FICS (Finding Innovative & Creative Solutions (FICS) is the flagship international entrepreneurship program of the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) that encourages Undergraduate and Postgraduate students to devise technology-based solutions with a focus on real-world problems. It is a global competition between the brightest minds who present innovative solutions to some of the world's most challenging issues. FICS is aligned with the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is held annually with participation from universities all across the world. In 2023, FICS expanded its reach globally by hosting its first-ever international pitching event at Gazi University, Ankara, Türkiye. The event saw participation from 20 universities, where students presented innovative ideas to address pressing global challenges. The success of FICS in Turkey reinforced its position as a platform for global collaboration and innovation. This year FICS 2024 is expanding and conducting similar pitching events in other universities in USA, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, UK and more. FICS 2024 also has a special category award in Climate Change and will be partnering with Azerbaijan and COP29 for a consortium of HEIs and top student ideas to be showcased at COP29.
FICS promotes entrepreneurship and innovation by allowing participants to address the most pressing social and environmental issues at the core of society. More than an annual competition, FICS has proven to be a vast resource of much sought-after solutions.
Our objective at FICS has always been to aid society through innovative & creative solutions by recruiting individuals with a significant drive to bring about change that would consequently have a positive impact on the society we live in today. The video here highlights some of the top success stories generating out of FICS over the years.
FICS is part of an on-going and continuous exercise at NUST aimed at facilitating entrepreneurship, which is in line with the NUST mission. FICS concentrates more on Social Entrepreneurship. Some of the objectives of FICS are given below:-
To encourage students to become valuable members of society and contribute towards societal / community development by deploying technical knowledge and scientific tools.
To allow students to think creatively and develop the latest applications and innovative technology based-solutions, hence encouraging them to work on practical utilization of knowledge.
To serve as a platform for identifying ideas and technologies that can be commercialized and converted into viable products and services.
To bring the Industry on board to provide regular mentorship to the participating students and thereby provide an opportunity not only for the students to learn from the expertise and experience of Industry partners but also for the Industry to discover the potential of our students and engage with the students and the Institute on a more long-term basis.
To foster an entrepreneurial culture within NUST and at a national & international level; a culture that facilitates and supports innovation and its translation into benefits for our society and our economy.