Islamabad: Pakistani developers excelled in a global coding challenge with the highest number of participants in the top 50 list.
As many as 2,000 coders and developers from 137 countries competed in the TopTal JavaScript Speed Coding Challenge in which participants are required to solve coding challenges as quickly as possible to earn points.
Pakistan emerged in the top spot with five participants in the Top 50 finishers. Bangladesh, Brazil, and Serbia tied for the second highest number of top 50 finishes with three participants from each country.
The highest numbers of participants were from India (251) whereas 128 participated from Pakistan followed by Nigeria with 88, Bangladesh with 82, Malaysia with 74, and the United States with 67 participants. Toptal, an online freelancing platform for top developers, engineers, programmers, coders, and consultants, organized the global competition.
Unlocking potential
The success demonstrated the talent of young Pakistani coders and programmers who can prove to be vital in helping the country keep up with the pace of change in technology, technology experts say.
“Our youngsters have proven time and again that they have the potential to compete and win at the international level. What these youngsters need is a platform to utilize their talents to contribute to the growth of Pakistan” Ali Amjad, an Islamabad-based IT professional, told Gulf News. “The government should facilitate by providing support to startups, such as financial assistance, guidance in setting up their companies, marketing their products globally, providing tax exemption and most importantly by reducing the paperwork and streamlining the procedures required to establish their startups and businesses.”
Experts have also urged the country’s education ministry to push schools to start teaching coding, particularly the JavaScript computer programming language.
“JavaScript is one of the most powerful languages that works across all major browsers from desktops to tablets and smartphones, making it the most adaptable and ubiquitous programming language.” says Sami Malik, a Pakistani JavaScript developer.
Developers urge the government to support the emerging digital technologies to prepare Pakistan’s young generation for the AI-equipped future.
