Bazm-e-BME: Where Biomedical Engineers Unite!

on 13/09/2024

Bazm is an Urdu Word meaning “A Pleasant Gathering.” Bazm-e-BME is a society that aims to connect all Biomedical Engineering students, Researchers, Faculty Members, and Practicing Engineers in Pakistan. Bazm-e-BME is working on the “Bae-Khudi” Philosophy of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the national poet of Pakistan, who advocated for selflessness and service to humanity. It was founded by two Biomedical Engineering students Syed Saim Gardezi [Founder] & Khalid Mahmood [Co-founder] in 2022. *The main motive of this society is to spread the message of positivity and the importance of BME, establish a link between Biomedical Engineering Students and Professionals, and bring collaboration between them to promote Research and Development in Pakistan. The society also seeks to collaborate with other student chapters, professional societies, and industry partners to create a strong and diverse network of Biomedical Engineers in Pakistan and beyond. By establishing collaboration and partnership, Bazm-e-BME is designated to play a key role in transforming and revolutionizing Pakistan’s future medicine and healthcare practices.
Now, Bazm-e-BME has more than 1250 student and professional members from all over Pakistan.
OBJECTIVES:
• To create Academia-Industria Linkage for the designing of Biomedical Devices in
Pakistan.
• To share any learning material related to the Biomedical Engineering and healthcare industry, such as research publications, e-books, courses, project reports, animations, etc. This will help the students to enhance their knowledge and skills in the field and
they will stay updated with the latest developments and innovations.
• To share opportunities for BME students, such as conferences, competitions, exhibitions, etc. This will help the students to showcase their talents and achievements, network with other professionals and peers, and learn from the best practices and experiences of others.
• To provide guidance and support for BME students who face any issues related to academics, projects, internships, etc. This will help the students to overcome their challenges and difficulties, improve their performance and quality of work, and achieve their academic and career goals.
• To maintain a respectful and relevant environment for BME students by prohibiting
any kind of marketing and other irrelevant posts. This will help the students to focus on the core purpose and vision of the society and avoid any distractions or spam.
• To celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of BME students and inspire and
motivate others. This will help the students to appreciate and recognize their own and others’ efforts and accomplishments, and foster a positive and encouraging atmosphere among the members.
• To offer financial support and assistance for BME students who struggle with paying their tuition fees or other educational expenses. This will help the students to continue their education without any financial burden or stress, and pursue their dreams and aspirations.
• To aid and advocacy for BME students who face academic injustices or challenges in their studies. This will help the students to defend their rights and interests, and ensure
a fair and transparent academic system and environment.
• To encourage and facilitate BME students to help others achieve their dreams after reaching their own destination. This will help the students to demonstrate their gratitude.
Team Bazm-e-BME invites all the students and Professionals of Biomedical Engineering to be a part of our بزم. Together we will surely Design a Future Where Learning becomes a lifestyle. Let’s collaborate, learn, explore, and grow together for Biomedical Engineering!

