The orientation ceremony of IBA- Ihsan Trust National Talent Hunt Program (IBA-IT NTHP) was held at the Gani Tayub auditorium, IBA main campus. Attendees included faculty and administration members as well as representatives from Ihsan Trust.
IBA-IT NTHP is a fully funded two-month orientation training program, jointly financed by Ihsan Trust and IBA Karachi. The program initiated in 2004 and aims to eradicate the educational inequality in Pakistan by providing educational opportunities to underprivileged students from Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & FATA, Gilgit Baltistan, Punjab, Sindh and Azad Kashmir, in order to prepare them for the Institute’s admission processes of BBA and BS degree programs.
The orientation aimed to inculcate both soft skills as well as academic knowledge in students to ensure that they were groomed for their future careers. THP Program Director Dr Zeenat Ismail welcomed the guests and announced the batch of 2019, which included 176 students out of which 123 were boys and 53 were girls. These students belonged to 69 different districts in Sindh, Baluchistan, KPK, Gilgit Baltistan and Sindh.
Addressing the students, IBA General Manager Administration Amir Shabbir emphasized on the discipline of IBA and its core values. Prominent NTHP alumni including Rabia Basri, Nadeem Hussain and Ramsha Yaseen also shared their success stories and praised the program for transforming their lives for the better.
Ihsan Trust SEVP Ahmed Ali Siddiqui highlighted the importance of making use of this excellent opportunity provided by NTHP. Siddiqui said that “Being selected here is the first step, there are numerous steps ahead and you should prepare yourself for them”.
IBA Executive Director Dr Farrukh Iqbal highlighted the three main challenges that educational progress faced in Pakistan; awareness, preparation and finances – all of which the IBA was striving to address through the NTHP Program. He also emphasized on the importance of such programs, to bridge the economic inequality in Pakistan.
Other keynote speakers included University of Karachi Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid M. Iraqi, Akhuwat Advisor Syed Hussain Hyder and Ihsan Trust GM Fayyaz Ur Rehman. Furthermore, faculty members leading the program were also introduced and the session culminated with a campus tour for all the students. Dr Iqbal presented the keynote speakers with tokens of appreciation.