Tech Valley hosted 36 students from 11 public sector universities across Quetta, Turbat, Khuzdar, Mastung, Sibi, and other parts of Balochistan for a five-day Digital Balochistan AI Launchpad in Islamabad. The program is hosted at FAST-NUCES Islamabad Campus with support from the Government of Balochistan, and for many participants, the trip represents their first immersive exposure to frontier technology, industry leaders, and international academic pathways.
On the first day, Tech Valley AI Strategy and Operations Lead Saba Kalsoom led a session giving students a working mental model of how AI systems process information. Beyond the technical explanation, she focused on AI’s limitations, teaching students how to identify hallucinations and apply human judgment to verify AI generated outputs before relying on them.
To close out the first day, the cohort visited the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan, where students had the opportunity to interact directly with Teresa M Morris, Public Engagement Advisor at the US Embassy Islamabad, along with Saleem Razaque, Director of Programs at the foundation, and Zubair Naeem, Senior Educational Advisor. During the session, students received a detailed overview of the Fulbright Scholarship program, covering eligibility criteria and step by step application strategies, with the foundation’s team encouraging students to pursue fully funded study opportunities abroad and offering ongoing guidance through its nationwide network.
The launchpad reflects Tech Valley’s broader effort to extend AI literacy and international academic exposure to students from parts of Pakistan that have historically had less direct access to major technology hubs and international scholarship programs. With the first day focused on foundational AI concepts and academic pathway guidance, the five-day program is expected to continue building on this exposure as the cohort progresses through the remainder of the launchpad.
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