LARKANA: A shining array of over 200 software and hardware projects was put on display in the 16th software and hardware exhibition held at SZABIST University Larkana Campus on Thursday. The exhibition inaugurated by the university’s head Dr Zahida Abro featured cutting-edge technological innovations by the university’s students of Computer Science providing solutions to problems in healthcare, education, mental health and hospitality. Ms Kashish and Ms Ritika had designed software for persons with hearing and speaking impairment, which could help them convey their problem to health official at a hospital or a police official at a police station. This program could read sign language of their hands and translate it into text form, said the students. Initially, the program was restricted to health and police sectors and would gradually be upgraded to expand its utility in other sectors as well, they said. “We took six months to complete the project,” they said. Jai Kumar and Ms Suman Surahio have developed Pre-Diabetic Detection System, which supported both English and Sindhi, ensuring accessibility across a wider population. The system diagnoses whether the user is diabetic, pre-diabetic, or non-diabetic, calculates life expectancy for diabetic patients, and offers AI-based recommendations for pre-diabetic patients to prevent the onset of the disease. Dr Zahida Abro said that it was encouraging to see how the students were not only developing technology for the sake of innovation but were also working on projects that had the potential to solve real-world problems. From healthcare solutions to platforms for mental health and student accommodations, these projects showed that the students were prepared to take on the challenges of tomorrow, she said. Initiatives like the exhibition were a testament to the institution’s commitment to developing next generation of innovators, she said. Dr Mumtaz Mahar, head of the Computer Science Department, Program Manager Abdul Khaliq Metlo and Dr Jalil Ahmed Thebo emphasised the importance of industry-academia partnership and said the event was an excellent platform to bridge gap between students and industry. The projects showed that SZABIST students were not only equipped with technical skills but also with creativity and problem-solving abilities that were critical in today’s fast-paced world, they said. Several representatives of industry expressed interest in collaborating with the students, offering them mentorship and opportunities to further develop their projects. Sarang Zameer, co-creator of the Rubrics-based Question Paper Generation System, said that it felt great to see their hard-work coming to fruition. “This system can make a real difference for schools, simplifying the process of creating question papers while maintaining fairness and consistency,” he said. Hamza Ansari, developer of the Food Ease platform, highlighted the importance of promoting local businesses. “Our goal is to support small businesses and offer a user-friendly platform for customers to easily access homemade food and nutritious options,” he said. Jai Kumar and Ms Suman Surahio, creators of the Pre-Diabetic Detection System, said the system could be a game-changer in preventing diabetes by providing early warnings.