“Fail fast, fail often.” This is advice I believe I needed to hear earlier in life, when all I could think about was how one failure could ruin me completely. Some lessons come to us late, after we have learned them the hard way.
These words of wisdom came from Junaid Akram, Pakistani digital content creator and cultural commentator, as he shared stories from his life with wit and humour at Verse ’26, the third edition of MediaVerse, a student-led media platform associated with the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Karachi.
I had been seeing the event’s marketing campaigns on LinkedIn and Instagram for weeks and had high hopes for it. Truly, it did not disappoint.
As an alumna of the same department, one thing I missed the most during my time there was having a platform to channel my creativity and create opportunities beyond the classroom. Seeing Syeda Mona Batool Taqvi recognise this gap and turn the idea of a departmental magazine into reality felt like a personal win.
I would not have expected a student-organised and managed event at the University of Karachi to bring together such a distinguished panel of speakers, including Asad Umar, former federal finance minister, Saife Hasan, actor and director, Alyy Khan, actor, Osamah Nasir, content creator and social entrepreneur, and Rabia Mughni, founder of Fuchsia Magazine, who moderated the event.
The event also brought together social media influencers, LinkedIn thought leaders, politicians, business leaders, entrepreneurs, brand managers and members of the education sector, among others. But what made the experience even more special was that, alongside bringing so many people together, the students had also made an effort to ensure that everyone could be part of it. Volunteers used sign language to make the event more inclusive, a detail that stayed with me.
“Control in Chaos,” the central theme of Verse ’26, felt particularly relevant in a world where uncertainty has become part of everyday life. Often, life takes such a drastic turn from what we had imagined that navigating it becomes not just difficult but, at times, unbearable. Yet, in the middle of all this chaos, those who manage to hold on to even the tiniest bit of hope can find themselves moving towards possibilities they once only dreamed of.
Asad Umar offered a thought-provoking reflection on life and the importance of living it with intention. He said, “At the end of your life, you should feel satisfied that you did not live as if death did not exist, only to die as if you had never lived.”
Osamah Nasir had an equally meaningful message for an auditorium full of ideas and eyes full of dreams. “Life is a roller coaster, and we cannot escape chaos. Something will always happen. The key is to train your mind to look at situations from a solution-oriented perspective rather than a negative one,” he said. “Recognising that we are facing uncertainty, rather than allowing it to overwhelm us, can itself reduce its impact.”
I remember being afraid to fail. There was a fear of not being able to do what others in my family believed only I could do. You grow up carrying that fear, and eventually, your choices begin to reflect it. You become so afraid of getting things wrong that you stop giving yourself the chance to try.
And in the words of Junaid Akram, “You do not always know what you want to become, and that is okay. Sometimes, you have to experiment, take chances and see what works. I have tried many things that failed, but each experience taught me what to do differently. Fail fast, fail often. There is nothing to be ashamed of in failure. Learn from it and move forward.”
That is why it is so important to let people be. To let them experiment, take chances, fail and fail again until they find their way. And that is what MediaVerse represented to me. It showed what students can achieve when their ideas are nurtured, their efforts encouraged and they have a mentor who believes in them.
“Mediaverse is a collective effort, and my role is only a small part of it. The students brought the vision to life through their passion and dedication. Our aim was to bridge the gap between academia and the professional world by giving students practical experience,” said Syeda Mona Batool Taqvi, the founder and editor of MediaVerse.
She explained that the event was also a way to showcase the students’ work, share their story and let people see what they had achieved. What began as a learning experience had grown into a passion project with the potential to create meaningful change.
That change was visible in the people who had helped bring the initiative to life. “She has taken us from the ground and given us recognition in the sky,” said Irfan Shareef, student and Media Manager at MediaVerse, reflecting on Mona’s role.
Perhaps that is what makes MediaVerse more than a magazine or an annual event. It gives students the space to experiment, take responsibility, make connections and discover what they are capable of before stepping into the professional world.
Dr Sadia Mahmood, Chairperson of the Department of Mass Communication and Chief Editor of MediaVerse, noted the growth in students’ confidence and skills. She also highlighted the value of industry partnerships and praised the team for becoming self-sufficient. “Mona has, in any case, built such a good team that it has now become self-sustaining and capable of managing things independently,” she said.
MediaVerse may have started with an idea, a classroom project, but it has grown into a space where students can test their abilities, build connections and learn by doing.
And so, the biggest takeaway from the event was this: Life rarely unfolds exactly as we imagine it. We cannot always control the chaos around us, but we can decide what we create within it. And perhaps that is what MediaVerse represents: not waiting for the perfect circumstances or the right opportunity to arrive, but having the courage to create something meaningful with what you have.
The article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Business Recorder or its owners.