Latest news with #NadeemAsghar
BBC News
16 hours ago
- Science
- BBC News
Lego robot designed by Bradford school pupils to take on the world
A group of school pupils have flown to Florida to represent the UK in the finals of a Lego robotics students from Bradford Grammar School are taking part in the First Lego League secured their spot in the finals after seeing off competition from 900 other teams in the school's head of Computer Science, Nadeem Asghar, who also runs the Lego Robotics club, said the victory in the UK finals was "completely unexpected". "It's just a lunchtime club," he said."It's just a bit of fun, a bit of Lego, obviously doing the best we can, but the intention was never to get to the internationals."The First Lego League Challenge is an international STEM competition that develops skills in coding, design and were challenged to build and programme a robot capable of carrying out a series of tasks within a set amount of time and then to complete a STEM-based innovation 16, a member of the team - known as the Incredilegos - said it was a "dream come true" to reach the final."I never would have thought in a million years we would have been representing the UK at Lego robotics." For the second part of the competition, the students worked together to create a computer game, Ocean Quest, which teaches players about oceans."You're playing a game while learning about stuff," said 13-year-old Asghar said the team had impressed the UK judges and hoped they would continue to impress in Florida."They liked the design, the fact it's compact and the fact it is so easy to take attachments on and off it," he said."They like to see the problem solving aspects and that is what the team really manged to highlight and demonstrate."The students have been refining their robot since their UK triumph ahead of the finals, which begin later."We hope to make BGS proud in Florida, what a great year for Bradford," Harry said winning had "meant so much to the team" and they were looking forward to representing the school in the USA. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Arab News
19-03-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistani home appliances giant targets $100 million exports in 2 years by tapping US market
KARACHI: Pakistani home appliances giant Pak Elektron Limited (PEL) plans to increase its exports to $100 million by the end of 2026, a senior official of the company said on Wednesday, days after announcing it had begun its export operations to the United States. The Lahore-based manufacturer of home appliances has been one of the most-traded scrips at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) so far this week. It had the second-most traded stock on Wednesday, registering a 3.2 percent gain and over 36 million volumes. On Monday the company announced it has expanded its global footprint and will be now exporting its products to the US. PEL's new American client is Maddox Industrial Transformer LLC, which supplies new and remanufactured power transformers to commercial and industrial clients in the US. 'We are exporting distribution transformers for now and the majority of our exports, say 90 percent, are going to the US,' Nadeem Asghar, the general manager of finance at PEL, told Arab News. PEL plans to increase its exports up to $50 million this year by December and double the same to $100 million by the end of 2026, Asghar said. The company's current exports stand at $3 million, with most of its shipments going to the United Kingdom, Jordan and African countries. PEL's stock price appears to have increased steadily in recent days. Its recent announcement of beginning export operations to the US has contributed to a notable increase in its stock price, Sana Tawfik, the head of research at the Karachi-based brokerage firm Arif Habib Ltd., said. 'The stock price has witnessed a gain of 13 percent in the last three days,' Tawfik told Arab News. The company has already sent its first consignment of distribution transformers to the US on Mar. 13 as part of its business expansion strategy to explore new international markets. Asghar, meanwhile, said this is the first time that PEL has received a 'major order' from the US. 'The majority of our products will be exported to America now,' he said, adding that PEL would keep increasing its exports even beyond $100 million after 2026 as 'sky is the limit.' PEL entered into a strategic partnership last month with Swedish giant Electrolux AB, a global leader in multi-category home appliances brands such as Electrolux, AEG and Frigidaire, to leverage its strength to drive sustainable growth. In 2024 Electrolux Group had sales of Swedish Krona 136 billion and the company employed 41,000 people worldwide. After tapping the US market, Asghar said the Pakistani company plans to expand its reach to the Middle East as well, particularly Saudi Arabia. 'We would look to tap the Saudi Arabian market where we see enough demand for our products,' Asghar said, adding that talks with the company's potential clients from Saudi Arabia were underway. He did not mention their names. 'We will tap all these markets, the UK, Saudi Arabia and others. Our negotiations are ongoing with the Saudi Arabian clients,' Asghar added. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has repeatedly said his government is prioritizing exports to ensure sustainable economic growth for the country's fragile $350 billion economy. Sharif has recently said his government aims to increase Pakistan's exports to $60 billion in five years. Pakistan is trying to stabilize its economy through sustainable reforms agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for a financial bailout program.
