KARACHI: Second day of the 5th Deans and Directors Annual Conference started off with a panel discussion that revolved around “Sustainable Business Schools in Challenging Times” and addressed notions of how globalization and market forces are impacting business world.
The panel was moderated by Dr. Huma Baqai, Associate Dean of Institute of Business Administration (IBA), and consisted of eminent speakers such as Dr. Farrukh Iqbal, Dean and Director of IBA, Prof. Dr. Tahir Ali, Dean of Faculty of Management and Administrative Sciences at University of Karachi, Mr. Talib Syed Karim, President of the Institute of Business Management (IoBM), Dr. Wasim Kazi, Vice Chancellor of IQRA University, Ms. Seema Mughal, Vice Chancellor of Greenwich University, and Dr. Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui, Vice Chancellor of Sukkur IBA.
Commenting on the changing market needs, Dr. Farrukh Iqbal, Dean and Director of IBA, said, “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 program duration. They also imply that regulations pertaining to business schools must change to allow the needed flexibility.”
Workshops on the second day included capacity building relating to refining peer review skills and deans along with seminars delivered by Dr. Christophe Terrasse, Director of Projects European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), Stephen Sacca, CEO of Global Business School Networks, USA, Mr. Jean-Baptiste Maillard, Manager International Projects Department at European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), Belgium, and Mr. Javed Hamid, Senior Advisor at International Executive Service Corps, USA. 5th Deans and Directors Annual Conference, organized by National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC) of Higher Education Commission (HEC), commenced on 5th February in Karachi.
The first day of the conference had plenary sessions and workshops that addressed 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 actualizing 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 5th Deans and Directors Annual conference was chaired by Chairman NBEAC, Dr. Hasan Sohaib Murad, while Governor Sindh, Mr. Mohammad Zubair graced the conference with his presence as the Chief Guest. Concluding with the 19th NBEAC Council meeting, the conference showcased well-structured plenary sessions, capacity development workshops and quality service seminars.