Institute of Business Administration, Karachi
The Institute of Business Administration is a regionally acclaimed and distinguished, business administration university in Karachi, Pakistan. According to the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, IBA is one of the best business and IT institutes in Pakistan. The IBA was set up in 1955 in collaboration with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is the first business school in South Asia set up on the U.S. MBA model. The school has alumni who are leaders in industry, government, and academia in Pakistan and abroad. It started as a business school within the University of Karachi. IBA's status was elevated to become an independent, degree-granting institution in Pakistan in 1994 when it received a charter from the Sindh government. In 2011, the Institute of Business Administration joined a group of seven other top business schools in South Asia, six from India and LUMS from Pakistan when it was awarded the coveted certification by the South Asian Quality Assurance System .HistoryThe IBA was established in 1955 by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The United States Aid for International Development (USAID) sponsored the program and approached the Wharton faculty to establish a business school in Karachi, Pakistan in order to meet the demand for business managers in the port city. IBA, Karachi, is the first ever business school sponsored by the Wharton School.The IBA offered post-graduate programs only for day scholars. In 1957, an evening program in graduate studies was started to cater to the needs of 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; this was upgraded to a four-year program by the Musharraf administration. The institute's graduate program offering includes executive MBA for banking and financial services professionals, corporate managers, and public sector executives. These programs require work experience in the industry, resulting in a high average age of the class – upwards of 30 years. 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.