KARACHI: As many as 1,249 graduates were awarded degrees in business management and allied disciplines as the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) held its 24th Convocation on Saturday.
Governor Sindh Imran Ismail was the Chief Guest while Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, Minister of State and Chairman Board of Investment (BoI) Pakistan were the guest of honour. The keynote speaker was Amir Paracha, Chairman and CEO, Unilever Pakistan. Present on the occasion were IoBM’s Chancellor, Bashir Janmohammad; Members of the Board of Governors; President, Talib S Karim; Executive Director, Sabina Mohsin; Rector, Dr Tariq Rahim Soomro; Deans, Heads of Academic Departments, and members of the convocation committee.
During his speech, Governor Sindh Imran Ismail said that Pakistan faces significant challenges in the area of providing purposeful, superior quality education for the youth of this country. He said that efforts were being made to restructure education under the national education policy framework.
He was confident that the IoBM graduates would use their acquired learning to face all of life’s challenges and enable them to give their best at every step of the way. Ismail added that in three and a half years as governor, he saw more than 80 percent of the gold medals getting clinched by women in convocations across the province.
In the convocation, 14 gold medals out of a total of 16, were won by women. “But they don’t climb the career ladder. Many of them leave their careers and get into family chores,” he said. “I would request they should not do this. They should work on their careers. Otherwise, they are not justifying their achievements and they are not doing a service to the country,” he added.
Muhammad Azfar Ahsan in his address advised students to pursue all activities with honesty, loyalty, and a sound sense of judgment. He asked the graduates to explore the world around them and become a helping hand for those who were facing tough times.
He added that the times ahead would be challenging because of how the pandemic has altered our lives. He was confident that the graduates’ insights acquired during classroom lectures and experience gained while pursuing jobs or completing internships would guide them towards success.
During his keynote address, Amir Paracha said that behind success there were failures, success and vulnerabilities. “Your dream can evolve and change and it is often important to listen to intuition.”
He advised students to continue dreaming, to be curious, to keep learning and to remain humble. Paracha said that a person’s dream might shatter, but there could be more than one dream and dreams evolve too. He gave his example and said that he wanted to go into the Air Force but couldn’t yet he was successful in other dreams.
President IoBM, Talib S Karim during his speech said that IoBM was continuing its focus on research and development as faculty members were effectively pursuing their research objectives. He added that IoBM’s academic collaboration with universities abroad was also strengthened in 2021.
IoBM is connected with 68 universities in Europe, Asia and the US. He further added that IoBM management envisions transforming the institute into a tech-driven campus within the next two years.
During his welcome address, Bashir Janmohammad said that graduates should be grateful to their parents for their selfless devotion. He paid tribute to IoBM’s Late Founder President, Shahjehan S Karim for his devotion to provide quality education. He advised graduates to dream big and have a vision in life. He advised the graduates to work hard, be honest, and to create jobs by establishing startups.
“I would request you to please start doing new things, new startups, new businesses and if you work hard, you will never fail,” Janmohammad said. “And don’t go for shortcuts, which are very popular in Pakistan.”
The Valedictorian, Ishma Ghazanfar (BBA Honours/Gold Medalist), during her speech, recalled her journey at IoBM, especially the classes taken from home during the pandemic. She advised students that whatever they wish to do in life, they should do it well.
Abdul Moizz (BS-Social Entrepreneurship and Social Leadership) was the Students Commencement Speaker. He shared that IoBM provided students with countless opportunities to build connections. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, our student exchange programme continued through which so many of us have had the privilege of studying in top-ranked universities all around the globe.
Gold medals were awarded to 16 students while 37 graduates received merit certificates. Among the graduating class were BBA-Honors (366), BS (254), MBA (562), MS/MPhil (39), and PhD (9) candidates.
