The common notion is that universities do not provide many opportunities to students for practical work. Students are taught only theories and bookish knowledge that do not have any relevance to real life. In the case of many Pakistani universes, the afore-mentioned notion is almost true. The syllabus of many subjects is as outdated as the Oxford comma.
With the emergence of private national and international universities in recent years, many public sector universities have also taken steps to match the quality standards in education. Some of the public universities have managed to match international quality standards.
National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) is one of the few that are known for quality education and preparing students for practical life after their education. At present, over 30,000 students are enrolled in the different premises.
NUST Business School (NBS) is one the 13 schools imparting education par excellence for 13 years. Right from the first semester, the students are engaged in practical work in the form of semester-end projects besides formal classroom studies.
On Thursday late, as many as 97 students of the MBA first semester arranged a mega event ‘kahlbali’ to showcase their skills. The well-organised event included a funfair, bonfire, and musical for in-house audience, students and faculty members of different departments and their friends and families.
The students and their friends put up over 24 different stalls. They also managed to engage vendors and other entrepreneurs to host stalls. Like any other successful funfair, the provided stalls offered everything from bangles, jewellery, dresses, and decorative items. Some stalls promoted products such as herbal utilities and the products of several corporations. A couple of stalls were providing information about admissions in international educational institutions.
The bonfire was a rare opportunity for students to enjoy with classmates in the university premises. Many swayed to the amateur rendering of songs and other funny items. It was a fun-filled evening with entertainment for all.
The main attraction of the musical was rabab performance by Farhan Bogra. Several other students also played different musical instruments to enthuse the audience. A replica of truck art by Shakira Mansoor also pleased visitors. She had worked hard on the creative side of the event including the decor and stage.
“We have tried to add millions of colours to this event to make it look wonderful. It was a remarkable learning experience,” she said.
Samar Saqib, another student, was responsible for the marketing and creative-side of the event. She said, “It was difficult to manage future managers because they have a lot of creative ideas and energy. We all learnt conflict resolution and team-management without losing the essence of the event. It is a big achievement for us.”
Hassan Altaf was of the view the event has given them firsthand practical experience on managing business. “It was all hectic, from fundraising to logistics and from marketing the show to managing the security. But we did it.”
Hamid Nawaz, Assistant Professor at the NUST Business School talking to Dateline said, “The event was part of the ‘Business Communication’ subject. At the end of their first term, the MBA students have to take up a project. This time they decided to hold a mega event in which different skills were required. The university provided some guidance only but no finances. The students managed all the funds required for the event themselves through corporate sponsorships and renting the funfair stalls.”
Hamid Nawaz was happy about the work of his students who worked tirelessly day and night to make the event a success. “The success of the event has contributed to shine their skills, and the event has certainly encouraged them to take up some financially viable events in the future. This type of events matures the thinking, planning, and execution skills of the students, and enables them to face the real life market challenges.”
Published in Dateline Islamabad, December 31, 2011
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