Chaired by Saquib Ahmad, Management Committee Member and Managing Director Pakistan of SAP, the workshop explored innovative strategies to enhance Pakistan's IT talent pool.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, less than 10% of IT graduates are employable. This workshop aimed to address this gap by fostering collaboration between industry and academia.

The event featured notable industry experts such as Jehan Ara, Founder of Katalyst Labs, and leading academics including Muhammad Asghar Khan and Prof. Tariq Rahim Soomro PhD, SMIEEE from Institute of Business Management, Arshad Aziz, Ph.D. from National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Dr. Khalid Rasheed from SZABIST, and Inder Kishan from HEC Sindh.

Kh. Tanveer Saleem, IT Lead at United Energy Pakistan, moderated the session, highlighting the significant challenges in upskilling IT graduates. A major issue discussed was the lack of coordination between industry, academia and higher education bodies who develop and set curriculum.

The dialogue emphasized the importance of leveraging Pakistan’s youth bulge by revising the curriculum to include essential technology skills from the school level, raising teaching standards, and strengthening the linkage between academia and industry to benefit from each other's expertise. The IT sector, identified as a key area for FDI, was highlighted as having significant potential for growth.

The workshop concluded with a call to action for collaborative efforts to revise educational frameworks and foster an environment conducive to developing skilled IT professionals in Pakistan.