The first time I stood in front of the Clock Tower, I didn’t see a career path that would lead me to the boardrooms of Amazon or Microsoft. All I saw was a challenge. Back in 1999, GIKI wasn’t just a university; it was an endurance test. We were Electronics Engineering students trying to decode the future while living in a bubble of hills and high expectations. Those late nights in the hostels weren’t just about passing exams—they were about building the grit to lead global transformations.
Today, as I navigate the world of 5G and Edge Computing at AWS, I realize that my time in Topi was my first real lesson in ‘Product Management.’ You had to manage your resources, your time, and your friendships to survive the rigors of the curriculum. From leading Microsoft Pakistan as Country Manager to shaping cloud infrastructure on a global scale, the foundation remains the same: the GIKI spirit of never settling. We were trained to be more than just engineers; we were trained to be pioneers. My journey from the quiet corridors of the faculty to the cutting edge of tech in Seattle is a testament to one thing: once you’ve conquered those hills, there is no mountain in the corporate world too high to climb.