Pakistani School Students Win First Prize at Teknofest Aerospace Festival

A group of Pakistani middle school students secured first place in the Social Innovation category at Teknofest 2025, an international aerospace and technology festival held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Teknofest, Türkiye’s premier aerospace and technology event, is organized with the support of key national technology stakeholders. The festival attracts global participation and aims to foster innovation in future-critical technologies. The 2024 edition hosted competitions in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir across 41 categories, drawing over 333,000 team entries and more than one million individual participants from all 81 provinces of Türkiye and 96 other countries.

This year, Pakistani students Asma Fatima and Inaya Khan, under the guidance of their teacher Gohar Khursheed, took home the top prize in their category for their project titled “Emotion Detector Gadget for Quadriplegic”. Representing Pak-Turk Maarif International Schools and Colleges, the team was honored by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the award ceremony.

According to Teknofest organizers, the winners were selected from 268 finalist teams and 1,083 competitors representing six countries. These finalists emerged from a pool of over 47,000 entries submitted across 22 countries.

In a conversation with Dawn.com, Inaya Khan described the experience as “phenomenal,” noting the intensity of the competition and the exceptional quality of projects on display. “We poured our hearts into this project,” she said. “Every challenge we faced was worth it. This isn’t just a personal win—it’s a moment of pride for our school and Pakistan.”

Teacher Gohar Khursheed reflected on the significance of the achievement, saying, “It shows that with dedication, creativity, and perseverance, young minds can make a real difference.” He explained that their winning innovation was designed to help individuals with speech paralysis by detecting and communicating their emotional states.

This victory adds to a growing list of accomplishments by Pakistani students on the global stage. Last year, a Pakistani team earned three bronze medals at the 54th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) held in Isfahan, Iran.