Friday, November 14, 2014

5 Years Old British Pakistani is World's Youngest Techie

5-year-old British Pakistani Ayan Qureshi is now the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional in he world, according to the BBC. Ayan takes the title of world's youngest techie from Shafay Thobani of Karachi who was the youngest known Pakistani  to have become Microsoft Certified Professional at age 8 in 2012.

Ayan Qureshi in Home Computer Lab
Ayan was born in Lahore, but the family, including his mother, a doctor moved to London in 2009. His younger brother was born the UK in 2011. Ayan has set up his own computer lab at his home in Coventry, containing a computer network which he built.

Ayan's father who is an IT consultant introduced his son to computers when he was only three years old. He let him play with his old computers, so he could understand hard drives and motherboards. "I found whatever I was telling him, the next day he'd remember everything I said, so I started to feed him more information," he told the BBC.

Pakistani children have been making their mark in the information technology arena since 2005 when Arfa Karim made international headlines as the world's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional at age 9. Unfortunately she passed away at the tender age of just 16. Born in 1995, she achieved celebrity status after becoming the world's youngest computer expert at the age of 9, passing a tough series of Microsoft tests designed for software professionals. Her success brought her an invitation to Microsoft headquarters in Seattle, where she met its chairman, Bill Gates, and discussed her idea for a self-navigating car in 2005.

Arfa Karim died very young but she has inspired a whole new generation of Pakistani children to choose information technology and excel in the growing field. As a result, Pakistan has achieved the distinction of being the third most popular online IT outsourcing destination in the world. It augurs well for Pakistan's young but rapidly growing multi-billion dollar information technology industry.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Human Capital Growth in Pakistan

British Pakistani Reinvents Toilet

Pakistan 3rd Most Popular Outsourcing Destination

Pakistan's Demographic Dividend

Pakistani Software Expert Helps Fight Terror

Pakistan IT Industry

Pakistan Leads Asia in Biometric IT Services

Pakistanis Studying Abroad

Pakistan Working Women

Quality of Higher Education in India and Pakistan

Developing Pakistan's Intellectual Capital

Intellectual Wealth of Nations

9 comments:

Syed said...

Sorry but it is downright cruel. I feel sorry for the kid and angry at his parents who literally stole his childhood in process of making a world record.

Riaz Haq said...

Syed: "Sorry but it is downright cruel. I feel sorry for the kid and angry at his parents who literally stole his childhood in process of making a world record."

You may sometimes be able to make a 5 year old do what you want but you certainly can not make him or her excel in it. Ayan achieved it because he wanted to, not because his parents forced him into it.

Agni V said...

Actually.... its nothing. Microsoft Certified Professional exam is simply too easy. Also, there are many 'kinds' of MCPs...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Certified_Professional

Most common one is MCSE, which is well.. I know how to use various windows platforms. Thats all..

There are two types of IT/Computer professionals, one who program and develop software and other who just use them... Your kid is in second type. He knows how to use software not how to develop them. Almost all the kids these days are good at that, heck even I used to fiddle with DOS a lot back when I was in 3rd grade.

There is a huge misconception that if you can boot a PC, login, launch IE, fix some windows specific issues you are into IT. These are well, as common as ironing your shirt these days. Real challenge in IT is in Algorithms, Software design and programming. I highly doubt that kid knows even the basic algorithms

Anonymous said...

Agni V: you do realize we are talking about 5 year old human child right?
I know a lot of Indians aren't capable of common-sense thinking let alone critical thinking(thanks to childhood stunting and chronic malnutrition endemic in India,not to mention the "world class" primary eduction system), but even the likes of you can deduce its a big deal for a 5 year old human child.

josh said...

I KNOW A LOT OF INDIANS AREN'T CAPABLE OF COMTHINKINGMON-SENSE THINKING LET ALONE CRITICAL THINKING

Wow! I must say that sounds very Hitleresque. Replace a choice word or two and you could be reading a line from the MEIN KAMPF, 07/19/1925, Adolf Hitler.

Anonymous said...

Mr.Josh: please look up Reductio ad Hitlerum and Goodwin's Law.
However,if you are an Indian then please don't bother,even these simple concepts would probably go over your head.

Josh said...

I am a Poly Sci student researching sites that lend itself to content that is "Supremacism". I am well aware of Goodwins Law; however, that is not part of my project. I am not Indian but that should not matter.

I am looking for legitimate sites that disguises itself. In this case, Haq's Musings title indicates it is about South Asia news, events and advice on investing in that region but, I found the site quite often, via blogs and comments, a vehicle to berate, stereotype, propagate, generalize another ethnic group, race or religion. That is Hitleresque.

Riz said...

@Josh. I have not seen any entries on this blog that "berate, stereotype, propagate, generalize another ethnic group, race or religion". I would like examples of your accusations. I suppose anybody is free to leave comments. Mostly this blog seems to present stories relevant to Pakistan and Pakistanis, specially those that are positive in an absolute sense or in comparison to India or other countries. It seems that bothers you. I hope you leave similar comments on hundreds of other web sites that actually disparage Pakistan, Pakistanis and Muslims in general.

Agni V said...

"Agni V: you do realize we are talking about 5 year old human child right? "

You certainly failed to read my comment properly. I mentioned it in the beginning of the comment that "MCP" exams are well, not exactly very hard or thorough, especially MCSE. It tests your knowledge on how to use few microsoft OSes. Most of the kids and yes kids as small as 5 years old these days are more than capable of using Windows OS. Hence I said it is not a big deal even for a 5 year old kid. For comarison, even I used to fiddle and use DOS, a much harder to use OS full of cryptic commands, back in my 3rd grade at an age of 7 years or so.

Rest of your sweeping quotes on malnutrition and lack of education in India, well... I can sling a lot of mud on Pakistan for those such as endemic polio, children in 5-6th grade confusing cat with dog and what not but... those all are out of the beyond point here.