In Pakistan, the IEEE ComSoc summer school has been organized continuously from 2016. The first edition of the summer school was organized on 26-29 July 2016; the second edition of the summer school was organized on 11-14 July 2017; the third edition ofthe summer school was organized on 7-10 August 2018, and the theme of the summer school was Intelligent Communication Networks.
In the 2019 IEEE ComSoc Lahore Chapter organized the fourth edition of the IEEE ComSoc summer school at Islamia University Bahawalpur on 9-12 October 2019 with the joint collaboration of the IEEE UCET-IUB student branch and KICS-UET Lahore. The theme of the summer school was Autonomous Systems. It featured 14 speakers including two international speakers and 12 national speakers from various fields. The international speakers were from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia and Dhahran Techno Valley KSA, while the national speakers were from Comsats, NUST, MUET, MAJU Karachi, UET-KICS, CASE, Capital University of Science & Technology, L’Oréal Pakistan, and PTCL Pakistan. The main idea was to spread awareness of Autonomous Systems among students and faculty members.
The opening speech was delivered by the chairperson of the IEEE Bahawalpur Sub-Section, Dr. Muhammad Ali Qureshi. Dr. Muhammad Amjad, who is the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, gave the welcome speech and he formally welcomed all the guests and speakers to the IEEE ComSoc summer school and the Islamia University of Bahawalpur. The speakers and their talk topics during the four days of summer school are as follow: Prof. Dr. Waqar Mahmood (Keynote speech); Dr. Abdul Aziz (New generation antennas for 5G communication systems); Abdul Wahab Cheema (IEEE YP STEP: Career is as we want to define it); Dr. Hussain Ali (Target parameter estimation in MIMO radars); Dr. Saeed Buzdar (IEEE HAC: E-Care through latest technologies); Dr. Abi Waqas (Advancement in photonics/optics and its applications); Prof. Dr. Junaid Mughal (Electromagnetics as we know it); Prof. Dr. Aamir Iqbal Bhatti (Development of Pakistan’s first-ever indigenous phased array radar); Mr. Saqlain Sher (IEEE STEP YP: The importance of professional networking); Dr. Waqas Afzal (Sensor-based communication-aware path planning using harmonic potential fields); Engr. Farid Zamir (IEEE R10 SAC leadership training); Prof. Dr. Shoab A. Khan (Autonomous systems and their alignment to initiatives of PM task force on knowledge-economy) and Dr. Kashif Ishaque.
A visit to Noor Mahal (a historic place built in 1872) was also arranged on third day of the summer school, where light and sound shows were arranged for the participants and guests of the summer school. During this show, the complete history of Bahawalpur city was shared through the light and sound effects on the Noor Mahal building. All of the participants and guests enjoyed the visit.
An idea competition was held after the virtual tour on the theme of ‘Autonomous Systems’. Students were given 20 minutes to think of an idea and afterward, 10 more minutes were given to write down their ideas. The positions were announced in the closing ceremony and the cash prize was awarded to the winning participants.
The closing ceremony began with a message from Stefano Bregni, Vice President of Conferences for the IEEE Communication Society. He encouraged all students to become IEEE ComSoc members and he also shared the membership benefits of the IEEE Communication Society. He also appreciated the effort of the IEEE ComSoc Lahore Chapter for organizing the fourth summer school. At the end, Mr. Kashif Bashir, Chair of the IEEE ComSoc Lahore Chapter, expressed his gratitude to all participants for attending the fourth edition of the summer school. He further shared his experience during the last four days, as well as passing on his regards and congratulations to the summer school team for arranging such a successful event. The main organizing team consisted of Dr. Muhammad Amjad, Dr. Muhammad Ali Qureshi, Dr. Asjad Amin, Muhammad Farid Zamir, Muhammad Usman Zafar and Maria Ali. Shields were distributed to the invited speakers and organizers at the end.