Wounds Refuse to Heal asPEC Embarks on a New Three-Year Journey

on 13/09/2024

No matter that Engr. Jawed Salim Qureshi, the nominee of The Engineers Pakistan (TEP) for chairman, and Engr. Raghib Abbas Shah, the candidate of NEA-PEG for senior vice chairman, contested the elections from their respective groups—considered to be bitter rivals in the PEC Elections 2024—the pain experienced by both stalwarts is the same. More interestingly, the man who caused them such pain is also no different. Had he not brought his powerful friend into action, the outcome might have been quite different.
More than three weeks after the elections, the wounds refuse to heal as the new chairman, provincial vice chairmen, and governing body members are about to take charge for the next three years. Both the winners and the losers are analyzing the factors that led to results that left many candidates in an uncertain state for days.
These elections, as expected, have now been recorded as the most complex and interesting ever and are now open to scrutiny for the most glaring outcomes of the contest.
The very first significant event on election day was the collapse of the NADRA system linked with the PEC polling. The system, which failed around 11 a.m., could not be restored until 3:30 p.m. As a result, a significant number of voters returned home, and it is unknown how many decided to return after the Election Committee extended the polling time to 9 p.m.
Although NADRA did not provide a clear reason for this lengthy glitch, the disruption cast doubt on the credibility of the elections. Due to its duration, engineers in charge considered postponing the elections for a week, but common wisdom and the nature of the elections made this impractical.
Ironically, no one in the council or NADRA has come forward with an explanation for the glitch, which not only affected the transparency of the elections but also created mistrust among the vast majority of engineers across Pakistan. Now the interior ministry has appointed a senior NADRA official to investigate the issue on Ahsan Iqbal’s request.
The fall of Engr. Jawed Salim Qureshi is significant for several reasons. First, his group, which he claims to be the largest party of engineers in Pakistan, faced a setback. Second, he is well-entrenched in Punjab, the largest province. Third, his group is believed to have strong ties with the ruling PML-N in the province. Additionally, this time, he and his group employed a different campaign strategy, similar to political parties, using multiple tools such as election songs and slogans to attract voters. His campaign succeeded in creating the perception of being a strong contender.
But the question remains: why did he lose despite these factors? “Engr. Qureshi failed to recognize the dwindling political support of PML-N in the province,” says a senior engineer based in Lahore. Others suggest that people have shifted their support to a different political class, which likely favored Engr. Qureshi’s main rival.
Another factor that played a role was the senior vice chairman candidate. Dr. Sarosh Lodi won the election with a slim margin of just over a hundred votes against Engr. Raghib Abbas Shah. Dr. Lodi’s campaign in Sindh yielded positive results for his group, and Engr. Qureshi also received a better number of votes in Sindh but still fell short of victory. Informed circles claim that Syed Murad’s support for Dr. Lodi made a significant difference this time, aided by his family member, Chief Secretary Syed Asif Ali Shah, who followed up more diligently than his predecessor during the last elections in 2021. However, this was not the only factor behind TEP’s gains in Sindh. “Engr. Mukhtiar Shaikh, a key figure in NEA in Sindh, did not put in his full effort this time, resulting in the defeat of Dr. Lodi’s rival, Engr. Raghib Abbas Shah,” a group of engineers from NEA and TEP believe.
Another notable event is the political support for UEP candidate for chairman, Engr. Ashfaq Hussain Shah. Engr. Shah initially used the PTI narrative without directly naming the party, but PTI Secretary General’s support later became public. Surprisingly, Omer Ayub’s support did not significantly benefit Dr. Shah. However, his candidate for the office of vice chairman Khyber Pakhtunkhwa emerged successful.
Transparency: Fact and Fiction
The NADRA system’s glitch provided many engineers with a reason to cover their failures. But the major question is: was it purely technical or manmade? PEC officials claim unequivocally that PEC had nothing to do with the glitch or the system’s collapse. PEC maintains its own server, used for providing various services to engineers across Pakistan, including maintaining Computerized National Identity Cards (CNIC) and registration numbers. For biometrics, PEC relies on NADRA services for confirmation.
In the case of elections, PEC provides NADRA with a complete voter data set, and NADRA is responsible for integrating it into its system and issuing ballot papers to eligible voters. There is no integration between the PEC server and the NADRA system for elections. Before election day, NADRA conducts a test run. Any issues, such as those encountered on August 18, are likely to arise from NADRA’s side only, says a senior PEC official, adding that it happens occasionally and in this case, he sees no deliberate effort to rig the elections.
Challenges Ahead
The new chairman faces several challenges, with the first being to ensure that the governing body operates cohesively. Members from TEP have already announced their intention to attend the session with black bands around their arms as a sign of protest. Engr. Waseem Nazir, the new chairman, has promised to introduce macro-level reforms within the first three months. Whether he can secure the confidence of the governing body members for these reforms remains to be seen.n

The IEEEP Fair 2024 Energy-Efficient and Sustainable Societies: The ‘How’ Needs to Be Known

on 13/09/2024

The IEEEP Fair 2024, a highly anticipated event in the engineering sector, is scheduled to take place from September 10 to 12, 2024 at Expo Center, Karachi. This esteemed fair has established itself as a leading platform for the electrical engineering industry in Pakistan, providing a unique opportunity for professionals, experts, and enthusiasts to come together and explore the latest advancements in the field.
At the IEEEP Fair 2024, visitors can expect to witness the cutting-edge technology displays, innovative solutions, product showcases, technical sessions and workshops, networking opportunities and research and development.
The IEEEP Fair 2024 is a must-attend event for anyone involved in the engineering industry, from students and professionals to companies and organizations. The IEEEP Fair 2024 offers a fantastic opportunity for professionals, experts and enthusiasts.
At the IEEEP Fair 2024, you can do networking, build relationships, exchange ideas, and collaborate with others in the industry. Professionals also can learn through technical sessions, workshops, and seminars to enhance your knowledge and skills. Visitors will explore the latest trends, products, and technologies in electrical and electronics engineering.
Also, a seminar will be held at the IEEEP Fair 2024. There will be three panel discussions in this seminar. Make in Pakistan, Energy-efficient and sustainable societies, Making Textile Sector Competitive with Energy and Power – Cost effective measures are the topics of panel discussions. Experts from industry and academia will participate in these discussions.
The IEEEP Fair 2024 will be held at the prestigious Karachi Expo Centre, a state-of-the-art venue that provides an ideal setting for this exciting event. n

