SZABIST University Islamabad

Seminar on Digital Marketing
2020-02-10
It is shared with immense pleasure that a seminar on “Strategies to be used in digital marketing” was held on 10th February 2020. Mr. Haris Maqsood was the Guest Speaker. He has a vast experience of Managing Technical Support; Customer Success & Customer Service for USA based companies in Pakistan. He has built a fully operational Support Center in Pakistan for one of the fastest-growing Silicon Valley startups. He is Specialized in offshore IT Outsourcing, Skilled in Management, Leadership, Digital Marketing, Microsoft Excel, Forecasting and Strategic Planning. The purpose of this event was to learn how to build different strategies in order to motivate people to work as an entrepreneur. Also, he gave real-life marketing examples to incorporate in the corporate process.

Learning Outcomes

To commence, strengthen and stimulate international and cross-cultural cooperation in the field of entrepreneurial learning of young people.
Equip with a range of tools and frameworks to help in dealing with uncertainties related to innovation and entrepreneurship.
Provide an opportunity to work on real-life entrepreneurship related issues.
Embrace the tools and techniques required to succeed in the digital age.
Learn to develop and execute digital marketing plans strategies, including aspects such as the development of media content, use of social media, advertising e.t.c.in entrepreneurial process.

Currency Awareness Session
2020-02-07
Event write-up: Currency awareness session
A currency awareness session was arranged by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for students of the management sciences department on 7th February, 2020. Ms. Attiya, along with her team from SBP provided guidance on how the incorporation of a number of strong security features in banknotes aimed at facilitating the general public.
Furthermore, she enhanced awareness and understanding of the currency notes’ security features, so that students can easily distinguish between genuine and fake notes.

(CCI) ANNUAL UNIVERSITY FAIR
2020-02-06
SZABIST Islamabad campus participated in THE CITY SCHOOL CAPITAL CAMPUS ISLAMABAD (CCI) annual UNIVERSITY FAIR on February 6th, 2020. Our representatives facilitated students with information about different programs according to their field of studies and provided career counseling for their bright future.

Faculty Orientation
2020-02-01
Faculty orientation was conducted for the new faculty members of BBA and MBA Program By Dr. Atif Bilal and Dr. Shumaila Zeb on 1st February 2020. The basic aim of the orientation was to equip the new faculty with the academic guidelines, policies, and code of conduct of SZABIST Islamabad Campus.

Anti-Sexual Harassment Session
2020-01-28
Student Advisory and Anti-Sexual Harassment Session

A Student Advisory and Anti- Harassment session for BBA-1& 2 was held on 28th January 2020 at SZABIST Islamabad Campus.

The main objective of session was to provide the students a channel for course-related communication and develop their understanding for code of ethics of SZABIST.
Dr Shumaila Zeb the Program Manager of BBA advised the students to maintain a professional demeanor and attend regularly the scheduled meetings with respective student counselor during their stay at campus.

Orientation Program Spring 2020
2020-01-27
Orientation programs facilitate the successful transition of new students to SZABIST Islamabad. It helps prepare students for their academic experience, promotes student involvement and engagement, and provide information about student services and academic resources.
On 27th January 2020 SZABIST Islamabad’s New Student Orientation introduced new students of different programs to the wide array of academic, intellectual, leadership, cultural, and social experiences available at SZABIST. The learning outcomes of the freshmen orientation involved understanding the academic expectations and the process of enrollment, utilization of academic support and student services, learning about campus and community involvement through clubs, organizations and developing relationships with students, advisors, faculty, and staff.

Strategic Finance Symposium; Contemporary Challenges & Opportunities” 2019
2019-12-26
SZABIST in line with its knowledge economy drive organized “Strategic Finance Symposium” in sheer collaboration with the corporate sector and neighboring universities under the leadership of Dr. Muhammad Naveed (Associate Professor, SZABIST). The forum captured the unleashing significance of dynamic challenges and opportunities pertinent to strategic finance from institutional and country’s perspectives.
The symposium results in following proposed resolutions for adaptation to comply with advanced financial mechanics and practices;

Dynamic Financial and Investment Planning
Customized Financial Decisions Making through Financial Intelligence and New Financial Dial Ups
Emerging need of Financial Data Analytics
Unleashing the role of Financial Analysts and Financial Institutions to comply with changing Digital Financial Landscape
Enhancing the Financial Literary at an advanced level to better understand the Financial System
Encouraging the Financial Democracy and responsiveness towards CSR Orientation from Stakeholders Perspectives.

