Institute of Business Administration

Taking responsibility of becoming Director of ICT Department at IBA Karachi was a tough choice. Providing ICT services to the institution as huge as IBA is never an easy task. I wanted to bring automation to IBA which had been performing its critical functions manually. My team burned midnight oil and implemented state-of-the-art campus management system making IBA carry out its most of the functions with minimum human interference.

The disruption that technology has been bringing is tremendous as well as horrible as we Pakistanis have been lagging a lot behind from rest of the world. There is acute shortage of the institutions which impart quality education in the 'not so touched' areas of IT such as data analytics and ERP. I dreamt of founding a center at IBA Karachi which can fill this gap, hence, Center for Information & Communication Technology (CICT) came into being.

CICT offers diploma programs, short courses, workshops, and customized training programs in a wide range of IT trade. The diploma programs of CICT are practical-oriented while their course-work is carefully designed by academicians and industry-professionals considering the present and future demands of the industry. We have also been running government-funded youth skills development programs which aim at imparting free-of-cost quality education to those who don't have enough resources to afford. CICT has also been engaged with public sector to make the government employees better at serving people.

If you ask me who stops dreaming, then I would say, the dead ones. There is no full-stop to the dreams as long as you're alive. My bucket is full of dreams and I, with the help of my efficient and hard-working team, will give my full to make them true.

Before joining IBA in 2016, I was working as an editor at Express Tribune, a national English language daily. Centre for Excellence in Journalism (CEJ) and its mission to improve standards of journalism attracted me to join IBA. Hence, I jumped ships. I felt CEJ would play a significant role in improving journalism standards in the country. The targets for the project were three-fold: to build state-of-the-art studios and classrooms, to train working journalists and to start an unparalleled Masters in Journalism program. By far, IBA has achieved all these goals and is now working to improve further.

People describe IBA as a unique place to work, I believe IBA differentiates itself on the basis of faculty. Students not only learn from the knowledge of teachers but also through the years practical experiences that these faculty members.

Being associated with IBA since 2010, I initially joined as a visiting faculty; however, in 2014 I became a fulltime faculty member. I believe that the students at IBA make my job challenging and thought-provoking. IBA encourages learning and growth for faculty, staff, and students, similarly it has provided me with pre-requisites of learning and generating new innovative ideas. Furthermore, IBA has played a pivotal role in providing the right environment for achieving my career aspirations.

Work environment is always stressful, especially in the corporate world. There is a cut throat competition, hence one needs to be resilient. Joining IBA was a pleasant change from that environment. IBA has a relatively stress free yet challenging work environment and it allows its employees to have a work life balance.

At IBA, I have a diverse team; a few experienced players and a few fresh blood. It is just the right mix and I enjoy working with them and apart from work, I try to engage them in different activities to keep them motivated. The more happy and engaged a team is - the more it delivers.

Furthermore, IBA has massive brand equity in the market. Our alumni network is spread all over the world. People's inclination towards IBA is natural - be it for education, jobs, trainings or CSR activities. I knew about this massive brand loyalty and wanted to be a part of it, hence I joined IBA in 2017.