Biography:
Sadia Bashir (Punjabi, Urdu: سعدیہ بشیر) is a Pakistani computer scientist, game developer, and entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of PixelArt Games Academy, the first game training academy in Pakistan. Additionally, Sadia is the first Pakistani to represent at the Game Developer’s Conference.
Sadia was born into a family where education for females was not a priority. However, she had a strong desire to study at an English medium school, so she started working to fund her education. She gave home tuition to children and stitched clothes to cover her educational expenses.
When Sadia joined her new school, she faced difficulties adjusting due to her different family background. It was here that she began spending time in the library, where she deepened her knowledge of graphics, computers, and gaming. Playing video games with her brother’s friends sparked her interest in gaming, and at the age of 13, she started designing her own games.
Sadia had to continue working to support her university education. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer science and went on to earn a Masters in Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering, Production processes for Video Games from COMSATS university.
After working as a programmer for several years, Sadia made the switch to game development. With the support of her mentor, she started working on games in a small basement, funded by her mentor. Sadia devoted seven years to the gaming industry, during which she became disheartened by the lack of innovation and the limited role of women in the Pakistani gaming industry.
Determined to address these issues, Sadia began organizing meetups and conferences to connect local developers with international developers. She also conducted workshops at universities. The positive response she received inspired her to establish PixelArt Games Academy.
PixelArt Games Academy has garnered influential advisors such as Ken Levine (founder of Ghost Story Games and creative director of BioShock), Rami Ismail (co-founder of Vlambeer), Brie Code (founder of Tru Luv Media), and Jonathon Chey (co-founder of former Irrational Games), who provide mentorship to Pakistani developers. Sadia’s academy offers training and research opportunities in games to students and developers in Pakistan, while also addressing the gender gap in the gaming industry. The academy has made it a requirement to have at least 33% women in the workplace and also provides scholarships to women.
Sadia Bashir’s ultimate goal is to bridge the gender gap in the tech industry through her initiative, aiming for greater gender equality and opportunities for women.
Awards:
– Women Can Do Award from the US Embassy at the Women Entrepreneurs Summit in 2016 for her accomplishments.