Tag: (IBA)

Karachi, October 09, 2021 (PPI-OT): Dr. Faisal Nazir, Visiting Faculty, Departments of Management and Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, School of Business Studies, has authored a book titled, ‘Orientalism Post 9/11: Pakistani Anglophone Fiction in an Age of Terror’. The book is published by the Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi.

The book emphasizes the need to deconstruct the biased and stereotypical representations of Islam and Muslims that have been widely circulated in the media as well as in scholarly and academic discourses since 2001, noting the resurgence of orientalist discourse in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. The book explores how far and how effectively Pakistani Anglophone writers may confront and dispute stereotypical depictions.

For more information, contact:
Executive, Communication and Public Affairs,
Institute of Business Administration Karachi (IBA)
Main Campus: University Road, Karachi – 75270, Pakistan
UAN: +92-21-111-422-422 (Ext. 269)
Fax: +92-21-99261508
Email: raza.lakhani@khi.iba.edu.pk
Website: https://www.iba.edu.pk

Karachi, October 07, 2021 (PPI-OT):Ms. Fatima Ijaz, Visiting Faculty, Department of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, School of Economics and Social Sciences, conducted a zoom session with renowned writer Mr. Aamer Hussein for the students of her English Grammar and Composition (EGC) class at IBA. Mr. Hussein is a critic, columnist, novelist and short story writer. The talk delved into the career of Hussein, his thoughts on fictional writing, role of imagination in writing, importance of writing, the art of writing lyrics and other engaging debates.

Mr. Hussein explained the importance of writing. He emphasized that writing is as important as reading and we are surrounded by all types of texts and engage with them from a very early age. In order to read, we have to write, reading and writing play an important role in making sense of our actions and reactions.

The class comprised of young, aspiring writers who thoroughly enjoyed the talk and engaged with the author. Sharing her thoughts, Ms. Ijaz remarked that a session with an established scholar will aid the students in their learning journey. The session concluded with Mr. Hussein sharing his experience as a writer, describing it as paradoxical and himself as someone who ‘bears witness to what he sees and feels.’

For more information, contact:
Executive, Communication and Public Affairs,
Institute of Business Administration Karachi (IBA)
Main Campus: University Road, Karachi – 75270, Pakistan
UAN: +92-21-111-422-422 (Ext. 269)
Fax: +92-21-99261508
Email: raza.lakhani@khi.iba.edu.pk
Website: https://www.iba.edu.pk

Karachi, October 07, 2021 (PPI-OT):The IBA Karachi is pleased to announce that its students from the BS Computer Science program, Murtaza Kazmi (Team Lead), Ammar Lakho, and Kapil Kodwani have won the silver medal in the International Collegiate Programming Competition (ICPC), held at Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute.

The IBA team participated under the supervision of Dr. Imran Rauf, Assistant Professor, School of Mathematics and Computer Science. ICPC is considered among the oldest and most prestigious programming competitions, where the IBA students competed against more than 20 teams from all over Pakistan and succeeded with flying colours.

For more information, contact:
Executive, Communication and Public Affairs,
Institute of Business Administration Karachi (IBA)
Main Campus: University Road, Karachi – 75270, Pakistan
UAN: +92-21-111-422-422 (Ext. 269)
Fax: +92-21-99261508
Email: raza.lakhani@khi.iba.edu.pk
Website: https://www.iba.edu.pk

Karachi, September 29, 2021 (PPI-OT):The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi will hold its Convocation 2020 on October 02, 2021 to confer degrees to the graduating batch of 849 students (585 undergraduates from six programs, 263 postgraduates from eight programs, and one PhD candidate).

Convocation 2020 was postponed last year due to the global pandemic and is now being held in 2021. Adhering to the guidelines of the National Command Operation Center (NCOC) and Universities and Boards Department, Government of Sindh, the number of participants will be limited and only the graduating students will attend the ceremony. The Convocation will be livestreamed so that the family members of the graduating batch can join the celebrations virtually.

The Chief Guest of the ceremony will be Chief Minister of Sindh and Patron IBA, Syed Murad Ali Shah. Veteran actor and recipient of the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Mr. Zia Mohyeddin will be attending as Guest of Honour. This year a few of the medals and awards have been sponsored by the corporate sector and philanthropists, including Martin Dow, Pakistan Beverage Limited, PepsiCo, Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC), The Bank of Punjab, Pakistan State Oil (PSO), The Razia Bhatti Memorial Initiative (RBMI) and Aftab Associates.

Moreover, KFC has generously provided 4,000 coupons. With over 6 decades of legacy, the IBA has achieved prominence across national and international platforms due to the quality of its graduates and esteemed faculty, which is well versed in numerous disciplines, with more than 60% faculty members holding a PhD degree.

For more information, contact:
Executive, Communication and Public Affairs,
Institute of Business Administration Karachi (IBA)
Main Campus: University Road, Karachi – 75270, Pakistan
UAN: +92-21-111-422-422 (Ext. 269)
Fax: +92-21-99261508
Email: raza.lakhani@khi.iba.edu.pk
Website: https://www.iba.edu.pk

Karachi, September 18, 2021 (PPI-OT):The Faculty members of the Department of Economics, School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS), and the Center of Business and Economics Research (CBER) at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi launched a book titled, The State of Pakistan’s Economy: During the Pandemic and Beyond 2021-22. Following its tradition of the last two years, the faculty of the Department of Economics analyzed the state of Pakistan’s economy in the backdrop of the federal budget 2021-22. The analyses culminated into a book which was launched at the IBA Karachi, Main Campus. Attendees included members from the academia, media, corporate sector, the IBA faculty, students and alumni.

