KARACHI: IBA Karachi steers into a new direction from being one of the leading business administration institutes to one of the best multidisciplinary institutes of higher learning in the country. IBA’s Retreat was held after the formation of three schools and the appointment of three permanent deans for each school. The IBA Retreat 2022 was organised at a local hotel in Karachi from June 28 -29, 2022 under the leadership of Dr S Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director, IBA Karachi, who invited key stakeholders from IBA, along with prominent experts and strategists from academia, to participate in the development of IBA’s future vision.

IBA Karachi has gone through tremendous transformations to become a multidisciplinary teaching and research institution. Three full-fledged schools have been formed – namely the School of Business Studies (SBS), School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS), and School of Mathematics and Computer Science (SMCS) – a number of new degree programs have been launched, policy and regulatory frameworks have been put in place, various research and professional development centres have been established to cater to the emerging needs in order to adapt to the ever changing local and global dynamics.

The purpose of the Retreat 2022 was to remain abreast with the recent trends, ideas, while envisioning the role of the IBA in the socio-economic development of the country and lay the foundation for a concentrated journey to achieve IBA’s vision.

The key pillars for the Retreat were identified as: meaningful and impactful research, innovation culture, alignment of academic programs with global trends and market needs, enhanced role of professional development centres, accreditations, quality faculty, academic/industrial linkages, and overall financial sustainability of the IBA.

The leadership aspect reflected upon the newly appointed full-time deans who will lead their respective schools on the academic and research fronts – enabled by a revamped Office of the Registrar which will provide administrative, technological and logistical support. Various steering and monitoring committees are in place to ensure accountability across the board.

The infrastructural and technological development side included, the solar energy project, faculty apartments, new girls’ hostel, state-of-the-art digital IBA project, and overall revitalisation of the campuses.

The event was attended by a large number of IBA faculty members, staff, senior leadership including Dr S Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director; Dr Asad Ilyas, Registrar, Dr Wajid H Rizvi, Dean, SBS, Dr Abdullah Sheikh, Dean-elect, SBS, Dr Asma Hyder, Dean, SESS, Dr Shakeel Khoja, Dean, SMCS, and Dr Maheen Ghouri, Dean, Student Affairs.

Dr Tariq Banuri, former Chairman Higher Education Commission, Dr Syed Zahoor Hassan, Professor and former Vice Chancellor, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Dr Jawad Syed, Professor, LUMS, Jawwad Farid, Chief Executive Officer, Alchemy Technologies, and Rami Awad, Regional Manager, QS Quacquarelli Symonds, also participated in the event and highlighted the future role of universities in the development of society and economy.—PR