Citizenship Pakistani Fields Computer Science Residence Lahore, Pakistan | Name Umar Saif Nationality Pakistani | |
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Institutions University of Cambridge
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge-MIT Institute
Lahore University of Management Sciences
Saif Center of Innovation Alma mater LUMS and University of Cambridge Known for Research and Entrepreneurship in ICTD Notable awards Sitara-i-Imtiaz
Google Faculty Research Award
MIT TR35: World Top 35 Young Innovators
Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum
Mark Weiser Award (IEEE Percom’08)
MIT Technovator Award
IDG Technology Pioneer Award Education Aitchison College, Trinity College, Cambridge | ||
Umar saif sitaron se aage biography
Umar Saif (urdu: عمرسیف) is a Pakistani computer scientist and academic. He serves as the vice-chancellor of the Information Technology University and is a senior member of the cabinet of the Punjab province.
Contents
- Umar saif sitaron se aage biography
- Umar saif on use of technology in governance
- Life and education
- Academic career and research
- Entrepreneurship
- Public service
- Awards and recognitions
- References
Saif is known for his work on using ICT solutions for developing world problems. He is also the founder of Plan9, Pakistan's largest startup incubator. He has been credited as one of the main forces behind the IT ecosystem in Pakistan.He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the MIT Technology Review Pakistan, which is one of the licensed international editions of MIT Technology Review. He is also part of the team that runs a popular TV show in Pakistan called Idea Croron Ka on Neo TV modelled after Shark Tank.
Born and raised in Lahore, after studying computer science at LUMS, Saif received his doctorate from Trinity College, Cambridge at the age of 22. Saif moved to the United States, where he spent four years as a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT, Saif was part of the team that developed system technologies for Project Oxygen.
Saif moved back to Lahore in December 2005, and joined LUMS as a tenured associated professor of computer science. Saif was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010, selected as one of top 35 young innovators in the world by MIT Technology Review in 2011, received a Google faculty research award in 2011 and Sitara-i-Imtiaz by Government of Pakistan in 2014. While at LUMS, Saif founded the Saif Center of Innovation (SCI) which became Pakistan's first startup incubator.
In 2011, Saif became the Chairman of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), heading all public-sector IT projects in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. In 2013, he left LUMS, and was appointed the founding vice-chancellor of the Information Technology University (ITU). On November 28, 2016, Saif was appointed to the provincial cabinet of Punjab as an advisor to the Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Information Technology.
Umar saif on use of technology in governance
Life and education
Saif attended Aitchison College, Lahore, Pakistan. His attendance at college was followed by three years at Lahore University of Management Sciences, where he studied for his BSc. in Computer Science. He received his PhD from Trinity College, Cambridge when he was 22 years old. Saif worked and taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology between 2001–2005 before moving back to Pakistan. At MIT, Saif worked at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory where he was part of the core team that developed system technologies for the $50 Million Project Oxygen. He also managed the $5 Million collaboration between University of Cambridge and MIT, funded by Cambridge-MIT Institute, on Pervasive Computing technologies. Saif’s work on Pervasive Computing received the prestigious Mark Weiser Award in 2008.
Academic career and research
In January 2013, Dr. Umar Saif was appointed the first Vice-chancellor of the Information Technology University (ITU). At the age of 34, he became the youngest Vice-chancellor of a university in Pakistan. Earlier, Saif received tenure at the LUMS School of Science and Engineering. Saif runs the Dritte Initiative, which is focused on using technology to solve the problems in the developing world. Saif’s research in ICTD is funded by a Microsoft Research Digital Inclusion Award and a Google Faculty Research Award.
Saif and his students developed BitMate, a BitTorrent client designed for the low-bandwidth clients in the developing world. BitMate has been downloaded more than 30,000 times by users from 173 countries. BitMate's goal is to double the performance of low-bandwidth clients while drastically improving their fairness (upload capacity) by enabling low-bandwidth peers to help each other download faster.
His work in early epidemic warning systems, speech-based services for low-literacy users and rural cellular networks, has had widespread impact.
Entrepreneurship
Saif has co-founded several startups at his incubator SCI. Two of his startups have played an important role in supporting civil society during political turbulence and natural disasters in Pakistan. Saif co-founded See`n`Report, Pakistan’s first citizen journalism service, during the political turmoil (and subsequent media bans) near the end of the Musharraf era. Amidst media bans, See`n`report was used by civil society activists to report eyewitness accounts, using their cell-phones, during the historic lawyer’s movement. See`n`Report’s platform is now used by leading news and TV channels in Pakistan (and elsewhere) to run citizen journalism initiatives, including Geo TV (GeoDost) and Samaa TV (iSamaa). See`n`report was used by reporters and NGOs to report events live during the massive floods in Pakistan in 2010. Saif is also the co-founder of SMSall.pk, Pakistan’s first mobile social network. SMSall is one of the fastest growing SMS networks in Pakistan, used by hundreds of thousands of people to stay in touch, coordinate relief efforts, and enable mobile communities. Over 4 Billion text messages have been sent using SMSall in Pakistan. Dr. Umar Saif has written about his startups in Washington Post. He is also famous for his work for Dengue Fever.
Public service
In Nov 2011, Dr. Umar Saif was appointed as the Chairman of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and Secretary IT of the Government of Punjab, Pakistan. In this role, Dr. Saif is responsible for all public-sector IT projects in Punjab, including e-governance, capacity-building of the IT industry, IT-enabled citizen services and IT R&D in universities in Punjab. He is often seen as the key driver for the use of technology in government in Pakistan.
In his role as the Chairman of the Punjab Information Technology Board, his work to introduce technology in government using low-cost smart-phones has had a large impact in Pakistan. The World Bank President highlighted this work as one of three global examples of good governance innovations in his speech on governance reforms in Philippines.
During his tenure as Chairman of the Punjab IT Board (PITB), Dr. Saif launched several initiatives aimed at improving citizen services for police, high courts, city district government, and health. He also led the development of the Punjab Innovation Policy ,in collaboration with Google. He also launched Plan9, Pakistan's first public-sector startup incubator. Under his leadership, the PITB designed the smartphone-based early epidemic warning system that played a central role in fighting the Dengue epidemic in Punjab in 2012. The PITB also developed an innovative model for fighting corruption using technology, led the deployment of the first Automatic Fare Collection system for mass transit in Pakistan, and automated the operations of the first Lahore Metro Bus System. Dr. Saif led the development of Pakistan's first e-learning platform (http://elearn.punjab.gov.pk), making school textbooks in Punjab freely available online, augmented with interactive learning resources. Dr. Umar Saif and his team at PITB developed several technology platforms that underpin the electronic surveillance and investigative capability of Punjab police and other law enforcement agencies in Pakistan.
Dr. Umar Saif has served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Pakistan between 2013-14. He has served on the Boards of several government and semi-government organizations, including Aitchison College, Bank of the Punjab, Technical Education & Vocational Training Company (TEVTA), Engineering Consultancy Services of the Punjab, Urban Sector Planning and Management Services Unit, Lahore Parking Company, Punjab Municipal Development Fund Company, and Punjab Educational Endowment Fund.