The book was launched through a panel discussion featuring Dr. Mubarik Ahmed, Technical Specialist in Agricultural Policies; Dr. Waqar Masood Khan, former Advisor to the Prime Minister on Revenue; and Professor Dr. Samina Khalil, Director, Applied Economics Research Centre, University of Karachi. The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. S Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director, IBA Karachi and Dr. Asma Hyder, Dean, School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS).

Dr. Zaidi welcomed the panellists and the guests and introduced the contents of the book. On the fiscal space he added that FBR met its targets due to devaluation of rupee and duties on import. The co-moderator of the session, Dr. Hyder, shed light on the thought process behind the book by sharing that it was Dr. Zaidi’s idea that the faculty of Economics Department should come forward in facilitating the government and policymakers for providing scholarly input on economic issues.

Dr. Waqar congratulated IBA’s faculty on publishing the book which has insightful chapters. He further mentioned that people will await the publication if IBA publishes it periodically and in a timely manner. The analyses presented in the book cover a broad range of aspects of Pakistan’s macroeconomic policy. It presents the future landscape of the economy. It provides an assessment of the budget performance in 2020-21 and analyzes the outlook of fiscal policy for 2021-22. It discusses the State Bank of Pakistan’s response to various demand and supply-side shocks during the last two decades.

Dr. Ahmed shared with the audience that the book rightly highlights that Pakistan’s agricultural policies are in a primitive stage of development. The book focuses on the prospects of regaining the trade competitiveness in the post-Covid-19 scenario and growth and trade prospects in view of the Business Confidence Index. It analyzes the sectoral issues related to construction, energy, and agriculture, respectively and the effects of Covid-19 on the labour market. It covers the state of education during the pandemic, the youth bulge, and opportunities.

Lastly, it provides a snapshot of social protection in Pakistan in the wake of the pandemic. Dr. Khalil underscored the need to include environmental and health economics in economic discussions. The purpose of this publication is to provide scholarly input to various stakeholders, including but not limited to, policymakers, development practitioners, researchers, and the business community.

For more information, contact:
Executive, Communication and Public Affairs,
Institute of Business Administration Karachi (IBA)
Main Campus: University Road, Karachi – 75270, Pakistan
UAN: +92-21-111-422-422 (Ext. 269)
Fax: +92-21-99261508
Email: raza.lakhani@khi.iba.edu.pk
Website: https://www.iba.edu.pk

Karachi, September 18, 2021 (PPI-OT):The IBA Karachi organized a discourse on ‘Industry-Academia Linkages – Why and How?’ at the IBA City Campus. This was the second session conducted under the dialogue series ‘CEO Forum’. The discussion was moderated by Dr. S Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director, IBA Karachi who was in conversation with corporate leaders, including Ms. Jehan Ara, Founder and CEO, Katalyst Labs and Mr. Raza Pirbhai, CEO, KFC Pakistan. Attendees included industrialists, students, faculty, media personnel, academicians and members from the corporate sector.

Commencing the session, Dr. Zaidi inquired the speakers about how to bridge the gap between the academia and the industry. And how the academia can provide solutions to the industry and the challenges associated with it. Sharing her expertise, Ms. Jehan opined that a good foundation of education must be laid at university level. But the main skillset is developed once an individual is employed and, on the job, learning and training takes place. She also said that the IT industry needs trained personnel and currently there is a lack of such human resources.

Reflecting on his vast industry experience, Mr. Pirbhai stated that universities cannot keep up with rapid industrial changes and requirements. He said that the era of only obtaining a degree from renowned universities had passed and in today’s world, one needs eagerness to learn and adaptability to change. “Leading universities produce good quality talent, but external elements including technology are changing rapidly and therefore universities are facing a challenge of keeping up with the industry’s requirements”, said Mr. Pirbhai.

Ms. Jehan Ara stated that technology is just a tool and that currently, platforms including MIT and Coursera offer free courses and students should utilize this opportunity to strengthen their skillset. “Universities have to teach their students to update themselves and be ready to learn new things and be equipped to meet the ever-evolving work environment”, she said. And further emphasized that IBA has a good faculty from the industry but that is not enough as students and universities need to work together to update students.

Mr. Pirbhai spoke about the role of internships and how a structured internship program helps mentor students to adapt to today’s work environment. Dr. Zaidi opined that universities have the capacity to adapt as compared to school curricula. He stated that universities update their teaching modules periodically to keep up with the evolving trends and practices. Dr. Zaidi also inquired the speakers about how they found the role of women in their respective industries.

Ms. Jehan Ara said, “The performance and the curiosity to learn is much higher among women. Out of 9 employees in my team, 7 are women and they were selected on merit. Many companies now want to hire women and are also offering day care facilities and flexible hours to accommodate them”. She said the IT industry wants more female employees.

Mr. Pirbhai agreed that women demonstrate exceptional commitment and that KFC is playing its role in making the work environment conducive for women, and even has an only women-run restaurant in Lahore. Dr. Zaidi asked the speakers what academia needs to change to be more relevant to the industry’s requirements.

Mr. Pirbhai stated that a structured platform needs to be established where the academia and industry can jointly decide the best practices and teaching methodologies to teach and train the students for the ever-evolving work environment. Ms. Jehan Ara said that we need to make the environment safe for women to work and universities have a role to play here as students taught respect towards the opposite gender will carry it forward to their workplaces. The conversation culminated with an emphasis on the academia and industry to collaborate to overcome the divide between the two. The dialogue concluded with a Q and A session between the speakers and the audience.

For more information, contact:
Executive, Communication and Public Affairs,
Institute of Business Administration Karachi (IBA)
Main Campus: University Road, Karachi – 75270, Pakistan
UAN: +92-21-111-422-422 (Ext. 269)
Fax: +92-21-99261508
Email: raza.lakhani@khi.iba.edu.pk
Website: https://www.iba.edu.pk