"The Future Summit"

October 24: The Dean and Director IBA, Dr. Farrukh Iqbal addressed the audience at 'The Future Summit' on the topic of 'Industry and Academia Linkages' where he highlighted the need for pedagogical tools to be tailored according to the Industry requirements to understand the new market dynamics and take the lead in business world.

The two-day conference held under theme of 'Leadership in The Digital Economy' focused on discussing challenges in today's digital era and ways to be successful in it. The program congregated various national and international corporate leaders and industry experts who had a dialogue on how to excel in this digital era.

Dean and Director IBA Dr. Farrukh Iqbal mentioned how IBA hires visiting faculty with a rich industry experience so the students can get insights about the real business world. However, the requirements set by Higher Education Commission warrants that the faculty members should hold a PHD degree. This hinders the harmony between industry and academia. According to Dr. Farrukh, the IBA plans to engage with HEC on this matter to reach to a positive conclusion.

Dr. Farrukh told the audience that recruitment/internship drives and career fairs allow the students to interact with companies' representatives and help them prepare for the professional world. He also stressed on the importance of consultancy firms like McKinsey in Pakistan that provides a greater degree of assistance to companies abroad but not here.

The dialogue on industry and academia linkages constituted the sixth session of the day moderated by CEO Jaffer Business Systems, Mr. Syed Veqar ul Islam. Managing Director Siemens Pakistan, Mr. Helmut Von Struve was the first speaker who highlighted the efforts of Siemens in encouraging innovation and creativity among students. He said that they have invested 600 million Euros in education and recently organised a science fair for Dawood Public students.

Chairman Kansai Paints, Mr. Agha Zafar Abbas addressed the audience by pointing out a fact that students in Pakistan have limited study options, financial limitations and difficulty in securing a stable job. He suggested that industry should play its role by keeping the students updated with the employment trends and opportunities through social media forums. Mr. Talib S. Karim, President Institute of Business Management also accentuated on appointing faculty according to the student needs.

Some eminent faculty members of IBA also participated in the Summit with keen interest.

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