HAPPENINGS

SZABIST Karachi Campus recently organised an International Conference on interdisciplinary research in Management, Education and Social Sciences. Revolving around the theme of "New Horizons for data driven world: Challenges, Initiatives and Opportunities", the conference showcased current research and critical discourse on the importance and demand for digitalisation and data management.

Eminent scholar and economist, Prof. Dr. Raja Radish, from University of Malaya, spoke about the economic challenges and Industrial Revolution 4.0 and how Pakistan should respond to them. Another researcher, Dr. Maria Dos Santose of Institute University of Lisbon, Portugal, shed light on the opportunities and challenges to the world with respect to Big Data and AI.

Elaborating the theme with the corporate tracks and panel discussions, the conference provided a collaborative platform for policy makers from HEC, local industrialists and academicians to figure out the implications of digitalisation in logistics and transport, applied linguistics, higher education , andragogy, academia-industry-government for sustainability through an interactive dialogue proposing possibilities for sustainable development in diverse business and economic environment of Pakistan.

SiMERGE ’20 – preparing leaders for the business world

The Karachi School of Business & Leadership (KSBL) hosted its annual three-day Harvard business case study and simulation competition SiMERGE last week. The competition included solving Harvard business case studies and business simulations to help participants sharpen their business acumen and analytic decision-making skills. The competition covers various areas including marketing, finance, supply chain, strategy and HR.

“SiMERGE is truly a unique business competition; the Harvard case studies and simulations challenge students to think outside of the box and channel whatever they have previously learned into a more real-life context.” Dr. Zeeshan Ahmed, Dean, KSBL shared with Us.

12 teams from LUMS, Barrett Hodgson, IoBM, IBA, Bahria University, ICAP, PAF-KIET participated.

The teams were judged on the basis of different rounds and also prepared presentations for an external panel of judges. The first place was awarded to LUMS C (LUMS). Team Envisionist (IBA) came second, while LUMS B (LUMS) and Team Juggernauts (ICAP) came third. Team Fear This Squad (Barrett Hodgson University) was awarded an honorary mention.

Students who participate at SiMERGE ‘20 share their opinions about the event:

“What I really learned at this competition is in order to ensure that your business is profitable, you must take care of every aspect, whether it’s marketing, human resources or finances.” (Muddassir Khan, ICAP)

“SiMERGE proved to be a motivating competition for me. I was not the person who was ready to opt for MBA but now I am really thinking of pursuing it.” (Ramsha Tariq, PAF-KIET)