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Sadia Bashir

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Sadia Bashir
سعدیہ بشیر
Born
Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
NationalityPakistani
EducationMSc Computer Science
Alma materCOMSATS University
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, game developer
Notable workFounder of PixelArt Games Academy

Sadia Bashir (Punjabi and Urdu: سعدیہ بشیر) is a Pakistani computer scientist, game developer, and entrepreneur.[1][2] She is the founder and CEO of PixelArt Games Academy, the first game development academy in Pakistan.[3][4]

Biography

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Early life and education

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Bashir was born in a family where education for women was not a priority.[5] Bashir wanted to study at an English-language school, and she started working to fund her own education by offering tutoring session and stitching clothes.[6][7] When Bashir joined her new school, she was found it difficult to adjust because of her different family background. Bashir spent time at the library where she learned more about graphic design, computers, and gaming.[8] Bashir developed an interest in gaming when she played video games with her brother's friends.[9]

She started designing her own games when she was 13.[8][10] Bashir had to continue working in order to fund her education for her university.[11] Now she holds a bachelor's degree in computer science.[12] She also holds a Masters in Computer Science with Artificial intelligence and Software Engineering, Production processes for Video Games from COMSATS university.[13][14][15]

Career

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Bashir worked as a programmer for a few years before switching to developing games. Her mentor decided to fund Bashir and her colleague to work on games, and they started work in a small basement.[16][17] Bashir worked for seven years in the gaming industry.[18][19] During her work, she was disappointed with the lack of innovation and the limited role of women in the gaming industry in Pakistan, so she decided to start an initiative that could address the problem.[20][21] Bashir arranged meetups and conferences where she connected local developers with international developers.[22][23] She also organized workshops at universities.[24][25] After seeing a positive response for the work, Bashir decided to create PixelArt Games Academy.[26][27] Her organization now has game developers Ken Levine (founder of Ghost story games, creative director BioShock), Rami Ismail (co-founder of Vlambeer), Brie Code (founder of Tru Luv Media), and Jonathon Chey (co-founder of former Irrational Games) on the advisory board. They provide mentorship to Pakistani developers.[28][29]

Bashir's game development academy provides training, research, and development in games to students and developers in Pakistan. Her organization also addresses the gender gap in the gaming industry. Bashir's program has a requirement of at least 33% women.[30][31] Her academy also offers scholarships to women.[32][33] Bashir aims to bridge the gender gap in the tech industry through her initiative.[34][35]

Achievements

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Bashir was awarded the "Women Can Do" Award by the US Embassy at the Women Entrepreneurs Summit in 2016 for her accomplishments.[36] The award is for the recognition of successful women entrepreneurs in Pakistan.[37] She was in the winning team of global entrepreneurship summit 2017.[38][39] She was also the first speaker from Pakistan to attend the Game Developer’s Conference, 2017 in San Francisco.[40][41] Bashir is also a member of the Prime Minister's Youth Council, an initiative by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan.[42][43] In 2018, she was featured in Forbes 30 under 30 Asia in the enterprise technology category.[44][45][46][47][48] The same year, she was named as a Global Gaming Citizen by Facebook Gaming at The Game Awards, held in Los Angeles.[49][50][51] She is also the first Pakistani to present at the Game Developer's Conference.[52]

