The passing-out students, attired in convocation gown designed by the convocation planning committee, were beaming with excitement and enthusiasm as their teachers, parents and others were witnessing them being elevated for a practical life. The inspiration for the gown’s border was obtained from the Sindhi Ajrak with its geometric and floral designs, printed in radiant hues of crimson and indigo, reflecting union with nature, as one of the announcer observed, while a Sindhi music instrumental tune played softly in the background.

The valedictory speeches were delivered by Ambreen Kunwal Anwar and Ahmad Tahir Saeed, who termed their education “a diverse mix of knowledge” and pledged to rise to the occasion and prove themselves a true saviour of the great and promising nation.

In his keynote address, Babar Ali congratulated the graduates and held that they were going to be important emissaries of their institution and of Pakistan wherever they went.

“You are some of the most fortunate people of Pakistan to have the opportunity of higher education. Not everyone could gain admission to your institution nor could everybody complete this programme and attain the proficiency that you have got in the subjects you have studied,” he added.

He noted that Pakistan could have done better had education been given a higher priority in the country. He claimed that private educational institutions, including the LUMS, were not money-making institutions, but were charging only half of the expenses in return for providing a quality higher education.

In his address of welcome, the President of IBM, Shahjehan S. Karim, said that his institute consisted of three colleges - the College of Business Management, the College of Computer Sciences and Information Systems and the College of Economics and Social Development. Within a short span of seven years, he added, it has developed into a national centre of excellence in management education.

He said from January the IBM would start offering a four-year BBA (Hons) programme in order to bring its graduate-level teaching in line with standard international practices. The IBM has established the Institute of Business Support Centre, which serves as a focus for continuing operational interaction between the corporate and the academic world, he added.

He said that the IBM was a non-profit institute devoted to the service of the country, while on the other hand it was giving scholarships to twenty per cent of its students annually. The institute has launched a textbook programme, under which books not only on money, banking and financial management but also on human resource management and computer system and informatics have been planned, he added.