PINTECH 2026: PHEC Student Innovation Expo Comes to Lahore on 14-15 November

PINTECH 2026, the Punjab Higher Education Commission’s student innovation and technology expo, takes place on 14 and 15 November 2026 at the Royal Palm Golf & Country Club in Lahore. Organised by PHEC, the two-day event will bring together student teams from universities across Punjab to show working projects, prototypes and early-stage startup ideas to academics, industry and investors.

This year the commission has also put real money on the table. PHEC has announced cash prizes worth Rs7.195 million for 49 winning student projects, with the top project in each of nine categories taking home Rs500,000.

PINTECH 2026 at a glance

• Event: Honhaar Punjab Innovation and Technology (PINTECH) Expo 2026
• Organiser: Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC)
• Dates: 14 and 15 November 2026
• Venue: Royal Palm Golf & Country Club, Lahore
• Who takes part: students from public and private universities across Punjab
• Prize pool: Rs7.195 million across 49 projects in nine categories

PINTECH 2026 prize money

Punjab’s Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat shared the prize structure in early November. Prizes are spread across five tiers, so 40 runner-up projects are rewarded alongside the nine category winners.

• First prize: 9 projects, Rs500,000 each (Rs4.5 million)
• First runner-up: 13 projects, Rs100,000 each (Rs1.3 million)
• Second runner-up: 9 projects, Rs75,000 each (Rs675,000)
• Third runner-up: 9 projects, Rs50,000 each (Rs450,000)
• Fourth runner-up: 9 projects, Rs30,000 each (Rs270,000)

University leaders back the expo

Ahead of the event, PHEC released a video message from leading figures in Punjab’s higher education sector. They stressed innovation, technology and entrepreneurship, and urged university students to turn their ideas into solutions with real impact. The video features:

• Prof. Dr. Kanwal Ameen, Vice Chancellor, Government College Women University Faisalabad (GCWUF)
• Prof. Dr. Qamar-Uz-Zaman, Vice Chancellor, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi
• Prof. Dr. Bushra Mirza, Vice Chancellor, Fatima Jinnah Women University
• Prof. Dr. Zaib-Un-Nisa Hussain, Vice Chancellor, University of Home Economics
• Prof. Dr. Zulfiqar Ali, Vice Chancellor, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad
• Prof. Dr. Aman Ullah Malik, Rector, University of Faisalabad

How big was PINTECH last year?

The 2025 edition, held at the Expo Centre Lahore on 21 April 2025 and organised jointly by PHEC and the Higher Education Department, drew more than 640 student projects from 48 universities and 14 colleges, according to Dawn. Projects covered engineering, IT, medical and biomedical work, agriculture, sciences and social sciences. Fatima Jinnah Women University said at the time that more than 1,100 projects had been submitted for consideration.

The PINTECH banner has also been used for other events this year. In April 2026, the University of the Punjab’s ORIC office held its 11th Invention to Innovation Summit under PINTECH Expo 2026 in collaboration with PHEC, as reported by APP.

Why PINTECH matters for Pakistan’s tech sector

Most of Pakistan’s software houses, startups and freelancers start out as university projects. Expos like PINTECH give final-year teams a stage in front of industry and investors, and a reason to build something that works rather than something that only passes an exam. With a prize pool of over Rs7 million and nine categories, the November expo is one of the larger student innovation platforms in the country this year.

ITInsider will cover the winners and the standout tech projects from PINTECH 2026.

Key facts

• PINTECH 2026 runs on 14-15 November 2026 at Royal Palm Golf & Country Club, Lahore.
• Organised by the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC).
• Rs7.195 million in cash prizes for 49 student projects across nine categories.
• Top prize: Rs500,000 for each of nine category winners.
• PINTECH 2025 showed 640+ projects from 48 universities and 14 colleges.