Stepping stone: 695 future leaders graduate from IBA

About 12 students were awarded gold medals

KARACHI: As many as 695 students of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) received their undergraduate and graduate degrees on Saturday evening.

This was the largest batch of graduates in IBA's history so far. Attired in black gowns with mortarboards perched on their heads, the students gathered at the UBL Sports Arena at IBA's main campus to receive their degrees.

The chief guest at the ceremony was Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who was accompanied by education minister Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar. The audience consisted of proud parents, students, faculty members and distinguished personalities from the corporate, academic and public sectors.

Addressing the graduating batch, IBA, Karachi dean and director Dr Farrukh Iqbal praised the students' hard work. "[Your graduation is] a testament to the hard work you have put in over the past few years," he said, adding that the students have crossed big and small obstacles to arrive here.

The students have taken an average of 138 examinations to complete their degrees, remarked Dr Iqbal. Following this, degrees were conferred to students by Dr Iqbal and Shah.

Together, they also presented medals, shields and certificates to the high achievers to reward their hard work in their respective disciplines. The institute also rewarded its best performing staff members.

Praising IBA's unprecedented growth, Shah said, it has gradually matured from a business institute to one which offers many other disciplines. He also placed emphasis on practicality and following the core values of integrity, diligence and humility. By getting a degree from IBA, students are custodians of these values, he remarked.

The top institutes of the country are indebted to IBA for producing such outstanding leaders, he added.

Outstanding performances

About 12 gold medals were awarded to the students in overall best graduate in all faculties, including business administration, computer science, marketing, and finance, among others.

Morial Shah was awarded the Best Teacher award, while Dr Nausheen Anwar was the recipient of the Best Researcher award. The award of the Best Student Society of the Year was given to the marketing club.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2016.