KARACHI: Women Tech Quest 2024, an initiative of 10Pearls University, is a platform for women to compete, learn, network and showcase their tech talents. The 8th edition of Women Tech Quest (WTQ) took place on March 2, 2024, and was held in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Over 1200 women in technology from across the three cities took part in the event. Launched in 2017, WTQ is a competition aimed at supporting women in evaluating and displaying their tech skills, gaining acknowledgment, and competing for substantial cash prizes and exposure. Moreover, it features inspirational speaker sessions and workshops where accomplished female professionals impart their insights to assist aspiring individuals in their growth and success journey. The competition, which has enjoyed enduring success in Pakistan, has recently expanded its reach to Costa Rica, Latin America, marking a significant milestone in its global expansion. This move aligns with our overarching dedication to nurturing innovation and diversity, while offering women opportunities to flourish in the field of technology. According to Syeda Sana Hussain, Head of People & Programs – EMEA at 10Pearls, “This marks our 8th consecutive year of successfully hosting Women Tech Quest. As one of our flagship initiatives for women’s empowerment, WTQ has initiated and propelled the careers of over 6000 women, bolstered Pakistan’s talent pool, and provided women with a platform to enhance their visibility.” The competition consisted of three categories: Coding, Testing, and Design. In the Coding segment, participants were presented with a series of problems and could employ any programming language to solve them. The Testing category involved assessing contestants on database and automation concepts through a set of objectives. The Design Competition tasked participants with addressing a UI/UX challenge, evaluating their approach to user research, persona creation, and user flow design. There were two categories, Professional and Student, for each stream in every city. Each city produced six winners, resulting in 18 winners. Winners were awarded significant cash prizes and shields, while all participants received swag kits and certificates of participation. Apart from the Competition, WTQ also featured inspirational speaker sessions by esteemed women such as Honey Cantrell, EVP, Agency Operations, 10Pearls Studio; Jehan Ara, Founder & CEO, Katalyst Labs; Sam Ali Dada, Advisor to SAPM on Gender Inclusivity Ministry of Human Rights & Women Empowerment; Ayesha Zaman, CEO Skills Todo & Co-Founder, Pakistan Tech Forum; Tara Uzra Dawood, President, LADIESFUND; Sadia Bashir, Founder, PixelArt Games Academy; Monica Peter, Group Director, Learning and Culture, PTCL Group; Meher Nigar Khawaja, SVP & Program Delivery, Techlogix; Tania Aidrus, Co-Founder & CEO, DGlobal; and Maha Shahzad, Founder & CEO, Buscaro. As the event of the year for tech women, WTQ 2024 was endorsed by top names in technology and other industries. This time, the event partners included reputed names such as NASTP, AshreiTech, P@SHA, WomeninTechPK, Bytewise Ltd, Testworthy, Vector, Ultimate Tech Crew, Cohort Max and Bonanza Satrangi. Event Giveaways were powered by Marytoyland, Bogo and Bonanza Satrangi. 10Pearls University, a Center of Continuous and Advance Learning, aims to provide a physical and virtual ecosystem for students and professionals to learn, network and upskill their knowledge. The platform is used to conduct online and on-ground courses, workshops and training sessions on advanced technologies and leadership skills, enhancing individual growth and development. It also organizes innovative technology conferences, events, competitions, hackathons and webinars in order to build community engagement, and lead the conversation in industry innovation and emerging tech. Our mission is to foster talent by providing them with a state-of-the-art learning platform, empowering them to enhance their careers and spearhead innovation.