Student & Computer Prodigy

Arfa Abdul Karim Randhawa (Urdu: ارفع کریم رندھاوا‬‎‎, 2 February 1995 – 14 January 2012) was a Pakistani student and computer prodigy who, in 2004 at the age of nine, became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP). She kept the title until 2008. Arfa represented Pakistan on various international forums including the TechEd Developers Conference. She also received the President's Award for Pride of Performance in 2005. A science park in Lahore, the Arfa Software Technology Park, was named after her. She was invited by Bill Gates to visit Microsoft Headquarters in the United States. She died on 14 January 2012, aged 16, following a cardiac arrest. Upon her return from the US, she became an icon in Pakistan. She was interviewed by various channels, was invited to various international conferences and summits and also received awards from the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan. She notably is also the youngest recipient of the Pride of Performance award in Pakistan. In 2006, Microsoft invited her to be the key note speaker at the Tech-Ed developers conference which was held in Barcelona. Arfa represented Pakistan on various international forums, and was invited by the Pakistan Information Technology Professionals Forum for a stay of two weeks in Dubai. A dinner reception was hosted for her there, which was attended by the dignitaries of Dubai including the Ambassador of Pakistan. During that trip, Arfa was presented with various awards and gifts including a laptop. In November 2006, Arfa attended the Tech-Ed Developers conference themed Get ahead of the game held in Barcelona on an invitation from Microsoft. She was the only Pakistani among over 5000 developers in that conference. She is the youngest recipient of this award. In recognition of her achievement, Arfa was made brand ambassador for Pakistan telecommunication Company’s 3G Wireless Broadband service named EVO in January 2010.