New beginnings: 1,100 graduates of Sukkur IBA awarded degrees at its first convocation

Two bronze medals, three silver medals and 23 gold medals were awarded to position holders.

SUKKUR:

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah awarded degrees and medals to 1,100 graduates of the Sukkur Institute of Business Administration (IBA) who had passed their degree programmes since the institute's inception in 1994 at its first convocation held on Saturday.

Two bronze medals, three silver medals and 23 gold medals were awarded to the position holders from the disciplines of business administration, computer science and electrical engineering. Of the 214 graduates who attended the ceremony, 126 students were from Bachelor's programmes and 88 from Master's programmes.

The programme started with the declaration of opening the convocation formally followed by the arrival of the academic procession in the convocation hall. In the department of business administration, Sofia Ansari, Farzana Shamim, Nisha Kumari, Nadia, Pinkey, Inder Kumar, Sofia Ansari, Muhammad Azeem, Rizwan Ahmed, Farzana Shamim, Nahdiya Majeed, Kanwal Fatima, Sonia Kumari, Mohammad Fahim Qasim, Shumaila Shaikh, Naveed, Ghulam Mustafa stood first in their batches and were awarded gold medals. In the same department, Kelash Raja and Asim Shabir secured the second position and were awarded silver medals, while Khurram Shahzad and Qasim Ali Shah were awarded bronze medals for clinching the third position in their batches.

Javeria, Fahad Ahmed Khan, Shoaib Rehman from the electrical engineering department were awarded gold medals for bagging the first position in their respective batches. Adnan Ahmed was awarded a silver medal for securing the second position in his batch. Muhammad Danish Ilyas, Fabeha Waqar, Muhammad Asif Khan from the department of computer science were awarded gold medals for securing the first positions in their respective batches.

It is a matter of pride that the Sukkur Institute of Business Administration has become a leading institution within a short span of time, said Shah while speaking as a chief guest on the first convocation of the institute.

According to him, Sukkur IBA is a success story for other institutes. "It was my dream to see this institute attain such heights. It was only possible under the able guidance of the institute's director Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui and the faculty." Sukkur, he said, is the hub of business activities as it is situated at the junction of three provinces and, in this city, an institute like Sukkur IBA is a blessing.

Addressing students of the Sukkur IBA, Shah said that one day they will have to lead the affairs of this institute. "I am happy to see that a large number of students at Sukkur IBA hail from underprivileged backgrounds. Now, it is their responsibility to support poor families and prove to be an asset for the country."

Siddiqui, in his speech, talked about the deteriorating education system and how the Sukkur IBA is trying to act as a beacon of hope. Sukkur IBA, he said, had become a degree-awarding institute in the year 2006. The institute was ranked the third best business school in the country by the Higher Education Commission in 2013. "Our next goal is to become the top business school in the world. For others, sky is the limit, but for us sky is just the first stop," he said.

Since its establishment, 17 batches have graduated from Sukkur IBA. "We have launched a Talent Hunt Programme, under which 300 students obtain free education, books and a monthly stipend of Rs3,000."

Besides this, he said, they run four community colleges in Khairpur, Naushero Feroze, Dadu and Jacobabad. A large number of students in Upper Sindh and parts of Balochistan and Punjab seek education at the institute, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2014.