1,480 degrees awarded at IoBM’s 23rd convocation

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 23rd convocation of the Institute of Business Management (IoBM), Karachi, was held on Saturday in a hybrid format. As the varsity followed guidelines against mass gatherings, a total of 1,480 graduating students watched the ceremony via online streaming.

The chief guest of the ceremony was Sindh Governor Imran Ismail while the keynote speaker was Muhammad Ali Tabba, the chief executive officer of tue Lucky Cement Limited. Those who attended the ceremony included IoBM Chancellor Bashir Jan Mohammad, members of the board of governors, IoBM President Talib S Karim, Executive Director Sabina Mohsin, Rector Dr Syed Irfan Hyder, deans, heads of academic departments, members of the convocation committee, and PhD and MPhil graduates and Gold medallists for the year 2020.

During his welcome address, the chancellor advised the graduates to remain devoted to their duties, follow their vision, be honest and think about others as they achieve success in life and career. He added that the IoBM alumni should give back to their alma mater by becoming teachers and adding value to its endowment fund.

Sharing IoBM’s milestones achieved in 2019-20, the IoBM president shared the National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC) had recognized the CBM, a constituent of the IoBM, as a ‘W’ category business school. He also talked about the success of the IoBM Outreach Program, involvement of IoBM’s Alumni Association in various events, the varsity’s participation in a campaign to make green in collaboration with the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and the installation of a vertical farm on campus.

The valedictorian, Sana Ahmed Alvi (BBA-honors), received a gold medal for achieving the highest CGPA of 3.84. During her speech, she said the IoBM experience instilled in graduates the attitude of making a difference.

She added that the learning that she and her fellow graduates had acquired at the IoBM had equipped them with the ability to adapt to changes in life. Her advice for her fellow graduates was to strive for the welfare of others.

During his keynote address, Tabba advised the graduates to follow five keys to success – resolve, resilience, return, reimagination and reform. He said adaptability, speed and resilience are the pre-requisite for success. He emphasised the need for joining the sectors of manufacturing, agriculture, mining, tourism, export and others. He also recommended that graduates develop start-ups based on viable business ideas.

The governor was of the view that it was reassuring to see educational institutes in Pakistan, like the IoBM, offering quality education. He said the Pakistani students did not have the need to go abroad for higher studies as the degrees of Pakistani institutes were globally recognised.

Discussing the Pakistani economy, Ismail said the inflation had reduced from 12.6 per cent to 7.9 per cent while the tax collection by the Federal Board of Revenue had increased from Rs469 billion to Rs508 billion and exports grown from Rs1.99 billion to over Rs2.35 billion.

The governor claimed that Pakistan had achieved a surplus account after 17 years. He asked the graduates to trust their country as it was heading in the right direction. He added that the prime minister had faith in the youth of Pakistan and was offering them soft loans through the Kamyab Jawan Program. Under this initiative, youths were receiving a start-up loan of Rs25 million on soft terms, he said, advising the youth not to worry about finding jobs as they could become job creators.

The graduates received their degrees in business management and allied disciplines. Gold medals were awarded to 22 students. Of the graduating students, 370 were from BBA-honors, 365 from BS, 11 from BE electrical engineering, 280 from MBA-regular, 13 from MS, 18 from MPhil, and eight from PhD programmes. This was the IoBM’s largest graduating batch since the institute’s inception in 1995.