KARACHI, Nov 30, 2010: The Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi held its convocation on Tuesday, November 30, 2010, at the IBA Main Campus, University Road, Karachi. The convocation was celebrated in high-spirits with caps flying as 484 delighted students were awarded their degrees in the presence of the IBA dean and director, faculty members, patrons and parents. Justice Munib Akhtar, the Sindh High Court Judge and Chairman IBA board of governors,, graced the occasion with his presence as the chief guest. Numerous eminent personalities from the academia, corporate and public sectors also attended IBA’s convocation this year.

Justice Muneeb Akhtar congratulated the graduating students on their remarkable achievement. “Proud parents and class of 2010, Congratulations you did it!” exclaimed the chief guest jubilantly. He praised director IBA, Dr. Ishrat Husain, for the progress IBA has made under his exceptional leadership. “Indeed the last two years have witnessed phenomenal developments - goals promised stand achieved – what however is most heartening to note is that everything is being executed in a much planned manner strictly in accordance with the tenets of the strategy”, said the Justice. The Patron IBA further proclaimed that the new state of the art auditorium building, the illustrious faculty and the recent collaborations with foreign institution are all physical manifestations of the progress made at IBA which deserves the highest compliments.

Justice Akhtar reminded the graduates that studying at IBA is a privilege for them and now it’s time to contribute to the society and serve their country.

Dr. Ishrat Husain welcomed the guests. He commenced his speech with a prayer and tribute to Dr I. A. Mukhtar, the founder dean & director IBA who died last week. He said that Dr Mukhtar would always be remembered for his dynamic leadership and professional values that turned IBA into a prestigious institution. He also paid homage to the families of three IBA students Mohd Umer Khan, Owais Bin Laiq and Syed Ali Mujtaba who lost their lives in various tragic events during the year.

The director IBA was delighted to share IBA’s achievements over the last three years with the audience. He said that modern technology is a prerequisite in today’s education and in last one year IBA has brought in 500 latest PCs and has setup high speed internet connectivity to facilitate students in their research work. Talking about improvements in the physical infrastructure, he added that new academic blocks at both campuses have been completely renovated and fully equipped with modern facilities and state of the art infrastructure. The completion of the Main-Purpose Building and Auditorium at Main Campus, the new Cafeteria and Students’ Lounge at City Campus were other achievements the director was proud of.

Dr Ishrat further shared his vision of raising the stature of IBA to match the top business schools in the region and across the globe. He announced the introduction of the Dean’s List at IBA, a practice prevalent in leading universities around the world. He said that various projects were under way to expand IBA physically and academically.

Addressing the students, Director IBA stressed the importance of critical thinking and intelligence in problem solving and made it clear to the IBA graduates that the learning process should continue forever. He expressed his belief that the graduates will exhibit highest values of Integrity, Truthfulness, Merit, Discipline and Humility in their practical life and commitment to these values will make them successful in the long run. Finally, he urged the students that IBA degree is a privilege and hence it is their responsibility to use this privilege for making the society a better place.

Dr. Ishrat Husain also talked about e-learning facilities and systems introduced at IBA to make academic processes and services even more efficient. He praised IBA’s faculty and encouraged their involvement in academic and research endeavors at national and international level.

Around 484 students were awarded degrees including 187 BBA graduates, 53 MBA Direct graduates, 50 MBA Through BBA graduates, 41 MBA Tax Management graduates, 26 BBA-MIS graduates, 17 BS graduates, 32 MBA-MIS graduates, 12 MBA-MIS Evening graduates and 66 MBA Evening graduates. Apart from the conferment of degrees the IBA Karachi also awarded various medals to students with outstanding academic records.

Kanza Shahnawaz received the “Overall Best Student-Graduate Program” gold medal and Maimoona Tariq received the “Overall Best Student- Undergraduate Program” gold medal. The “MBA Tax Management Program” gold medal was awarded to M. Ali Asad Khan, “Overall Marketing” gold medal was awarded to Madeeha Saeed Sheikh and the “Overall Finance” gold medal was awarded to Mahrukh Shakil. The pair of Taimoor Zubair and Sohaib Masood won the gold medal for the “Best BS/MIS Project” and the Community Welfare Society won the gold medal for the “Best Student Society of the Year”.