Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi hosted its first workshop on ‘Structure of Undergraduate Education’, in collaboration with the Aga Khan University’s Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED), organized by School of Economics and amp; Social Sciences (SESS).
The workshop brought together faculty members from leading universities in Pakistan to a common platform to initiate a dialogue on the evolving structure of undergraduate education in the context of changing global paradigms. The session was hosted by Dean SESS, Dr. Asma Hyder, and Dean and Professor, AKU-IED, Dr. Farid Panjwani.
Dean SESS, Dr. Asma Hyder initiated the dialogue while emphasizing the significance of undergraduate education. ‘In today’s complex society, the changes are huge enough to call educators to start thinking about their impact at all levels of education, posing questions of a fundamental and philosophic nature including its purpose, relevance and structure. In the proposed workshop, we wish to raise these questions focusing on undergrad-level education,’ said Dr. Hyder.
During the discussion Dr. Panjwani said, ‘Undergraduate students are at a stage of idealism and creativity, making it the profound responsibility of universities to nurture their potential through critically progressive and historically grounded education. This demands regular reflection on the nature of this education, ensuring it remains fit for purpose. Educators must rethink the purpose, relevance, and structure of undergraduate education to prepare students for an uncertain and complex future.
The sub-themes for the workshop were: (i) Skills Vs. Theoretical Knowledge/Learning (ii) The Emergence of AI: Challenges and Opportunities (iii) Specialization Vs. Interdisciplinarity (iv) Joint Degrees, Courses and Co-teaching (v) Conflict, Control and Academic Freedom.
The workshop organizers apprised that this is the first session and several other such sessions are planned intending to propose a stronger and more viable structure of undergraduate education in Pakistan. The faculty members from IBA, AKU, LUMS, Habib University, NED and a few other public sector universities participated in this workshop.