IoBM held the first edition of a series of talks “Reflections, Aspirations and Foresight” on Saturday, September 23, 2017 to commemorate life and work of IoBM’s Founder President, Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim well-attended by IoBM faculty, management and concerned immediate family members. These talk series are organized by the Entrepreneurship Management Excellence Center (EMEC) with a varied format so that those who knew him well, or were close to him, will have the opportunity to reflect on the memorable time they spent with him or the experiences they shared with him.
In the first session, held a day after Late Mr. Shahjehan S. Karim’s birthday, Mr. Talib S. Karim, Ms. Sabina Mohsin and Dr. Arshad Karim reflected on a few selected aspects of Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim’s personality, well-supported by excerpts of his life presented by Mr. Ejaz Wasay, Head of Media Studies. Every future session of the “Life and Work Series” will be of one-hour duration or so.
Mr. Arshad Karim, referred to his elder brother Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim as ‘Bhaijaan’, a soft spoken humanitarian who never spoke in high voice and who rose over and above self in the civil service of Pakistan working for the less-privileged communities. He highlighted how Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim put a remote and secluded Thatta with no roads, no buildings and no colleges on road to progress. As Deputy Commissioner, he built a mosque, parks and schools in Thatta. He shared that when the Establishment Division asked Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim where he wanted to be transferred he opted for Thatta for it was closer to Karachi as he aimed for his children to avail the best education.
Ms. Sabina Mohsin shared such humble yet unique personality traits of her father, as tolerance, living in the present moment, never complaining of or to anyone, maintaining a smiling face, being gracious, modest and forgiving. While on the one hand she remembers his warmth and affection for her as his only daughter, commemorating her birthday in style, on the other, he would envision her to be educated, independent and maintaining a harmonious balance between personal and professional life.
Mr. Talib Karim maintained health, education and community development were main concerns of his illustrious father in Pakistan’s civil and public service at the provincial and national levels and at the UN. His father would never compromise on quality and reputation towards life and professional excellence. After retirement Late Mr. Shahjehan Syed Karim encouraged his children especially Mr. Talib Karim and Ms. Sabina Mohsin to join him in the noble cause of education by establishing their own institution.
Mr. Talib Karim and Ms. Sabina Mohsin shared the then CBM started from merely two to four rooms in the remote, dusty and barren Korangi Creek area to a full-fledged Institute of Business Management housing seven buildings with state-of-the-art architectural, infrastructural and educational facilities. It was established in January 1998, through a bill unanimously approved by the Sindh Provincial Assembly to establish a university known as the Institute of Business Management in the private sector. It was shared how a remote Korangi Creek was transformed into a “knowledge city” of sprawling schools, professional colleges and a modern flyover connecting it to all over the city!