ZABTECH 2019
2019-12-17
Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering organized Intra University Speed Programming, Poster designing and E-Gaming competition for BSSE and BSCS students. BS Software Engineering students won 1st and 3rd positions in the Speed Programming and all positions of poster designing. BSCS students secured 2nd position in Speed Programming and all positions in the E-Gaming competition.
The organizing committee of this wonderful competition includes Syed Muhammad Usman ( Program Manager BSSE) along with faculty members Ms. Sehresh Khan, Mr. Usman Ali, Ms. Maryam Sajjad, Mr. Aamir Anwar, Hafiz Ahmed Qasim and Mr. Muhammad Naveed.

ZAB Media Festival
2019-12-04
A day long colorful media festival organized by students of Media Sciences Department of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) Islamabad Campus was held here on December 04, 2019. The festival was aimed to promote creativity among students by providing them with a platform where they could exhibit their talents.

Field Trip to Stock Exchange
2019-12-04
On the 4th of December 2019, students of the 5th semester of BBA were taken on an educational visit to the ISE (Islamabad Stock Exchange Towers) organized by their FMI Instructor Ms. Nayyab Javed.
At the beginning of the tour, an insightful seminar with interactive and topical discussions on how modern markets work today was held by an expert trainer. The session highlighted various investment instruments and their pros and cons, workings of the stock exchange and various rules and regulations of the Islamabad Stock Exchange and its alliance with the Pakistan Stock Exchange. After the seminar, the students were taken to a room where digitized operations of the listings, stock prices and company’s index were displayed on large screens; this gave an overview of the role of demand and supply in share prices.
The purpose of this visit was to engage the students in the practical application of the concepts taught in their classroom and bridge the barrier between academia and industry.

3MT Competition
2019-12-04
Department of Computer Science SZABIST Islamabad successfully organized 3rd Inter-University Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, in which several research students participated from 15 universities of Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Taxila and Peshawar presented their research in a simple and concise way.
Final round on December 04, 2019 was followed by Qualifying Rounds-1 and 2 where MS and PhD students from different universities presented their research work in just three minutes. The winners of the event are from Bahria University Islamabad, SZABIST Islamabad and City University Peshawar.

Industrial Trip to Coca-Cola
2019-12-02
A group of BBA students visited Coca-Cola Islamabad. The purpose of the visit was to provide students insights about the marketing initiatives from practitioners and organizational perspectives and strengthen SZABIST –Industry relationship for meaningful collaboration.
Mr. Muddasar Ghani Khwaja (Lecturer- Faculty of Management Sciences) arranged the visit. Students were given an orientation regarding consumer-centric operational endeavors of Coke by the Territory Trade Marketing Manager of Coca-Cola, Islamabad. The understanding of the consumer psyche and effectively targeting the conscious and unconscious mind was thoroughly elaborated.
The students were delighted to experience a real-time interactive session with the industry partners, keenly explored the dynamics of identifying and meeting consumer’s ever-changing demands and the compatible strategies that the organization is undertaking in the competitive market of beverage industry. The students were enthusiastic about the knowledge of the ever-changing demands of the consumers and what agility the firm needs to respond to the changing paradigm.
The visit provided new opportunities for SZABIST – Coca Cola for collaborative initiatives in the days for a meaningful academic and industry linkage for knowledge sharing and resolving business problems leveraging academia expertise.

Workshop on SMART PLS
2019-12-01
The course of Advance Research Methods entails keeping abreast with latest techniques, tools and methodologies in research. SZABIST-ISLAMABAD aways strives to keep students updated on contemporary techniques in advancement in tools and software for analysis of research. In continuation to have hands-on knowledge with workshops on APA and SPSS a workshop was arranged by the instructor of the course Dr. Faryal Razzaq to learn mediation and moderation through Structural Equation Modelling techniques using SMART PLS for MBA1- Day and MBA1- Eve. Dr. Muhammad Shafiq very kindly consented to conduct the workshop which was facilitated in full support by the respected HoD Dr. M Asif Khan.
Dr. Shafiq very professionally builds the required knowledge to use the Smart PLS software and explained and entertained students’ queries on how to report results of mediation and moderation. The workshop was concluded by the vote of thanks by the course instructor on behalf of the class.

COMHEC 2019
2019-11-30
Department of Computer Science, SZABIST Islamabad Campus organized 3rd Inter-University Computer Hardware Projects Exhibition and Competition (COMHEC 2019) on 30th November 2019. Students of BS(CS), BS(SE), BS(CE) and related disciplines from more than 25 universities participated in this event.
COMSATS University Islamabad and SZABIST jointly won the 1st prize, two groups of Hamdard University won the second prize and City University Peshawar had won the 3rd prize. Winners were awarded cash prizes and participants received their certificates of participation.

