QINGDAO: Balochistan’s daughter researcher Aidah Abdul Wahid won second prize at the 4th SCO Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition on June 9.
Aidah is a PhD student at China Ocean University. She presented her team’s AI project titled Z-UP: The Foundational Infrastructure for AI-Internet and Agentic-Web. Over 300 delegates from eight member countries attended the event.
Her project was developed in collaboration with top institutions, including MIT, University of British Columbia, USTC, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Z-UP aims to connect fragmented AI systems into one intelligent and seamless network.
It also supports a B2B ecosystem that shares computing power for AI and metaverse applications. Aidah explained how Z-UP virtualizes GPU infrastructure to enable shared high-performance computing.
“My academic journey in China opened global doors for innovation,” she said. Her team includes researchers from AT&T Labs, formerly known as Bell Labs.
Over 200 projects competed in AI, smart tech, and new materials. Only 12 reached the finals. China’s unmanned airport project won first prize.
Around 35% of finalists came from cross-border collaborations, highlighting the SCO’s focus on international cooperation.
Aidah dedicated her success to young Pakistani scientists, especially girls from Gwadar. “This platform proves our ideas matter globally,” she said. “I want Balochistan’s youth to see no limits in science.”
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The competition gathered tech leaders, entrepreneurs, and officials from SCO countries, including Pakistan, China, Russia, Turkey, India, and Central Asia.
