Authors, publishers, innovators, startup founders and other experts participate during the three-day festival
“Haprow”, a cute little robot helps children learn. PHOTO: AUTHOR
KARACHI:
The three-day Karachi International Books and Technology Fair (KIBTF) kicked off at the Karachi Expo Center on Friday.
Educational technologies, STEM competitions and thought-provoking speaking sessions are also part of the festival.
Authors, publishers, innovators, startup founders and other experts participate during the three-day festival.
“Haprow”, a cute little robot, caught attention when it was manufactured in Pakistan with the efforts of the National Incubation Centre, Karachi. The AI-enabled robot helps children learn and is designed to be a virtual friend for children with autism. Its different version is a disinfection robot that kills bacteria and pathogens with ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
Students in a competition at KIBTF. PHOTO: KIBTF
Various new startups also showcased their digital products and offered 100% online classes with an effective learning feedback mechanism. An Islamabad-based company presented its textbooks with STEM learning to empower students with coding even at the primary level. Another ed-tech startup presented its experiences with project-based learning for young minds to avoid rote learning.
KIBTF starts in Karachi. PHOTO: KIBTF
Fiction Genie and Storise are two homegrown companies dedicated to producing audio books from Pakistani publishers as it is much needed in the digital learning scenario. Both companies said they are working to create a bigger platform for Pakistani writers and publishers.
Students from various institutions participated in STEM competitions at KIBTF. PHOTO: BY AUTHOR
Robothon and STEM competitions were another feature of KIBTF where students from different schools participated with creative ideas.
Discussion sessions
KIBTF also organized parallel sessions on learning and education. Various experts spoke about the future of learning, teaching with artificial intelligence, the Common National Curriculum, the role of journalism in education, smart classrooms and the future of book publishing.
Panel discussions and talks are part of the fair. PHOTO: AUTHOR
Ameena Saiyad, Dr Nigar Sajjad Zaheer, Ali K Chishti, Dr Naveed Yousuf and others expressed their views on various topics directly or indirectly related to education and learning.
May 3rd is the last day of KIBTF, where many inspiring discussions are planned. Topics range from AI in classrooms, ed-tech startups, learning strategies for autistic children and talks on other topics to be held.
