IBA’s Convocation 2014: A Celebration of Ongoing Excellence Karachi, 6 December, 2014: In the midst of a state of the art, revamped campus, IBA Karachi commemorated its annual convocation at IBA Main Campus. A total of 482 students were conferred degrees for the successful completion of various undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs. An audience of approximately 700 included proud parents, members of faculty, eminent personalities from academia, corporate and public sectors; Dean and Director IBA Karachi, Dr. Ishrat Husain, honorable Chief Guest - the President of Pakistan, Mr. Mamnoon Hussain and Governor of Sindh, Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan – Patron IBA. The convocation was declared open by Mr. Mamnoon Hussain. Addressing the jubilant audience on this auspicious occasion, Dr. Ishrat welcomed the guests and profusely thanked Mr. Mamnoon Hussain, Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan, Board of Governors, respected parents, donors and stakeholders for gracing the auspicious event with their presence. Dr. Ishrat said Convocation 2014 was an important milestone in IBA’s journey towards its goals of academic excellence. He thanked the Almighty Allah for IBA’s successful completion of its 5-year strategic plan (2009-2014), which is yet another reason to celebrate. He extended his thanks towards the faculty, Mr. Rehan ul Ambia – Director Projects, the management, students, donors and alumni for the integral roles they played towards the completion of this landmark achievement. He also thanked Dr. Eshrat ul Ebad for always supporting IBA in its endeavours. Extending his congratulations to the IBA students, Dr, Ishrat said, ‘IBA has equipped you well to face the choppy waters of the world but you should not be complacent and should not look for shortcuts to reach the top. Instead all of you should strive to make your place in your related organizations and in the society as a whole through your diligence, exemplary character and competencies.’ He also informed the audience that 88% of BBA graduates have been offered jobs just after 5 months of graduating. The remaining percentage are persuing higher studies or are in the process of negotiations. Shedding light upon expansion of programs, he said the most significant change at IBA is the diversification of IBA from a Business School to a broad based institution of higher learning. IBA now offer degree programs in Social Science and Liberal Arts, Accounting and Finance, Economics and Mathematics in addition to Computer Sciences. These offerings have been possible due to the satisfactory attainment of three other pillars of the strategic plan; physical infrastructure development, technology up gradation and faculty development. Dr. Ishrat also said, ‘We have completed 10 new buildings & facilities and remodeled and expanded 13 existing buildings, thus more than doubling the space available for classrooms, seminar rooms, laboratories, library, faculty offices, hostel accommodation etc. and we envision that for the next 10 years IBA will not require any additional large infrastructure projects as sufficient infrastructure is in place and the automation of internal processes have improved the overall efficiency and services standards.’ Dr. Ishrat proudly said that not only has there been an increase in the number of Full time faculty from 70 to 100, the number of PhD faculty has also reached 50 as compared to only 19 five years ago. In addition, about 20 faculty members are pursuing PhD/DBA programs at universities abroad or nationally. Consequently, the student enrolment at IBA has risen from 1800 to 3400 during last five years, the increase in student enrolment has strengthened the Institute’s financial situation. The dependence on external sources of financing has been drastically reduced. Concluding his address, Dr Ishrat said, ‘we are not complacent with what we have been able to achieve. There are many challenges that we face. Attracting, retaining and motivating high caliber faculty possessing teaching and research competencies remains a formidable goal. Attracting a large number of talented but poor students from the backward districts of Pakistan remains a priority. Our Strategy 2020, which is currently under formulation will hopefully address these issues.’ An honorary degree of Doctorate in Management was conferred to Mr. Mamnoon Hussain by Dr. Eshrat ul Ebad. Addressing the audience, Mr. Mamnoon Hussain said it was a pleasure to attend this ceremony of his Alma Mater and words couldn’t express how proud he felt at IBA’s numerous achievements, be it the expansion of infrastructure or the accumulation of high caliber faculty. He said ever since its inception IBA has been striving to provide quality education and it’s heartening to see how far IBA has come from the days that he was a student. Addressing the students he said, ‘All of you are future leaders, who have great responsibilities in the face of global challenges like terrorism and competition. You have to strive above the challenges through merit, diligence, humanity and integrity. This degree from this renowned institution is an honour for you but don’t be boastful of your achievements, instead strive hard through your hard work to make it to the very top. Thank God for what he has bestowed upon you and give back to the country’. He also urged all the donors to keep donating generously to IBA as it is one institution that is serving the people of Pakistan well. This year the Best Teacher Award was awarded to Dr, Framji Minwalla- Chairperson Social Sciences & Liberal Arts Department. The Best Researcher Award was presented to Dr. Shakeel Khoja. Mr. Mamnoon Hussain, along with Dr. Ishrat and Dr. Eshrat ul Ebad distributed medals, awards and shields to the high achievers to celebrate dedication in their respective disciplines. Each gold medalist received PKR 10,000, thanks to Indus Motors. The Institute also gave prizes to twenty one best performers amongst its dedicated staff that are the part and parcel of IBA. Outstanding Achievers were as Follows: 1) Overall Best Student – Graduate Program: Saad Alam (MBA- Fall 2012/ Spring 2013) 2) Overall Best Student – Undergraduate Program: Maria Ayub Silat (BBA- Fall 2010) 3) Overall Marketing Gold Medal: Mehwish Fatima ( MBA- Fall 2012/ Spring 2013) 4) EMBA Gold Medal: Syed Khurram Shahid 5) Overall Finance Gold Medal: Saad Alam (MBA- Fall 2012/ Spring 2013) 6) CS Project Gold Medal: Abdun Nafay Qureshi, Mirza Mohammad Taimoor, Munib Mir 7) Best Student Society/ Club of the Year: Public Speaking Society (Patron- Ms. Nadiya Sayeed)
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 05:35:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015