Burhan-Rasool

Burhan Rasool
Born (1981-08-24) August 24, 1981
Education

MS (Software Project Management)

BS (Computer Science)

BSc (Economics)
Alma mater

FAST-NUCES

Government College University (Lahore)

Crescent Model Higher Secondary School
Known for Technology based Police Reforms in Punjab, Pakistan
Awards

Innovation Hero (2012)

Young Development Leader (2016)

Burhan Rasool Basra (born August 24, 1981) is a Pakistani E-Governance expert heading the software engineering unit of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), as General Manager. Burhan Rasool was involved in the creation of a monitoring platform based on smartphones that helped control the 2012 Dengue epidemic in Punjab, and in the computerization of police stations in the province.

Education

Burhan obtained a Bachelors in Economics at Government College University in Lahore. He received both his masters degree in software project management in 2010 and Bachelors in computer science from the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences in 2005.[1] He got elected as the president of Alumni body of the university in 2009, which he now serves as board member.[2] [3] [4]

Academic career

Burhan served as an Advisor on E-Governance at the Center for Technology in Governance of Information Technology University, where a team of developers working under him developed a technology platform where citizens could easily access declassified government data, called Open Data Initiative.[5] In the same capacity, along with his team of developers, he worked on a smartphones based Monitoring & Evaluation Platform called DataPlug[6] that helps non-coders create android apps via a web interface, enabling them to create small surveys supported by pictorial evidences and GPS location. DataPlug was a case study in a four-day workshop on governance arranged for civil servants by the Information Technology University.[7][8][9]

Burhan has taught multiple courses to Computer Science undergrad students at FAST-NUCES. In 2008, he worked as the Senior Research Officer under the supervision of Dr. Fakhar Lodhi, an academician and Software Engineering expert.

Public Service

In 2011, Burhan joined the Punjab Information Technology Board, a body set by the Punjab Government dedicated to provide IT services and infrastructure to the government and businesses.[10][11] Burhan joined the board as a joint director in November 2011 and was promoted to general manager in November 2015; as of 2016 he heads the software engineering unit[12] at the board. [13] Burhan was involved in the computerization of police stations in the province of Punjab.[7][14][15] This computerization is claimed to have made the police force more efficient and accountable.[16][17] One of the key initiatives of the project is the biometric citizen's verification devices which a handheld device that uses Computerized national identity card, biometrics and proof of registration information.[15] The device uses a SIM card for connection, can be used anywhere in the country, and is currently being used at Police Checkpoints all over Punjab. 52,606 requests have been received from around 962 devices until October 31, 2016. The device has also been used for the biometric verification of spectators in the Zimbabwe Cricket tour in 2015.[15][18]

During the 2012 outburst of Dengue in Punjab, Burhan is credited to have done most of the coding required to develop a smartphone based monitoring system for tracking all anti-dengue activities across Punjab.[19] The system has been used on over 1500 smartphones.[20] This application helped report 670,000 activities in less than 2 years. It also generates an epidemic outbreak alert using SatScan.[21][22]

In September 2016, Burhan was invited at the Urban Institute, an American Public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C., to give a talk on "Is Technology Transforming Governance in Pakistan's Punjab Province? The Case of Reforms in Law Enforcement",[23] which was very well received;[24] followed by a discussion on SmartGov at The Atlantic.[25][26]

Awards

Burhan received the Innovation Hero Award Punjab for his efforts in developing the smartphones based Monitoring Platform to combat dengue epidemic in 2012.[27][28] In August 2016, he received the Young Development Leader award by the Planning Commission Pakistan.[29][30][31]

References

  1. ↑ http://lhr.nu.edu.pk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=2&id=463
  2. ↑ Innwit, Falcon Creative Studio &. "Old Students Association of FAST-NU". osaf.org.pk. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  3. ↑ http://www.morenews.pk/2016/11/28/fast-alumni-association-aims-top-ranked-university/
  4. ↑ http://tribune.com.pk/story/1246297/homecoming-16-fast-nu-holds-annual-alumni-gathering/
  5. ↑ "Centre for Technology in Governance | Information Technology University". itu.edu.pk. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  6. ↑ "Our Team - DataPlug". www.dataplug.itu.edu.pk. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  7. 1 2 "In-service training: Workshop held on cell phone use in govt - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  8. ↑ http://www.dataplug.itu.edu.pk/About
  9. ↑ https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/40474-moot-discusses-use-of-info-tech-in-governance
  10. ↑ "Overview | Punjab Information Technology Board". www.pitb.gov.pk. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  11. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=WHA3BQAAQBAJ&pg=PR21&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false
  12. ↑ "Management | Punjab Information Technology Board". www.pitb.gov.pk. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  13. ↑ http://tribune.com.pk/story/1069069/geek-week-students-face-off-in-it-competitions-at-fast-nu/
  14. ↑ "IT-based reforms: Software to verify identity of bail seekers, guarantors - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2016-07-04. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  15. 1 2 3 "Empowering the Police via ICTs". www.technologyreview.pk. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  16. ↑ "Punjab police use of IT to improve efficiency: Shehbaz Sharif". timesofislamabad.com. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  17. ↑ "IT to help improve police working: CM". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  18. ↑ "Hang in there: Lahoris face stringent security ahead of final ODI match - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  19. ↑ "What India Can Learn About E-Governance From Pakistan". NDTV Gadgets360.com. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  20. ↑ http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/06/06/dengue_mhealth_punjab_uses_smartphones_to_eradicate_breakbone_fever.html
  21. ↑ "Latest technology beating dengue effectively". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  22. ↑ "Lahore gives feeling of a changed city to Peshawar journalists". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  23. ↑ "Ammar A. Malik on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
  24. ↑ "Charles Cadwell on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
  25. ↑ "Rob Bole on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
  26. ↑ "Instagram photo by Rob Bole • Sep 26, 2016 at 10:26pm UTC". Instagram. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
  27. ↑ "Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) - Timeline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  28. ↑ Burhan Rasool receiving the Innovation Hero Award from the Chief Minister Punjab, 2012-09-09, retrieved 2016-11-08
  29. ↑ "Planning Commission on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  30. ↑ http://nation.com.pk/business/12-Aug-2016/competitiveness-in-all-fields-key-to-sustained-growth
  31. ↑ "Pakistan Vision 2025 - Timeline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
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