Orientation Ceremony IBA National Talent Hunt Program 2019

IBA to prepare 176 Underprivileged Students from across Pakistan for Admissions Test

June 11, 2019: The orientation ceremony of IBA- Ihsan Trust National Talent Hunt Program (IBA-IT NTHP) was held at the Gani Tayub auditorium, IBA main campus. Attendees included faculty and administration members as well as representatives from Ihsan Trust.

IBA-IT NTHP is a fully funded two-month orientation training program, jointly financed by Ihsan Trust and IBA Karachi. The program initiated in 2004 and aims to eradicate the educational inequality in Pakistan by providing educational opportunities to underprivileged students from Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & FATA, Gilgit Baltistan, Punjab, Sindh and Azad Kashmir, in order to prepare them for the Institute's admission processes of BBA and BS degree programs. The orientation aims to inculcate both soft skills as well as academic knowledge in students to ensure that they are groomed for their future careers.

The ceremony commenced with the recitation of the holy Quran by alumna NTHP Program Ramsha Yaseen. A welcome speech was given by Director THP Program Dr. Zeenat Ismail, who welcomed and announced the batch of 2019, which comprises of 176 students out of which 123 are boys and 53 are girls. These students belong to 69 different districts in Sindh, Baluchistan, KPK, Giligit Baltistan and Sindh.

Addressing the students, General Manager Administration IBA Amir Shabbir emphasized on the discipline of IBA and its core values.

Prominent NTHP alumni including Rabia Basri, Nadeem Hussain and Ramsha Yaseen shared their success stories and praised the program for transforming their lives for the better.

SEVP Ihsan Trust Ahmed Ali Siddiqui highlighted the importance of making use of this excellent opportunity provided by NTHP. Mr. Siddiqui said that, "Being selected here is the first step, there are numerous steps ahead and you should prepare yourself for them".

Executive Director IBA Dr. Farrukh Iqbal highlighted the three main challenges that educational progress faces in Pakistan; awareness, preparation and finances - all of which the IBA is striving to address through the NTHP Program. He also emphasized on the importance for such programs, to bridge the economic inequality in Pakistan.

Other keynote speakers included Acting Vice Chancellor, University of Karachi Prof. Dr. Khalid M. Iraqi, Advisor to Akhuwat Syed Hussain Hyder and GM Ihsan Trust Fayyaz Ur Rehman. Furthermore, faculty members leading the program were also introduced and the session culminated with a campus tour for all the students. Dr. Iqbal presented the keynote speakers with tokens of appreciation.