Invited Speakers
3rd International Annual Workshop on Big Data and Cloud Computing
BigC 2025;
14th & 15th April, 2025
NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi
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Keynote Speaker Manuja Karunaratne Head of National Science Library & Resource Centre of National Science Foundation |
Mr. Karunaratne is a highly respected IT professional and digital information management expert, currently serving as the Principal Information Officer and Head of the National Science Library & Resource Centre (NSLRC) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) of Sri Lanka. He has been at the forefront of digital transformation, open-access information systems, and cloud-based knowledge dissemination. As the head of the Sri Lanka Journal Online (SLJOL) platform, he has successfully facilitated global access to over 159 Sri Lankan peer-reviewed journals, making significant contributions to open-access scientific research. Additionally, his leadership in establishing the National Digital Library Consortium has enhanced Sri Lanka’s access to international journals, research databases, and digital repositories. Mr. Karunaratne has played a key role in large-scale digitization projects, including the National Digitization Project, which has converted over three million pages of scientific literature into digital format, ensuring global accessibility. His extensive experience spans IT management, digital libraries, big data integration, and cloud computing solutions in both government and private sectors. With 27 years of expertise in information technology, communication technology, and management information systems, Mr. Karunaratne continues to shape the future of data-driven decision-making, AI-powered knowledge management, and cloud-based digital libraries. |
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Keynote Speaker Affan Syed Senior Director of Technology and Solutions Emumba ) |
Dr. Affan brings 18+ years of high-quality research and development experience in Cloud, Networks, IoT, Micro-services, and Digital Transformation. He has a PhD in Underwater Sensor Networks from USC and has several high-impact publications in SDN, Cloud, Security, IoT, and Computer Networks. He has worked in both academia and industry, and is considered a thought leader at the intersection of Cloud, IoT, and applications of SDN.
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Director NCBC Secretariat Dr. Naveed ArshadProfessor Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, LUMS |
Dr. Naveed Arshad is presently Associate Professor and Director of the National Center in Big Data and Cloud Computing (NCBC) at Lahore University of Management Sciences. He is also the founder of Energy Informatics Group (EIG) and Co-Director of LUMS Energy Institute. His research interests include energy and climate informatics; short-, medium- and long-term forecasting of energy demand, renewable energy generation forecasting for wind and solar resources, demand side management in electric transportation, agricultural, residential, and industrial sectors, energy efficiency, and renewable energy integration in existing building stock. Dr. Arshad has served as consultant to USAID, World Bank Group, GIZ, Energy Department, Hyundai Research, Fatima Group, CPPA and many other national and international agencies. |
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Industrial Expert Mr. Khurram RahatFounder, CEO, Director & Senior Consultant
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Over 35 years of Analytics, Sales, Project Management and Senior Management experience at the country and regional levels and have a wide exposure to the Government, Financial and Telecommunication sectors. - Responsible for managing operations in multiple vertical market segments across multiple geographical locations and countries. - Solid track record in business strategy development and execution; rose to Leadership positions at NCR & Teradata - Have vast experience in managing multi million dollar business and markets; been involved in developing and managing alliances and distributors across region. - Have strong analytical background and problem solving approach; experience in driving productivity savings and tactical execution of initiatives. - Strong management experience including financial management, project management & Human Resource management. - Have excellent grasp over use of Business Intelligence (BI) and Analytical tools for strategic planning & decision making. - Have represented OCCI and American Business Council on different Government forums and bodies in Pakistan - Member of National IT Policy Task Team for Cloud Computing and Big Data Analytics - Member of Vision 2025 task team for Information Technology - Vice Chairman P@SHA |
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Mr. Muhammad Ali IqbalPresident Cancave Agri |
