Islamabad, Pakistan – [7 May 2024] – The Google Developer Student Clubs at Air University Islamabad proudly unveiled their premier flagship event, Femini | Femelle & AI, marking a significant celebration of women’s achievements across diverse fields, alongside Google’s Build with AI workshop. This event honoured women from varied backgrounds, celebrating inclusivity, and was led by the visionary Maimoona Saeed, the community lead and a staunch advocate for inclusion and diversity. Femini is a testament to her vision, bringing together all Google For Developer Communities in the twin cities i.e Google Developers Groups (GDG Islamabad, GDG Cloud Islamabad, GDG Live Pakistan, Women Techmakers Islamabad), Google Developer Experts, and fellow GDSC Chapters to create a monumental event for GDSC-AU, destined to evolve and inspire annually.
The event drew a diverse crowd from the twin cities, including students from multiple universities, amassing over 350 enthusiastic attendees. Focused on celebrating femininity, inclusivity, and the transformative impact of AI across various sectors, the event was a resounding success, fostering innovation and championing diversity.
The day-long conference offered a rich blend of inspirational keynotes, hands-on workshops, and stimulating discussions, all designed to empower and elevate female innovators.
The event commenced with an invigorating session titled “Frantic to Focused,” delivered by Samina Seth, Co-founder of Walee and a renowned motivational speaker. Her dynamic presentation set the stage for the day, emphasizing the importance of focus and resilience in achieving one’s aspirations.
Build With AI Workshop
The “Build With AI” workshop, led by Mr. Mashood Rastgar, a Google Developer Expert and Head Of Engineering at Taleemabad, offered an in-depth exploration into the world of Large Language Models (LLMs) and the Gemini ecosystem. This two-hour workshop was meticulously structured to provide both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. This comprehensive workshop enabled participants to gain a robust understanding of LLMs and their applications, particularly within the Gemini framework, equipping them with the skills to build AI-powered applications.
Following the AI workshop, Arbisoft hosted the “Clean Coding Convention,” emphasising best practices in coding and software development. This session equipped participants with essential skills to enhance their coding standards, promoting efficient and effective software development methodologies.
As some nerds were busy coding, audience in the parallel got to immerse themselves into the incredible talks by amazing industry professionals:
Sidra Cheema, an experienced data consultant and public speaker, led an insightful session on “Empowering Women & Balancing Work Life.” Her discussion provided strategies for achieving work-life balance while pursuing a successful career in technology.
Umar Nazir, Marketing Head at Devsinc and Co-Manager of Google Developers Islamabad, delved into innovative digital marketing strategies in “Doing Digital Differently,” offering valuable insights into the dynamic landscape of digital marketing. He shares that the best content is the one that resonates with the audience’s feelings and to be able to do that, one must always have a clear strategy. And to stand out you should always go for creating the kind of content that educates, inspires, or makes people laugh.Be it through memes or whatesoever. This session underscored the importance of adaptability and foresight in today’s dynamic world, guiding the event’s direction and impact.
Sabeen Naaz, an international award-winning educationist and remedial therapist, highlighted the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset and growth in the tech industry during her session “Growth & Entrepreneurship.”
Sadaf Raza, a poet and philanthropist, presented “Holistic Healing in the Age of AI,” exploring the intersection of technology and holistic well-being, offering a unique perspective on integrating AI into daily life .Followed by a soothing meditation session that was all we needed to relax & reflect a bit.
Talal Athar, Product Designer at Neem and former Product Designer at Telenor, conducted a session on “Design Better,” inspiring attendees with insights into product design and user experience, encouraging creative and purposeful design thinking.
A pivotal moment of the event was the panel discussion moderated by Azka Ahmed,Outreach at Ejad Labs/Future Fest & a Team Lead at GDG Live Pakistan, featuring Sarwat Rizvi who is a WTM Ambassador &, Co-manager at GDG Islamabad, Irum Zehra, Co-manager at GDG Cloud Islamabad & a WTM Ambassador and Chapter’s very own leader Maimoona Saeed. It was way more than just a typical panel, in fact quite like a family like setting where these incredible women in tech discussed the systemic biases and societal hurdles faced by women in leadership roles, highlighting their journeys of resilience and defiance against conventional norms. How they never acquiesced to these pervasive biases and are now thriving women leaders serving as quintessential role models to all the girls out there who dream big. They emphasised the role of Google communities in fostering inclusivity, diversity, and collaborative innovation, underscoring the transformative impact of these values in creating resilient and equitable tech ecosystems. We can never have safe & productive workspaces unless we have a practice of inclusion & diversity.
The event concluded with a vibrant networking session, fostering meaningful connections and collaborations among participants. As ideas flowed and partnerships formed, the spirit of Femini | Femelle & AI continued to resonate, promising a future where diversity, innovation, and empowerment converge seamlessly in the tech industry.
Team at Google Developer Student Clubs – Air University extends heartfelt thanks to all participants, speakers, sponsors, and partners for their invaluable contributions to the event’s success. Special gratitude goes to our sponsors: Cheezious, Ai DataYard, and Korneez. We also appreciate our community partners: GDG Islamabad, GDG Cloud Islamabad, GDG Live Pakistan, Pwic, GDSC- FAST, Islamabad, GDSC- Bahria University, Islamabad, GDSC- NUST CEME Campus, GDSC-NUST, Fatima Jinnah Women University – Rawalpindi & our media partners, We Talk Startups for their unwavering support in our shared mission to empower women in technology.
