Bank Alfalah donates Rs 33m to IBA

Karachi, Bank Alfalah is going to donate Rs33 million to the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) to expand its Endowment Fund, according to the information.
 
For Bank Alfalah strengthening meaningful community causes and serving its role as a socially responsible corporation, remains a key priority, it said. Furthermore, within its wider community investments, education is a focal area, which the bank aspires to support as part of its social governance efforts in the country.
 
Atif Bajwa, chief executive officer of Bank Alfalah, said that it is a great pleasure for us to join hands with the IBA to improve access to quality education in Pakistan. Apart from financial support, it is expected that our employees can also play a meaningful volunteer role by adding value / mentoring students enrolled in the IBA’s MBA program.

IBA is the oldest business school outside North America. It was established in 1955 with initial technical support provided by the world famous Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania; later, the University of Southern California set up various facilities at the Institute and several prominent American professors were assigned to the IBA.

The course contents, the curriculum, the pedagogical tools and the assessment and testing methods were developed under the guidance of reputed scholars from these two institutions. IBA has jealously guarded the high standards and academic traditions it had inherited from Wharton and USC while adapting and adjusting them with the passage of time. A large number of Pakistani faculty members received advanced degrees from Wharton and the University of Southern California.

Till 1994, the University of Karachi awarded degrees to the graduates. In that year the Sindh Assembly elevated the Institute's status to that of a degree-awarding institution. A bill is pending in the Assembly for conferring the status of a University to IBA. Inspite of a rapid increase in the number of business schools, the IBA has maintained its position as the premier institution of higher learning in the field of management and business administration.

The IBA initially offered MBA program only for day scholars. In 1957, an Evening Program was started to cater to the needs of the numerous working executives and managers who were interested in furthering their careers through part-time business studies. In 1982, a three-year BBA (Honors) Program was introduced which has now been upgraded into a four-year BBA program.