YIC ’12 – A Better Pakistan

Mar 12, 2012 by     2 Comments    Posted under: Cover Story

A special thanks to Naamal Zafar, Sadia Ali, Samra Razakazi and Faizan Abbas for covering the event and making this report possible.

The Beginning

As the participants stepped over the threshold of the auditorium, I could almost hear their hearts beating, palpitations rising and uneven breathing as they took their respective seats. The much-anticipated event of the year not only for the SES (Szabist Entrepreneurial Society) team, the participants but also for the guests present as a dream was forming a reality, a hope was turning in veracity and a vision was being highlighted towards making a better Pakistan, within those four walls.  A total of twenty-two teams were present and each team’s idea was distinctive and inimitable.

Moaviya Zahid, the President of SES, welcomed his prestigious audience and assured them four days of knowledge, unmatched learning and fun! Quoting him: “I am turning the dream of the previous society into a reality. Our discernment regarding this idea of “YIC – A Better Pakistan” were based on the realization that it’s our responsibility to make our nation a favorable place to live in. Entrepreneurs can devise innovative ideas that are only profitable for their businesses but here, in the next four days, those pioneering ideas will be developed, that will change the negative perceptions of at least some, if not all, towards our nation. Five years from now, I want to witness another “I” between I and C and this I stands for “International”. I have a strong belief that this event will reach the international boundaries soon.”

One of the judges, Parkha Khan, the CEO of Dewdrops Couture, was quite impressed by the ideas and admired the enthusiasm of the students immensely. She termed the event “one of its kind” and eagerly expressed her desire to come again next year.  Yumna Zia, the Social Media Coordinator of SES, reiterated the importance of organizing such events and said; we are here to provide the students a platform, now it’s up to them how they make use of it.

A treat was awaiting the participants at the end of the day and that was a play organized by the SES team and a hilarious comedy by a stand-up comedian – Danish Ali. I don’t think it was pure coincidence that the SES organizers chose the name of that social event “ROFL”. That guy literally made everyone laugh hysterically and nobody wanted the show to end. The hilarity of his jokes was of such an extent that the entire auditorium ringed with laughter for the one hour he performed.

Moreover, the jokes apart from being riotous held meaningful messages behind them. Many at times, he mentioned the various social issues currently being faced by Pakistan and the Pakistanis. Also his great ability of making even something as sad as certain actors becoming a social embarrassment to Pakistan comical was mind-blowing. Truly he was the shining star of the YIC Day 1. Hats off to his awe-inspiring comic skills. He sincerely put on an unforgettable and a remarkable show.

The Closing Ceremony

The air in the auditorium was filled with tension and excitement as the closing ceremony of YIC approached. Finalists held their breath as this meant the announcement of the WINNER of YIC’12 and of the prize money of PKR 25,000 was just a few minutes away. The 4 day event, with 22 teams competing against each other, was a great learning experience for the participants. Among these 22 teams, the most deserving and best teams qualified through to the final round. SZABIST must feel really proud as the event was pulled off marvelously by SZABIST’s society SES (SZABIST Entrepreneurial Society).

The closing ceremony began with a small recognition speech by Fahad Zuberi, the faculty advisor of the organizing society of SZABIST, the SZABIST Entrepreneurial Society (SES). He expressed his gratitude towards SZABIST on fully supporting the society in organizing the event, praised the excelling performance of the participants and their talent and potential and congratulated SES on their success.

The stage was then taken over by Moaviya Zahid, the president of SES, who first off announced the winners of the Nokia Challenge round and the Team challenge round of the competition, both of which went to the teams from SZABIST, a big achievement for SZABIST. This was followed by the moment everyone was waiting for. The first and second runner ups were announced won again by two teams belonging to SZABIST.

And the last moment of the competition, the announcement of the WINNER, Moaviya began with the most awaited sentence “And the Winner is…” followed by an eco of the crowd screaming TEAM OSTRICH, and finally Moaviya announcing “Team YIC – 19 AKA TEAM OSTRICH”. The auditorium filled with ear-splitting noise of applauds as the winning team approached the stage and claimed their prize from Fahad Zuberi. The winning team, lead by Mohammad Ameen and belonging to SZABIST, was labeled by the name OSTRICH due to their outstanding idea and commendable approach to it, their performance made it certain that Team YIC – 19 will be the winner of the competition.

One of the participants, Ayesha Mahmood, narrated her experience: “There are some experiences in life that you always cherish with happiness. YIC was one such experience. The 4 days of competition were exhausting, but at the same time, memorable and will go a long way towards my professional grooming. Also, it would be sheer injustice to not mention the organizers and their efforts in making YIC a success. Great job, guys. YIC was indeed a learning experience.”

This marked an end to the YIC’12 and with it we hope to attend YIC’13 next year and see the historical event coming back with greater excellence and marvel. The event brought immense glory to the institute SZABIST, making every student proud to be a SZABISTIAN and hope to be that one outstanding team again next year basking in the glory of their huge achievement.


The Author

We bring to you news and reviews from around Pakistan on fashion, food, music, movies, books, politics, celebrities and much more. Youth Correspondent is an online English weekly magazine of Pakistan.

Click to view all posts from .

2 Comments + Add Comment

  • i wish i could be a participant tooo….:)

  • It was a great fun n love the article

Your Voice Matters to Us

Send in your entries, ideas, thoughts, VLogs, Photologs and related to editorial@youthcorrespondent.com today.

Subscribe to us on

Youth Correspondent RSS
Youth Correspondent on Facebook
Youth Correspondent on Twitter
Youth Correspondent on Youtube