Navigating the Global Tech Outage: How to Stay Ahead of the Curve

on 13/09/2024

We are living in a digital economy that highly relies on the increased use of innovative and cutting-edge technologies fostering secure, smart and sustainable ecosystems. The quick adaption and integration of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence in diverse sectors and industry reflects the business need for effective and efficient processes, business optimization, informed decision-making, and reducing production defects and waste. These align with the scope of the European Net Zero Act (net-zero manufacturing capacities), Digital Product Passport, and UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, sustainability is not limited to environmental goals only, it must be technologically sustainable as well which means the information technology systems’ ability to operate under disruptive or adverse conditions and rapidly recover from any such incidents. The future of technology¹ predicts that by 2030, reading and writing data on DNA and lab-grown food will be common, the majority of the tech will be either AI-powered or enabled, digital infrastructures (healthcare, manufacturing, transport, fintech, etc.) and smart homes will have zero latency connectivity and much more. Imagine if any of these critical and public-faced infrastructures/entities suffer an outage or downtime, and how it may impact human lives, it is hard to assess it precisely at this point. This is why there is a pressing need for building both operational and cyber resilience within the digital economy. A fully transparent ecosystem where the public can rely on and trust that the confidentiality, integrity and availability of their data will remain intact. The massive CrowdStrike incident is an eye-opener for the rest of the tech and implementing industries, and if these lessons are not learned, they will certainly repeat due to negligence.
The cyber threat landscape that includes data loss, malicious attacks, regulatory noncompliance, financial loss, etcetera has widened due to risks associated with emerging technologies. This is because the technologies were developed before standards and policies were in place which led to gaps, that if exploited, could potentially compromise the implementing infrastructures. For an example if a builder having years of experience in construction and building is asked to repair or renovate an old building, he/she may take into account the different infrastructure requirements, architecture, design, lifespan, quality of construction, and climate. Imagine, a scenario where the builder is asked to fix a new styled window in an old architecture, what would be the implications? It may require custom changes to the layout but there may be possibilities of damage to the property such as gaps, cracks, etc. Similarly, in technology when new and old technologies are brought together, there are various complexities and risks that need to be mitigated before they are connected and made live. If these risks are not assessed and managed properly, they open security gaps in the environment leading the environment susceptible to cyber risks. One of the most recently asked questions is “can the next global tech outage be prevented?”. Industry may employ diverse systems that rely on different technologies and have inter-dependencies as well. A research in cloud computing mentioned business operations that had technological inter-dependencies and were impacted as a result of cloud downtime². The research also highlighted the lack of alignment between the cloud, IT and Business Strategies and standards, leading the business environment vulnerable to several risks. There are various factors that contribute to IT outages such as interoperability issues, security flaws, hardware/software faults, force majeure, human error, et cetera and there have been many discussions on technical forums regarding achieving 100% uptime and availability. In a recent article, Deloitte³ mentions that there is “No such thing as Hacker-Proof”. One can incorporate the best practices and tactical incident response but there are no 100% guarantees – even the best systems can fail. So, it is important to be proactive and have contingency plans in place when such circumstances occur. Operational and cyber resilience is essential for every critical and public-facing entity. One may ask, is our healthcare system resilient and can it operate fully without any disruptions if there are more cyber incidents or outages? These are the scenarios we must prepare ourselves for. Inhabiting a digital era where people in general appreciate better services and quicker response times from the digital applications and services that they use. It is important for the commoners to have a better understanding and awareness of the technologies that they are using. The 2024 statistics by EMBROKER reports cybercrimes increasing by 600%⁴. Cybersecurity is for everyone and is everyone’s responsibility. As an example, no matter how many security and defense measures are put in place by a person to protect their home, if they are the ones to open doors to an intruder without verifying, all those measures are in vain. Similarly, a people-centric cybersecurity approach is required where people take ownership and responsibility for learning and operating securely online/digitally. Cyber and Emerging Technology capacity building and awareness are one of the key factors to fostering a secure, operational, and resilient digital society and ecosystem – fulfilling the vision of e-Pakistan.
¹https://www.pluralsight.com/resources/blog/it-ops/tech-in-2030
²Dhirani, LL, and Newe. T.”Securing industry 5.0 using 6σCYBERNETIC framework.” Mehran University Research Journal Of Engineering & Technology 43.2 (2024): 220-238.
³https://deloitte.wsj.com/cio/no-such-thing-as-hackerproof-1376539265
⁴https://www.embroker.com/blog/cyber-attack-statistics/
Author’s Bio
Dr. Lubna Luxmi Dhirani is an Associate Professor at the Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering, University of Limerick. She is a Course Director for the BSc Cybersecurity Practitioner Apprenticeship program taught at UL. Lubna is a Senior Member IEEE and the first WIE Ambassador from Ireland in the IEEE WIE (UK&I section). She is the PI for the EU-funded CATCH_VR project from UL. Her research interests include cybersecurity, cloud, cyber law and regulations, standards, privacy, and risks in emerging technologies. She has delivered more than 35 technical workshops, tutorials, masterclasses, panel and keynotes at International conferences and platforms. Lubna is involved in initiatives supporting women in STEM, she is a former DELL StemAspire mentee, and recipient of the SFI Confirm EPE Champions Award 2021. Email: Lubna.luxmi@ul.ie

