First joint executive education programme of Indian School of Business (ISB) and Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi commences in Karachi, Pakistan

‘Leadership Skills for Top Management’ (LSTM), is among ISB’s most successful offerings in India.

New Delhi, October 16, 2012: The Indian School of Business (ISB) and Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi today announced the commencement of their first joint executive education programme in Pakistan. The programme titled ‘Leadership Skills for Top Management’ is currently underway in Karachi. This initiative is an outcome of the MoU signed between ISB and IBA, Karachi on April 13, 2012, aimed at bringing world-class executive education programmes to Pakistan.

‘Leadership Skills for Top Management’ (LSTM) is the first among the planned series of programmes aimed at the business leaders in Pakistan. It has been specially designed to help CXOs, business heads and government officials to hone their leadership skills and drive growth through exceptional performance in a challenging and ever-evolving global market. LSTM is among ISB’s most successful executive education programmes in India, having been delivered to more than 1000 senior leaders in the last 11 years.

Announcing the programme, Deepak Chandra, Deputy Dean, ISB, said “We are delighted to announce the commencement of our first executive education programme in Pakistan in association with IBA. As Asia rises into global economic prominence, it is critical that countries in the region and the business leaders seize the opportunity. We are confident that the ISB’s strong international linkages and understanding of emerging economies will help in grooming high-performing business leaders and policy makers from Pakistan and equip them with global best practices that will enable them to lead the country in its next phase of growth.”

Commenting on the programme, Dr Ishrat Husain, Dean & Director, IBA said “Pakistan can benefit immensely from its proximity to India which has established world class institutions of higher learning. The collaboration with the Indian School of Business ISB- a magnet for attracting top faculty from advanced countries – will expose the Pakistani corporate managers to leading scholars and practitioners from the world and help in acquiring new knowledge and tools. Hopefully, this exposure will equip them to play a critical leadership role in the future. We look forward to many such joint ventures in the coming years.”

The programme has been well received by Pakistani business leaders from both industry and the government. Participants include directors, CEOs and senior leaders from industries including banking & financial institutes, pharmaceuticals, oil & gas, infrastructure development, power, MNCs, agri-business as well as government functionaries.

According to a programme participant Mr Mir S. Talpur, General Manager Operations, Pakistan State Oil, “I am excited about being part of such a prestigious and first-of-its-kind program in Pakistan. With the increased economic growth and opportunities, business leaders like us are required to return to the classrooms and continually re-learn, refresh and re-asses various aspects of leadership and strategy. I hope to apply my learning to the workplace and impact my organization’s growth. I hope other Pakistani organizations and corporations should get benefit out of this kind of programme.”

All the forthcoming programmes planned under the ISB – IBA partnership will draw from ISB’s network of globally renowned faculty from around the world and share cutting-edge insights on various themes such as family business, entrepreneurship, business leadership, strategy and related areas.

This programme marks another milestone for the ISB’s Centre of Executive Education (CEE), which has reinforced its position as one of the largest providers of executive education in Asia. Following its recent partnerships in Pakistan, Oman and Sri Lanka, CEE plans to further expand in the region to strengthen its mission of becoming a knowledge partner for the industry and catering to the business leadership needs of emerging markets.

In line with IBA’s objective to be ranked among the top 10 Business Schools in South Asia and top 100 in the world, the Center of Executive Education (CEE) at IBA is collaborating with world’s leading business schools. This programme with ISB is in line with that objective. The CEE plans to bring cutting-edge research-driven management learning for top and senior management, which is relevant and applicable in the Pakistani context.

About the Indian School of Business (ISB)

The ISB was established in 2001 with an aspiration to put India on the global map of management education. Over the years, the ISB has successfully pioneered several new trends in management education in India, and has firmly established itself as a world-class management institution. In 2008, the ISB became the youngest institution to be ranked among the Top 20, in the Global B-school Rankings by the Financial Times, London, and since then has been ranked consistently among the top B-schools globally. Recently, the ISB earned the distinction of becoming the first South Asian B-school to receive the AACSB accreditation. Chartering its next phase of growth, the ISB flagged off its second campus at Mohali, Punjab in April 2012. Though located at Hyderabad and Mohali, the School will function as one entity with a seamless integration across both the campuses.

A strong pool of research-oriented resident and international faculty from reputed B-schools has been a key factor that helped the ISB to emerge as one of the leading B Schools with its cutting edge research and pedagogy. It has set up eight research centres serving as a bridge between the industry and the academia and carries forward its research agenda as well as promotes education in areas critical to India’s development. The ISB offers its flagship one year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) besides the Post Graduate Programme in Management for Senior Executives (PGPMAX) and a bouquet of Executive Education Programmes that cater to top and middle management. The school also recently launched its Fellow Programme in Management (FPM). The school has over 4200+ PGP Alumni and 13,000+ Executive Education Alumni spread across over 25 countries making an impact on the business and society. For more information, visit www.isb.edu

About Institute of Business Administration (IBA)

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. 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.