The Youth Science and Technology Festival in Karachi brought together some of the brightest young minds from across Sindh. Over the course of three days, more than 70 students from around 40 educational institutions showcased their creative projects, ranging from robotics to green energy and waste-management innovations. The event concluded on Sunday with impressive displays that showed how deeply students are thinking about the future of technology and sustainability.
An Event Focused on Innovation and Future Skills
The festival was inaugurated by the Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Sardar Muhammad Bakhsh Mahar. During the opening ceremony, he highlighted how such platforms help students gain confidence and prepare for real-world challenges. To ensure fairness, a panel of professors, engineers and industry experts was formed to evaluate each project on technical merit and creativity.
Prize money of more than Rs200,000 was announced for top-performing teams, with the first prize carrying Rs100,000. Students spent months and in some cases an entire year developing their projects, which added a deeper sense of commitment to their presentations.
Dow University Wins First Prize with “Shifa App”
Students from Dow University secured the top position with their medical innovation, the Shifa App. This project earned them Rs100,000 and a shield. The app focuses on simplifying access to medical information and services, offering a modern digital solution to everyday healthcare challenges.
Innovative Projects That Stole the Show
With over 50 stalls, the festival displayed a wide range of ideas. Some students shared stalls due to the high number of participants, but creativity was not limited by space. Among the many impressive entries, a few stood out for their originality and practical usefulness.
1. Garbage-Disposing Larvae: Eco-Friendly Waste Management
A team from SST Public School, Rashidabad presented a unique project using black soldier fly larvae and mealworms to break down waste. According to the students Ravi and Sidra, these insects can consume biowaste and even certain types of plastic at a very low cost.
Dr. Maleeha Jamil, who supervised the project, explained that these flies reproduce rapidly, making the method scalable. The larvae are also extremely rich in protein, around 60%, making them a sustainable option for chicken and fish feed. Sidra noted that animals fed with these larvae show better yolk size and increased Omega-3 content.
One kilogram of larvae can consume up to three kilograms of waste, offering a practical solution to garbage disposal.
2. Codion – The Talking AI Robot
Siblings Humbal and Barirah introduced Codion, an AI-powered humanoid robot capable of speech, movement and real-time interaction. Although the prototype is skeletal and mounted on wheels, it is capable of:
- Holding conversations
- Responding to voice commands
- Walking upon request
- Speaking in both English and Urdu
- Searching online when connected to the internet
The robot reflects the students’ vision of developing locally-made conversational robots that could one day help in education, customer service and daily assistance.
3. WALL-E Inspired Robot for Deliveries
Another standout project came from Simrah, a student of Shaheed-e-Millat College for Women. Inspired by the WALL-E movie, she developed a delivery robot equipped with a live camera feed and a front compartment for carrying packages.
The robot can be controlled remotely and adjust its hand grip to hold items. Simrah explained that it can be used in malls, airports and restaurants for serving and transporting items. The only limitations they are currently working on are improving its ability to move on carpets and enhancing its autonomy.
4. Smart Shopping Cart from Mehran University
Students from Mehran University’s Khairpur Campus introduced Peeryo, a smart shopping cart designed to follow shoppers automatically. It can:
- Scan product prices
- Sense the weight of added items
- Count the number of products
This innovation aims to make shopping faster and easier while reducing checkout queues.
5. Helical Solar Panel Turbine
From the University of Larkana, Yasir, Muhammad and Arslan created a turbine made of three flexible solar panels bent into a helical shape. The design allows the turbine to capture sunlight efficiently while producing green energy, showing the students’ commitment to renewable power solutions.
A Festival That Inspires the Next Generation
The Youth Science and Technology Festival proved that students in Sindh are not only enthusiastic but also capable of developing solutions for real-world problems. Whether it’s eco-friendly waste disposal, robotics, renewable energy or smart automation, the projects displayed a strong understanding of future technology trends.
Events like this encourage young innovators to continue exploring their ideas and contribute to Pakistan’s scientific growth. The enthusiasm seen in Karachi this weekend is a promising sign of how the next generation is ready to lead the country toward a more sustainable and technologically advanced future.
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