The Influence of Artificial Intelligence onRenewable Energy Management

on 13/09/2024

The way we produce, distribute, and use clean energy is being revolutionized by artificial intelligence (AI), which is having a significant impact on the management and optimization of renewable energy systems. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms, are crucial for tackling the problems that come with renewable energy, such as grid integration, variability, and intermittency. The improvement in energy forecasting accuracy is a noteworthy contribution of artificial intelligence to the management of renewable energy. Large volumes of data, such as past weather trends, energy production statistics, and system characteristics, are processed by AI algorithms to produce accurate forecasts of the output of renewable energy. This makes it possible to better integrate renewable energy sources into the current energy infrastructure, better organize the grid, and make greater use of energy storage.
Algorithms for machine learning are essential for maximizing the efficiency of renewable energy sources. AI algorithms are able to dynamically modify operational parameters for optimal efficiency by evaluating real-time data from wind turbines, solar panels, and other sources. In the case of fluctuating renewable energy sources, this flexibility is especially important because it guarantees that energy production is in line with consumption and grid requirements. Another important use in renewable energy management is AI-driven predictive maintenance. AI systems are able to forecast possible issues or malfunctions in renewable energy sources by continuously monitoring the health of the equipment. Proactive maintenance reduces downtime, lowers maintenance costs, and lengthens the life of vital parts like solar inverters and wind turbines. By guaranteeing that renewable energy technologies run at maximum efficiency, predictive maintenance maximizes their value to the entire energy mix.
Managing the grid is a difficult undertaking, particularly when fluctuating renewable energy sources are included. AI technologies provide advanced demand response and grid-balancing solutions. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can match supply and demand, optimize energy distribution, and lessen the difficulties caused by the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources by evaluating weather forecasts, consumption patterns, and real-time energy data. Integration of renewable energy is made possible in large part by energy storage, and AI is essential to the optimization of storage systems. Using historical data, machine learning algorithms identify the most effective way to employ energy storage resources. Predicting spikes in demand, streamlining cycles for charging and discharging, and making sure stored energy is used wisely to maintain grid stability and satisfy varying energy needs are all part of this. The integration and management of distributed energy resources is facilitated by Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), which are developed with the aid of AI. Renewable energy assets such as wind turbines, energy storage systems, and solar panels are coordinated and optimized by VPPs using AI algorithms. Its aggregation improves grid stability, makes it possible to make better use of renewable energy sources, and speeds up the shift to a more robust and decentralized energy system.
Reliability and resilience of the grid are important factors in managing renewable energy. Real-time grid disturbance detection and response are improved by AI technologies. Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are able to quickly detect possible problems, anticipate system weaknesses, and take corrective action by continuously monitoring grid conditions. This proactive strategy helps maintain grid stability and dependability even when renewable energy sources are sporadic. Businesses and consumers can utilize AI-driven energy analytics to make educated decisions regarding energy use by gaining insightful knowledge about patterns in energy consumption. AI can make recommendations for methods for maximizing energy use, cutting waste, and putting energy-efficient practices into effect by examining past data and user behavior. This gives end users the ability to take an active role in managing energy resources in a sustainable way. AI makes it easier to create sophisticated control systems for microgrids—smaller-scale, localized energy systems. Microgrids frequently include energy storage and renewable energy sources. Through the balancing of local energy generation, preservation, and consumption, AI algorithms optimize microgrid performance. In addition to improving energy resilience, especially in isolated or off-grid locations, this localized management offers a model for scalable and sustainable energy solutions.
Solar energy systems become more responsive and efficient when artificial intelligence (AI) is integrated with Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms evaluate real-time data collected by IoT sensors from renewable energy resources to enable prompt and well-informed decision-making. By combining AI with IoT, renewable energy infrastructure can be controlled more intelligently and adaptively, which strengthens the energy ecosystem’s resilience and dynamic nature. Artificial intelligence has a revolutionary impact on renewable energy management, providing creative solutions to the problems related to the integration of renewable energy. AI is essential to building a more robust, efficient, and sustainable energy future. It does this by boosting grid management, optimizing energy systems, and improving forecasting accuracy. An energy environment that is cleaner and more intelligent will be made possible by the combination of artificial intelligence and renewable energy sources as technology advances.n