- In a country where education is seen as a privilege reserved for the wealthy, he strived to make it accessible to everyone, irrespective of socioeconomic background
Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad was an eminent scholar, a visionary academician and above all a very modest and kind human being. His sudden passing left many of us who had the good fortune of knowing him speechless, as we realised what an irrecoverable loss this is for Pakistan.
Dr Murad devoted his life towards the development and progress of higher education in Pakistan. In a country where education is seen as a privilege reserved for the wealthy, he strived to make it accessible to everyone, irrespective of socioeconomic background.
As an alumnus of NED Karachi, Washington State University and University of Wales, Dr Murad was a successful scholar, educationalist and entrepreneur. His initiatives for business education over the last three decades have been instrumental in raising the standard of local graduates, which has been applauded by the industry at large. Till the 1990s, management education was restricted to a handful of institutions with limited outreach and capacity. Dr Murad’s vision of crafting successful business managers culminated in the introduction of Institute of Leadership and Management (later chartered as UMT). It was his continuous zeal to nurture and support the local potential that benefited both Pakistan’s corporate sector and almost three generations of successful professionals.
In the midst of a mushroom growth of business schools in Pakistan, there was a growing concern about the quality of pedagogical approaches used and student learning experiences. As a pioneer in the education industry in Pakistan, this was something very close to his heart. Hence his efforts culminated in bringing in accreditation of business schools in Pakistan via the National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC). The platform has been instrumental in ensuring the quality of programs offered through capacity building, streamlining curriculum, promoting research and aligning business education with industry practices. During his tenure as chairman of NBEAC, Dr Murad ensured that the accreditation guidelines are benchmarked with both South Asian Quality Frameworks and the European Foundation for Management and Development. Furthermore, he initiated a regular Deans and Director Conference that for five years has provided a great platform for national and international academia to interact and discuss issues of critical importance. With the active presence of NBEAC policies and platform, one can hope that the quality of business education in Pakistan is systematically sustained and for years to come we will owe this to his farsightedness.
Dr Murad was an icon of modesty and humility. While he never wanted to promote his piety, his philanthropic endeavors cannot remain unnoticed. He has left an enduring impact on the hearts of many. While the void from his demise can never be filled, for me it is a blessing to have known him as a senior, counselor and mentor
Unlike typical academicians, Dr Murad was very cognizant of disruptions in business education. To introduce global diversity and enrich student experiences, he initiated many exchange agreements with top business schools around the world. His philosophy was, if businesses are global, business schools should be too. Similarly, he was very keen on bringing in cutting edge technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data, etc to the business curriculum in order to enhance critical decision making skills of the budding business managers. While Dr Murad may not be with us anymore, his extraordinary vision and foresight gave local business schools a fighting chance, as today technology driven pedagogy is imperative to a respectable business schools curriculum.
Dr Murad was an icon of modesty and humility. While he never wanted to promote his piety, his philanthropic endeavors cannot remain unnoticed. He has left an enduring impact on the hearts of many. While the void from his demise can never be filled, for me it is a blessing to have known him as a senior, counselor and mentor.
Good Bye Dr Hasan Sohaib – You were a Greek among Romans.
