Two students from Roots School System (
http://www.rootsschool.edu.pk/) have been selected as the winners for the "Webpreneur 101" Scholarships.
Roots School System which has over 15,000 students in 45 campuses across Pakistan has innovated in the field of education for the past 22 years. Now seeing that the web is going to open job and entrepreneurship opportunities for a majority of its graduating students over the next decade, Roots School System teamed up with Webpreneur University to offer two of its students a full scholarship to attend the Webpreneur 101 online course starting on 26th Jan.
Congratulations to Khadeesh bin Imtiaz and Syed Shehroz Hussain as the winners of the scholarship. Khadeesh and Syed Shehroz will join 13 other webpreneurs to learn more about how the internet can help them work for themselves.
The classes will be held online with 15 students learning on how to not only use online tools such as facebook, twitter and LinkedIn to market their ideas but also on how to be best prepared for the webonomy of the next decade through setting up ecommerce sites and working virtually. The students will be coached and mentored by the Webpreneur 101 course writer and Dean of Webpreneur University,
Amir Anzur over the 8 week period.
The scholarship was sponsored by
ShopMarkaz.com, online software which helps businesses to build their ecommerce store and sell to the world and
RebrandPakistan.org, a non-profit organization setup to help rebrand Pakistan and to highlight the more positive citizens of the country - to show the other 169,999,910 positive Pakistani's and "normal" citizens/talent that don't get as much airtime on the global mass media.
Students were asked to write an essay on "How the Internet will Impact the future of Pakistan" and the submissions from the winning students are below.
A special thanks to the sponsors of the scholarships:
ShopMarkaz.com and
RebrandPakistan.org.
How the Internet will Impact the future of Pakistan
By Khadeesh bin Imtiaz, Roots School System
The strong wind of the 21st century is here. Some may hide behind boulders and in trees but others will
take this wind in their wings and soar higher. The increasing fear of global warming may be a cause of
concern for many, but for others, the advantages the new century has brought outweigh the
disadvantages. For them, the internet is a very promising utility which may prove invaluable for the next
generations. However, the pessimistic side is always present: the vulgarity which internet opens doors
to.
The dark side is the smaller one however. The good side of the internet is enormous. As a developing
nation, Pakistan will benefit a lot from the internet. Video Lectures. Online Shopping, Social Networking,
A huge pool of information, internet has the key to all of these. If a person sitting in Nawabshah can
attend a lecture in Islamabad without living his living room, then the illiteracy -the cause of many evils-
can be combated effectively and economically. If provided to every child in the country, internet can
light a conflagration of knowledge because of Wikipedia and Google. The financial cost of building a
school and maintaining it for 10 years outweighs the cost of providing internet facilities to a village; this
will not only benefit the economy but will also guarantee a brighter tomorrow. Internet can bring the
world to one’s home and a large part of the world consists of education.
However, life isn’t all about education; life also demands other utilities and banks and shopping centers
provide the utilities. In the 20th century, a person would have to go to the bank to collect cash and then
he would have to go to the shopping mall to buy goods but those days are well and truly behind us;
today, we can buy utilities for one month in one hour. This benefits the people living not only in
metropolitan hubs but also in secluded areas like Fata Areas who will have access to supermarkets
which are a 1000 miles away from them. United Services Fund –a non-profit organization- is currently
working to provide internet services for such areas. Doing our shopping on internet would save us not
only time but also money. Pakistan will benefit as its people will learn to save time and money which can
be invested in more creative activities.
Moreover, life isn’t all about saving. A country cannot progress without increasing awareness among the
people. Internet can do that for Pakistan. In a few years, internet will be everywhere and when that time
comes, nothing would remain from the politicians to a simple cobbler would remain a secret. Everyone
would know all the traits of a leader and this would help them make an educated choice for their vote.
Better leaders would come in the government and as a result, Pakistan will move forward.
Pakistan will not be amongst those who hide behind the boulders. It will be amongst those who will take
full advantage and soar higher. As the wind blows stronger and the century hits us full on our faces as it
helps us move into a new era, the benefits will increase. The use of internet is increasing exponentially.
The advantages are being realized. Internet is becoming a part of our lives and soon it will change
Pakistan. However, will the internet take over us? I guess we’ll have to wait for the answer.
How the internet will impact the future of Pakistan
By Syed Shehroz Hussain, Roots School System
The dictionary definition of Internet is “a vast computer network linking smaller network
computers worldwide. The internet includes commercial, educational, governmental, and other
networks, all of which use the same set of communications protocols.“ Internet is the biggest
thing after the invention of light bulb and electricity. It is a completely independent entity on its
own and it will decide how to shape the future of the world. Internet is the new Universal King.
The sooner we pledge allegiance to this new kind the more will be its bounties. Pakistan is yet
an infant in the realm of internet and is quite far from complete maturity. Once it has attained
the required adulthood, Pakistan will rise on the world map faster than light.
Imagine a Pakistan with 100% population using internet. Every person will have the knowledge
of the world on his/her fingertips and no one will be left ignorant about world issues. That will
be a Utopian Pakistan. Illiteracy and ignorance are two things that have given rise to terrorism
and extremism and they both can be tackled easily if every individual has access to internet and
knowledge of the world. The people of the tribal area will not have to travel to far off places for
education but will simply go online and attend e-classes. One computer and internet access for
every family is the economical solution to low literacy rate. Moreover, e-libraries will replace the
non-existent libraries in many rural areas. Low literacy rate means lesser poverty. Lesser poverty
means a prosperous Utopian Pakistan.
Furthermore, if we take a look at the current global situation, we see that a new pattern is
emerging. The better nations are those with better access to technological advances. Why
should Pakistan remain behind when the whole world is moving ahead with the help of
internet? Internet is an unlimited treasure and its uses are infinite. One can learn from internet
and one can even earn from internet. Life is all about speed and consistency. One must save
time and energy to achieve greater goals and to do that many internet services have sprung up
like Amazon and EBay that not provide the required item but also saves time. If internet reaches
every corner of Pakistan, every commodity will be just one click away. People will learn about
new machines and new gadgets that will make their life easy. Internet will be their new Bazaar.
People will shift from “manual” to “automatic.”
We cannot ignore the current globalization that is going on. And to succeed in this world as a
nation we must stand neck to neck with all other nations. The whole world is inter-connected
like a web with the help of internet and Pakistan must not be kept out of the loop for long.
Facebook, YouTube and Myspace are the tools that have dissolved boundaries. We must make
these tools accessible to every individual in Pakistan. This will result in every Pakistani having an
opportunity to prove their worth on a global level by being connected to 200 billion internet
users. The hidden and untapped potential of Pakistani people can truly be utilized with the help
of Internet.