Muhammad Ali Iqbal is amongst one of the very few computer professionals who have been working in solving social problems using digital means in all three: academia, research, and industry. He currently works at Concave Agri - A Lakson Group Company, as President. Mr. Ali brings with him over 20+years’ experience in Systems Development, Project Management, Project Evaluation & Monitoring, Investments, Project Management, Research & Business Development and Training with a record of high achievement in both technical and functional roles. Ali has managed the portfolio of highly innovative and advanced-tech based seed-stage 60+ deals having worth of multi-million dollars from ideation stage to realization as a Fund Manager at Ignite-National Technology Fund. He is also leading the research, technical auditing and learning & knowledge division at Ignite. He actively participated in the different projects and initiatives being taken for the social sector development, alleviation of poverty, and uplift of common citizen. Currently, he is working on different digital inclusion projects related to SDGs focusing on health, food security & agriculture and innovation. Mr. Ali is also a certified HL7 health professional and also has an IEEE publication on health imaging to his credit along with other publications made in reputable events. He has an MS in Computer Engineering. Ali, being a technology and entrepreneurship geek has been part of different public and academic forums including National Steering Committees for National Centres on Big Data & Cloud, Cyber Security, Robotics & Automation, Faculty Council of Sukkur-IBA and University of Agriculture, Multan. He is also member of Pakistan Software Testing Body, ISOC and other international organizations. He regularly delivers public lectures in local universities and also voluntarily engages with non-profit organizations, academia and industry for mentoring aspiring professionals. |
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Industrial Expert Mr. Imran MoinuddinSenior Vice President Venture Drive Sol |
Driving meaningful empowerment through cutting edge technology Driven by ruthless experimentation with hardware, software and everything in between to create things that feel like magic. Passionate about entrepreneurship, technology and the desire to help other entrepreneurs in emerging economies. Specialties: Certified computer vision expert, AI / Deep Learning architectures, High Performance Deployment Modeling, Distributed Systems, Cloud Computing, Cloud Migrations/Scaling, Amazon AWS, Performance Auditing & Consulting, Performance Profiling, MySQL Application Scaling, Infrastructure Security Evaluations, NoSQL Alternatives, Video Codec Optimization & Design, Business Development, Relationship Management, GIS, data mining and analysis, Systems Optimization |
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R & D Ms. Noshaba AwaisDirector Research & Innovation HEC, Pakistan |
Experienced in leading technology, policy and education programs. Created/developed and initiated multi-million-dollar Budgeting projects (Business Incubation Centers, Office of Research and Innovation, Technology Development Fund, Innovator Seed Fund, Grand Challange Fund, Local Challange Fund, Technology Transfer Support Fund) involving diverse partners across industries (Energy, Environment, mining, metals, power & utilities). | |
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Dr. Syed Imran Ahmed
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Workshop Speakers |
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Workshop:1 Dr. Imran Akhtar Professor & Head of Department, National University of Sciences & Technology |
Digital Twin of a Data Center to develop Heat Map for Energy Efficiency A digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical system, process, or object that is continuously updated with real-time data from its physical counterpart. In this workshop, we employ this concept for a data center. A data center consumes signification power and generates extensive of heat. Thus, it requires consistent cooling through HVAC systems that are installed to maintain optimal temperature. The workshop will demonstrate the use of CFD-based algorithm to simulate the flow and temperature field in a typical server room with racks and servers. Using temperature sensors placed close to the servers and flow measurements from the HVAC system, the algorithm will update itself with real time data to predict temperature distribution. This workshop will provide the to display real-time showing temperature distribution through contours and iso-surfaces. This endeavor will serve development of a digital twin of the data center for efficient monitoring and power consumption. Date Time: 14th April, 2025 , 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Venue: CIS SMART CLASSROOM NEDUET |
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Workshop:2 Dr. Saqib Ali Precision Agriculture Lab, Center for Advanced Studies in Agriculture and Food Security, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan. |
From Data to Decision: Fine-Tuning LLMs for Wheat Advisory in Local Settings This workshop is tailored for agronomists, data scientists, and AgTech professionals interested in leveraging Big Data and advanced Large Language Models (LLMs) to enhance wheat advisory. Participants will delve into how these technologies revolutionize predictive analytics in crop management, gaining hands-on experience in fine-tuning LLMs with localized wheat data to extract precise, actionable insights. The session will cover the basics of Big Data and LLMs, provide practical training on refining models for specific regional needs, and demonstrate how to apply model outputs to make informed decisions that boost crop yield and sustainability. This comprehensive approach ensures participants acquire essential skills in data handling and model tuning, exploring the impactful role of AI in optimizing wheat farming practices. Ideal for agricultural professionals eager to integrate cutting-edge technology into traditional farming to enhance crop outcomes, the workshop promises to bridge the gap between advanced AI tools and practical agricultural applications, paving the way for future advancements in agriculture.
