'Business schools should become more agile and flexible'

Deans, directors discuss ways to increase effectiveness of business education in Pakistan

KARACHI: The second day of the Fifth Deans and Directors Annual Conference started off with a panel discussion, 'Sustainable Business Schools in Challenging Times', which addressed notions of how globalisation and market forces are impacting the business world.

The panel was moderated by Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Associate Dean Dr Huma Baqai and consisted of eminent speakers, such as IBA Dean and Director Dr Farrukh Iqbal, Karachi University Dean of Faculty of Management and Administrative Sciences Prof Dr Tahir Ali, Institute of Business Management (IoBM) President Talib Syed Karim, Iqra University Vice-Chancellor Dr Wasim Kazi, Greenwich University Vice-Chancellor Seema Mughal and IBA Sukkur Vice-Chancellor Dr Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui.



Commenting on the changing market needs, Dr Iqbal said, "The rising costs and changing market needs imply that business schools should become more agile and flexible with respect to course content, teaching methods, faculty deployment and programme duration". Dr Iqbal added that regulations pertaining to business schools must change to allow flexibility.

Workshops on the second day included capacity building relating to refining peer review skills and deans, along with seminars delivered by European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Director of Projects Dr Christophe Terrasse, Global Business School Networks, US Chief Executive Officer Stephen Sacca, EFMD International Projects Manager Jean-Baptiste Maillard and International Executive Service Corps, US Senior Adviser Javed Hamid.

The Fifth Deans and Directors Annual Conference, organised by the National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC) of Higher Education Commission (HEC), commenced on February 5 in Karachi.



The first day of the conference had plenary sessions and workshops that addressed many topics. Designed to increase the effectiveness of business education in Pakistan, the conference brought together more than 100 deans and directors of national and international business schools to engage in strategic level discussions.

The conference is aimed at actualising its anticipated outcomes that include developing policy and process recommendations for aligning business education with local and global needs, identifying actions to meet the emerging challenges in business education to make it more relevant for Pakistan and recommending policy framework and actions for quality improvements in different areas of business education.

The two-day conference was chaired by NBEAC Chairperson Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad, while Governor Mohammad Zubair was the chief guest.



Concluding with the 19th NBEAC council meeting, the conference showcased well-structured plenary sessions, capacity development workshops and quality service seminars.