References

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  1. ^ "Pakistanis glow in the Forbes '30 under 30' 2018 list". Daily Times. 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  2. ^ "Pakistanis shine in Forbes Asia's '30 Under 30' list for 2018 - Pakistan". Dunya News. 14 February 2008. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  3. ^ "Sadia Bashir – PixelArt Game Academy". Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  4. ^ HeySummit. "Global Pakistan Tech Summit". Global Pakistan Tech Summit. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  5. ^ News Desk (2018-03-28). "Nine Pakistanis featured in Forbes Asia '30 Under 30' list". Global Village Space. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  6. ^ "Sadia Bashir An entrepreneur and a tech professional". MizLink Pakistan. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  7. ^ Cross, Katherine (28 February 2017). "Train Jam perfectly captures the magic of both traveling and game dev". www.gamasutra.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  8. ^ a b "Female game designer on a mission for change | Pakistan Today". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  9. ^ "In Pakistan, some gaming studios have made gender equity a priority". america.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  10. ^ Yousuf, Faiza (2019-03-18). "Episode 1: Incredible Pakistani Women In Technology You Must Follow". WomenInTechPK. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  11. ^ "Sadia Bashir: Her Story! – PixelArt Game Academy". Archived from the original on 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  12. ^ ilmkidunya.com. "Sadia Bashir is a young video game entrepreneur and a part of a select team from Pakistan for those who are completely self-made". ilmkidunya.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  13. ^ "Pakistan female game designer on a mission for change". BBC News. 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  14. ^ "TEDxSZABIST | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  15. ^ "Nine Pakistanis Make Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia". Arab News PK. 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  16. ^ "Pakistani entrepreneur Sadia Bashir featured as Global Gaming Citizen at Facebook Game Awards". Times of Islamabad. 2018-12-07. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  17. ^ Fawad, Saman (2016-07-24). "Meet Sadia Bashir: A Game Guru Promoting Video Game Industry in Pakistan - #HerStory". Be Your Own Boss - Entrepreneurship and Technology News. Archived from the original on 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  18. ^ "فوربز کی فہرست میں شامل پاکستانی کون ہیں؟". BBC News اردو (in Urdu). Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  19. ^ "Startup Grind with Sadia Bashir (Founder @ PixelArt Game Academy)". Meetup (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  20. ^ "ND2C – National Digital Design Conference". www.nd2c.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  21. ^ "South Asians on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2018 List". DESIblitz. 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  22. ^ "Sadia Bashir". Global Game Jam Online. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  23. ^ "Momina Mustehsan and 8 other Pakistanis make it to Forbes' 30 under 30 Asia list". Something Haute. 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  24. ^ "Sadia Bashir-The Geeky Gamer | StartupDotPK". www.startup.pk. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  25. ^ Syed, Rizwan. "Women are winning in Pakistan's gaming industry". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  26. ^ Yameen, Ahsan (2016-07-21). "Sadia Bashir: An Inspirational Story Of Pakistani Video Game Guru". Pakistan Technology Magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  27. ^ "Nine Pakistanis make it to Forbes Asia's '30 Under 30'". The Express Tribune. 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  28. ^ ShareAmerica (2016-01-22). "Guiding Pakistan's future game developers". ShareAmerica. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  29. ^ "StartUp Academy Graduate | How One Women Leads Pakistan's Future Game Developers". GriffinWorx. 2016-01-25. Archived from the original on 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  30. ^ Sachwani, Anusha (27 March 2018). "9 Pakistanis Make it to Forbes Asia's '30 Under 30′ List! | Brandsynario". Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  31. ^ Daur, Naya (2020-04-20). "Pakistani Student On Forbes' List Of 30 Of Asia's Brightest Millennials". Naya Daur. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  32. ^ "BBC News: Pakistan female game designer on a mission for change". Arab News. 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  33. ^ "Nine Pakistani innovators recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30 lists". MIT Technology Review Pakistan. 2018-02-15. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  34. ^ "Sadia Bashir". TechWomen. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  35. ^ "Sadia-bashir-in-forbes". Pakistan Shining. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  36. ^ "These 7 Pakistanis made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List". TechJuice. 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  37. ^ usembassy. "entrepreneurship 2018" (PDF).
  38. ^ Maitreyi, M. l melly (2017-11-30). "Pak team makes it to GES 2017, overcoming visa issues". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  39. ^ Webdesk (2019-04-20). "PGA Founder Sadia Bashir Wins Global Gaming Citizen Award by Facebook -". Archived from the original on 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  40. ^ "Sadia Bashir (Founder @ PixelArt Game Academy) | Startup Grind". www.startupgrind.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  41. ^ Desk, Monitoring (2018-03-28). "Nine Pakistanis make it to Forbes '30 Under 30' Asia list". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2020-11-29. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  42. ^ "Meet the members of PM Khan's National Youth Council". The Current. 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  43. ^ "Pakistani Universities come together in favour of Sustainable Development Goals at COMSATS Platform – COMSATS Secretariat". 9 July 2018. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  44. ^ "9 Pakistanis Featured in Forbes Asia's '30 Under 30' list". RS News. 2018-03-27. Archived from the original on 2020-12-13. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  45. ^ "Nine Pakistanis feature on Forbes '30 under 30' Asia list". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  46. ^ Desk, H. I. P. (2018-03-27). "Pakistanis who Made it to the Forbes' '30 Under 30 Asia 2018' List". HIP. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2020-11-29. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  47. ^ "Sadia Bashir". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  48. ^ "Forbes '30 under 30' Asia list features nine Pakistanis | Pakistan Today". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  49. ^ propakistani (18 October 2017). "Pakistani women win 3000 dollar grant".
  50. ^ "Sadia Bashir – Game Dev Days Graz". Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  51. ^ "The Game Awards 2019: Recognizing this year's global gaming citizens". Facebook Technology. 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  52. ^ "Nine Pakistanis Make It To Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List | Focus - MAG THE WEEKLY". magtheweekly.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
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