Date Time: 14th April, 2025 , 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Venue: HPCC-NCBC NEDUET |
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Workshop:3 Dr. Usman Qamar, T.I Tamgha-e-Imtiaz | Prof of Data Science & GenAI, NUST. |
Generative AI and Large Language Models Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) are reshaping the landscape of artificial intelligence, driving transformative advancements across diverse disciplines. These models, powered by deep learning and vast datasets, have revolutionized natural language processing, creative content generation, healthcare, finance, and scientific research. LLMs are redefining the boundaries of human-AI collaboration. This talk explores how generative AI is accelerating innovation across interdisciplinary domains, highlighting its applications, challenges, and ethical implications. We will discuss the impact of LLMs on knowledge generation, decision-making, and automation while addressing key concerns such as bias, misinformation, and responsible AI development. Date Time: 15th April, 2025 , 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM Venue: CIS SMART CLASSROOM NEDUET |
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Workshop:4 Uzair Abid Team Lead Exascale Lab NCBC-NEDUET |
End-to-End Big Data Pipeline Automation with Apache Airflow Apache Airflow has become the industry standard for orchestrating complex data workflows. This hands-on workshop will guide participants through the fundamentals of Airflow, its architecture, and practical applications. Attendees will learn how to design, schedule, and monitor data pipelines using Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs). The session will include a real-world use case of extracting, processing, and automating weather data pipelines. Participants will gain insights into best practices, error handling, and optimizing workflows for large-scale data processing. By the end of the workshop, attendees will have hands-on experience in building robust ETL pipelines using Apache Airflow. Date Time: 15th April, 2025 , 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM Venue: HPCC-NCBC NEDUET |
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Workshop:5 Atif Tahir Institute of Business Administration, IBA, Karachi |
Deep Ensemble Learning and its applications on Image / Video Analytics Deep Ensemble techniques are becoming increasingly important in deep learning architectures as they have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to improve upon the accuracy of single classifiers especially with highly imbalanced data populations. This workshop is mainly to give insights about these deep ensemble techniques and how these techniques can be used to improve performance in deep learning. The first part of the workshop is about theorical and practical understanding of deep ensemble learning techniques followed by some practical applications in Image / Video Analytics.
Date Time: 15th April, 2025 , 11:30 AM – 01:00 PM Venue: CIS SMART CLASSROOM NEDUET |
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Workshop:6 Ms. Sahar Rauf Assistant Manager Research at Center for Language Engineering UET Lahore |
Text to Speech Synthesis & Speech Corpus Development This workshop provides an overview of a high-quality Text-to-Speech (TTS) system development. It covers the training process of a Tacotron 2 synthesizer using a speech corpus and the subjective evaluation of synthesized speech. The session also explores key aspects of speech corpus development, including corpus design and lexicon creation. It discusses the Urdu phonetic inventory, vocalic and consonantal sounds, and temporal and spectral analysis of Urdu speech using PRAAT. By the end, participants will gain insights into TTS training and evaluation, as well as the linguistic and acoustic properties of Urdu speech. This workshop is ideal for faculty and researchers in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, AI, Data Science, and Applied Linguistics, fostering industry and academia collaboration in speech synthesis and corpus preparation. Date Time: 15th April, 2025 , 11:30 AM – 01:00 PM Venue: HPCC-NCBC NEDUET |
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Workshop:7 Faisal Khan NCBC Precision Medicine Lab |
Data meets Biology and Medicine: understand and browse big data in biology and medicine with the interdisciplinary experts Experts, including Jensen Huang, say the next chatGPT moment is coming from biology. Making this pretty much the century of biology. Then what are the sources of big data in biology and medicine. What is the nature of these datasets and how many types are out there. Participants will get their hands dirty on some publicly available ones. The workshop closes with vignettes from the Precision Medicine Lab, what local datasets are available to collaborate on and generally what are the hottest high impact research areas for you to explore. Date Time: 15th April, 2025 , 02:00PM – 03:30 PM Venue: CIS SMART CLASSROOM NEDUET |
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Workshop:8 Mr. Huzaifa Shehbaz AI Engineer Data Acquisition, Processing and Predictive Analytics (DAPPA) Lab, Ziauddin University Faculty of Engineering & Management |
Build Your First AI Agent with Python & Open AI A hands-on workshop where you'll learn to build your first AI agent using Python and OpenAI! We’ll start with the essential building blocks and then dive into workflow patterns for more reliable systems. OpenAI API Key will be provided for the workshop. Date Time: 15th April, 2025 , 02:00PM – 03:30 PM Venue: HPCC-NCBC NEDUET |
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