Karachi-The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi held its biggest convocation for the Class of 2021 and 2022 at the Main Campus to award degrees to 2067 graduates. The graduating batch included 988 graduates from the Class of 2021 and 1079 graduates from the Class of 2022; and 1496 undergraduate students from six programs, 564 postgraduate students from nine programs and seven PhD scholars from three programs.
Minister for Universities and Boards Department, Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development, Government of Sindh, Mr. Muhammad Ismail Rahoo; represented Chief Guest, Chief Minister of Sindh and Patron IBA, Syed Murad Ali Shah. President, Aga Khan University, Dr. Sulaiman Shahabuddin graced the ceremony as the Guest of Honor.
The Executive Director, IBA Karachi, Dr. S Akbar Zaidi congratulated the graduating students and said, “It makes me immensely happy to share that almost 40% of our graduates are young women and this number is steadily growing, which leads me to give a special mention to our first female PhD scholar in Mathematics, Dr. NazishKanwal. IBA is honored to nurture such skilled individuals and we take pride in empowering our women in every field.”
Highlighting IBA’s transformation from a business school to a multi-disciplinary institution, Dr. Zaidi added that “We are more than just a business school, we have expanded our disciplines and sent out graduates who have mastered diverse disciplines and today I extend my heartiest congratulations to the first cohort of MS Data Science and MS Management for excelling in their academic journeys and I expect the same excellence from them in their career trajectory.”
Dr. Zaidi added that IBA has established three autonomous schools with independent Deans. He said that it was a matter of pride that IBA being a public sector university is usually considered a private sector university as its educational standards are at par with private institutions.
Dr. Shahabuddin expressed his pleasure at being back at his alma mater. He credited IBA for the discipline and skills instilled in ensuring his professional success. Speaking about global warming and the role of youth, he stated, “It is your generation around the world that we see addressing global warming with the energy, creativity, and urgency it demands. We see young people building movements that are changing minds, spearheading sustainability initiatives and acting in their daily lives to reduce their impact on the environment. We see them reminding their elders, climate change is real, and it is already reshaping our world.” He urged the graduates to maintain their spirit and to thoughtfully address the many challenges we face in current times.
Mr. Rahoo stated that he was honored to celebrate the graduation day of the country’s future leaders. He commended IBA for being a leading institute of excellence and said, “There is a long list of notable IBA alumni who are transforming the world with their progressive leadership; around 120+ of them are CEOs, serving in leading roles around the globe.” He also appreciated IBA’s mandate of ensuring diversity and inclusivity by taking students from all socioeconomic backgrounds with the help of IBA’s Financial Aid Programs. Currently 35% of the IBA students receive some form of financial aid. He urged the graduates to achieve remarkable goals in life and to make the institution proud.
The convocation ceremony featured the position holders in various degree programs who were awarded cash prizes, medals, shields and certificates of merit. Alumni Mahoor Shahzad (Olympian and badminton player) and Rabia Shahzad (weightlifter) were awarded with ‘Excellence in Sports’ awards respectively.
