University of Engineering and Technology Lahore (UET Lahore): Suspending Classes without Suspending Learning

In July 2019, Pakistan's first smart classroom was launched at Lahore University of Engineering and Technology, marking the Innovation Center's first successful smart classroom project globally. In October of the same year, the Innovation Center and Lahore University of Engineering and Technology officially signed an agreement to establish the IIOE Pakistan National Center, which is also the Innovation Center's first national center within its global cooperation network.

UET Lahore is a public university in Pakistan, ranked fourth by QS ranking in the country, consists of 7 faculties, 50 departments, 23 specialized research centers and four campuses, accommodating more than 11,000 students and more than 800 teachers in total. The Smart Classroom at UET Lahore, implemented in July 2019, is the first SCR project implemented by UNESCO-ICHEI. Since then, more than 80 hours of lectures have been recorded at the Smart Classroom, and it has been in use for almost 700 hours. Teachers at UET Lahore have recorded 24 Computer Science lectures at the SCR, providing learning content for undergraduate and graduate students during the COVID 19 pandemic. SCR also supported academic exchange during the pandemic, in which UET Lahore organized three academic seminars on Block-chain Technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) Security and Machine Learning. Furthermore, UET Lahore also implemented the National Vocational Training Programme with SCR, including courses on Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Computer Vision.

Over the next three years, the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, but Lahore University of Engineering and Technology, with the help of smart classrooms and the IIOE (Institute of International Organizations and Technologies), did not halt its teaching and learning. Three years later, the Innovation Center revisited the smart classrooms at Lahore University of Engineering and Technology, exchanging ideas with the university on smart classroom usage plans and the future development plans of the IIOE National Center.

In June 2022, the IIOE Pakistan National Center, as the hub of the IIOE in Pakistan, successfully facilitated the formal membership of three Pakistani universities (Lahore University of Education, Lahore Women's University, and Jinnah University) in the IIOE national network, and this was reported by multiple media outlets. The center's work gained wider understanding, recognition, and support from Pakistani universities, teachers, government officials, and the public. From the implementation of smart classrooms to the establishment of the IIOE Pakistan National Centre, and then to hosting national-level events and expanding the partner network, the functions and roles of the smart classrooms and the IIOE Pakistan National Centre at Lahore University of Engineering and Technology have gradually become more prominent. They not only empower the digital capabilities of the university's teachers, but also serve as a platform and hub for resource sharing in Pakistan, radiating to universities and teachers across the country, helping teachers build their capabilities and accelerating the digital transformation of institutions.