Join us for the upcoming FAANA Webinar session titled: How to Build a Self-driving Car. This session would cover an overview of the autonomous vehicle industry and the different types of technologies available for you to get started with the development today.
The speaker would share some technical overview of the overall software architecture of an autonomous vehicle system. And some insights into the current state of the industry.
 
Tune in live at 12:00 PM (Noon) – 1:00 PM EDT (9pm-10pm Pakistan Standard Time) on Sunday, June 21st, 2020.

Register Here
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Speaker: Usman Muhammad

Usman completed his bachelors in computer science from FAST Lahore in 2006. Since then he has been part of the software industry for more than 10 years working for companies like Techlogix, Microsoft, Salesforce and Lyft. Tackling domains such as C++ compilers, large scale search engines, online Ads platform and self-driving cars. Over the years he has gained expertise in fields like search & indexing, online services, distributed systems, machine learning and robotics. 
 
Currently Usman is part of the prediction and motion planning team at Level5 (Lyft's Autonomous Vehicles group). Working on algorithms to predict the future behavior of agents such as cars, pedestrians, cyclists; using a mixture of motion based algorithms and machine learned models using neural networks. In addition to this, he also leads the virtual validation team which uses simulation and data analysis to do large scale validation of the driving behavior.
 

Asalaam o Alaikum, 
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FAANA team hopes that everyone had a blessed Ramadan and a great Eid despite the unprecedented circumstances around us. We would like to provide an update on our progress this past year and plans for next year, including COVID-19 impact on our projects and action items for our members.

Alhamdulillah, we were able to disperse 6.6 Million PKR in 2019 to FAST-NU students across all locations, an increase of 40% over the previous year. Eighty percent of this amount went towards the scholarship of students in need at all five campuses. Rest went to the innovation center and exhibitions at all five locations. By default, we allocate all donations to scholarships unless a donor specifies otherwise. 

This year we are increasing our donation target to $60k; This is achievable due to the growth and collaboration of alumni based in North America. To help achieve this goal, FAANA was planning for a membership drive and two in-person events in the East and West Coast before summer until the world got caught in the pandemic. So we have slowed down our plans for a membership drive and delayed the in-person event. We know and understand that everyone is donation exhausted due to COVID related campaigns, so we did not push for the Zakat contribution. However, we received about $2000 in Ramadaan due to your generosity. Click here to see more details on donation distribution.

There are three initiatives that we are currently working on, which requires your support. 

Firstly, we would like to Survey on how to engage alumni in the US and Canada. Our purpose is to know what can FAANA do to help you contribute to this organization's mission. Survey Link.

Secondly, we are doing a pilot to support students' Final Year Project using ideas sponsored by the North America alumni community. The idea is to see if we can connect North American Industry to FAST for various innovative ideas. Visit this link and submit your ideas before Jul 15th: Submit Project Idea.

Lastly, this year we will conduct elections towards the end of the year. As per our charter, FAST donors (at least $50/year) are eligible to participate and vote in the polls. However, we will encourage you to become a member by donating before Oct 31st. We would like to hear from you what benefit you would like to receive to consider becoming a member.

In summary, three action items require your action:

1. Please participate in the alumni survey: Survey Link
2. Please submit a project idea before Jul 15th, 2020, that you are willing to sponsor: Submit Project Idea
3. Consider becoming a member @ www.faana.org if you consider running for a board seat or would like to vote by donating at least $50 before Oct 31st. 

Feel free to connect with us via [email protected], on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FastAlumniNA/, LinkedIn group https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4585458/
Or through our WhatsApp groups (only for US/Canada alumni). Words of encouragement are welcome as well! We are always at a lookout for volunteers who can donate their time.

Warm Regards,
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FAANA Association Board of Directors https://www.faana.org/about-us.html

• Ahmad Malik, Lahore, 1992-1994 - Michigan
• Sheeba Malik, Islamabad, 1998-2001 - California
• Nauman Sheikh, Lahore, 1992-1994 - Maryland
• Ahmad Uzair, Lahore, 2010-2014 - California
• Jasim Qazi, Karachi, 2004-2008 - California