Terms of Service

By accessing or using the Lok Sahaita STEM Talent Search Portal (the “Service”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and all applicable laws and regulations. If you do not agree, you must not access or use this platform.

This Service is intended for:

• University students based in Pakistan
• Verified mentors, evaluators, and jury members
• Administrative and support personnel
• Public users accessing blog or news sections

Users under the age of 18 must have appropriate academic affiliation and institutional approval.

To access most features, you must create a secure account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, complete information
• Keep your login credentials confidential
• Notify us immediately if your account is compromised

We reserve the right to suspend or delete accounts that violate these terms or any competition rules.

You agree to use the platform only for lawful purposes related to academic research, competition participation, mentorship, or evaluation. All users must comply with Pakistan’s PECA 2016, UK Communications Act, and local institutional codes of conduct. You may not:

• Submit false or plagiarized information
• Attempt to breach the platform’s security
• Use bots or automated systems to interact with the Service
• Harass or impersonate other users

All materials on the site (excluding user submissions) are the property of NED University or Lok Sahaita. You retain rights to any original research or content you submit but grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use anonymized or credited excerpts for educational promotion or reporting.

Participation in the Lok Sahaita STEM Talent Search is governed by the official programme guidelines, rubrics, and evaluation criteria as published. The organizers reserve the right to:

• Modify timelines or rules
• Cancel or delay programme phases due to technical or institutional needs
• Disqualify users for misconduct, misrepresentation, or academic dishonesty

The Service is provided “as is”, without warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim liability for:

• Data loss
• Technical interruptions
• Third-party content or links
• Errors in scoring or results (though rare, appeals are not entertained post-announcement)

This clause does not limit your rights under UK consumer protection law or Pakistani constitutional rights.

The Service integrates third-party platforms such as Google Meet, Supabase, and Mailgun. Use of these services is subject to their own terms and privacy policies. We are not responsible for outages, errors, or data breaches originating from these providers.

We may terminate or suspend your access immediately, without notice, for:

• Breach of these Terms
• Fraudulent or unethical activity
• Misuse of the system or data

Upon termination, you may lose access to stored content or submission data.

• The laws of Pakistan for users based in or accessing from Pakistan
• The laws of England and Wales for users accessing from the UK

All disputes shall be resolved under the appropriate jurisdiction depending on the user’s location and institutional affiliation.

We reserve the right to update these Terms at any time. Updated versions will be posted with an effective date. Continued use of the Service constitutes your agreement to the revised terms.

Email: support@loksahaita.org

Website: https://stsportal.loksahaita.org/contact