Idea Generation and Communication Presentation
2019-11-29
To enlighten students that entrepreneurial marketing is less about a single marketing strategy and more about a marketing spirit that differentiates itself from traditional marketing practices.
It eschews many of the fundamental principles of marketing because they are typically designed for large, well-established firms. Class activity under the Supervision of Mr. Bilal Ahmad for business and electronic communication students was planned to present their business ideas.

ZAB – EXTRAVAGANZA (Revamped) “Fall 2019
2019-11-28
Organized by the students of Business Management, ZAB EXTRAVAGANZA (Revamped) was held on Nov 28th, 2019 at Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) Islamabad. The event gathered around exhibitors from the undergraduate programs, providing a one-stop platform for students to learn about business start-up opportunities and support services and get the latest market intelligence. Start-ups play a vital part in driving economic growth and transition. They create job opportunities and keep a country’s economy vibrant. To facilitate this understanding, the Department of Management Sciences paid host to “ZAB EXTRAVAGANZA (Revamped) Fall 2019”, an elaborate platform for business students at SZABIST Islamabad which enables the participants to understand key concepts in entrepreneurial behavior (such as the entrepreneurial personality, entrepreneurial decision making, necessity-based entrepreneurship) and to use it to analyze market trends. The Day invited distinguished guests and entrepreneurs from a range of sectors to share their experience and help participants get their start-ups off the ground. Another key feature of this year’s ZAB Extravaganza (Revamped), Entrepreneurship Day was the launch of online business startups by the final semesters of BBA the highlight among them was the SZABIST Souvenir Shop.

Sports Week Closing Ceremony
2019-11-28
Victory is gained by resolution and determination “Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)”. First of all thank you, everyone, who participated in Sports Fiesta fall 2019 organized by sports society SZABIST Islamabad.
It is indeed a pleasure to congratulate Faculty advisor Mr. Bilal Ahmad and his sports society team also SZABIST Islamabad administration for making this event successful. Congratulations to those who emerged Victoriously.

ZAB – EXTRAVAGANZA (Revamped) Fall 2019
2019-11-28
ZAB – EXTRAVAGANZA (Revamped) “Fall 2019”
Organized by the students of Business Management, ZAB EXTRAVAGANZA (Revamped) was held on Nov 28th, 2019 at Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) Islamabad. The event gathered around exhibitors from the undergraduate programs, providing a one-stop platform for students to learn about business start-up opportunities and support services and get the latest market intelligence. Start-ups play a vital part in driving economic growth and transition. They create job opportunities and keep a country’s economy vibrant. To facilitate this understanding, the Department of Management Sciences paid host to “ZAB EXTRAVAGANZA (Revamped) Fall 2019”, an elaborate platform for business students at SZABIST Islamabad which enables the participants to understand key concepts in entrepreneurial behavior (such as the entrepreneurial personality, entrepreneurial decision making, necessity-based entrepreneurship) and to use it to analyze market trends. The Day invited distinguished guests and entrepreneurs from a range of sectors to share their experience and help participants get their start-ups off the ground.
Another key feature of this year’s ZAB Extravaganza (Revamped), Entrepreneurship Day was the launch of online business startups by the final semesters of BBA the highlight among them was the Szabist Souvenir Shop. To the amaze of the participating groups Department, their products were sold well before in time and were praised by many. Co-organized by the Faculty of Management Sciences, young entrepreneurs presented their business ideas and plans in the Arena with experts offering valuable feedback. The participating young entrepreneurs and the organizing committee of the Zab Extravaganza received outstanding appreciation by the Chief Guest, Mr. Khusro Pervaiz Khan (Head of Campus) along Dr. Muhammad Asif Khan (Head of Department) and Dr. Shumaila Zeb (Program Manager) to help them realize their start-up project. ZAB EXTRAVAGANZA is one of SZABIST Islamabad’s signature events to support students who plan to go solo in the marketplace.

Workshop on Business Startups
2019-11-27
The Students of SZABIST from the Department of Management Sciences along their course instructor Mr. Syed Shahwar Hussain organized a workshop on business startups on Wednesday, November 27, 2019, as part of the Entrepreneurship week being celebrated at SZABIST Islamabad.
The Guest speakers through her industrial experience and knowledge motivated the students towards the need for business startups. She also emphasized the students to actively participate in such skill-developing activities to help contribute towards the development, especially towards taking part in different business plan competitions and pitch there idea to potential investors and apply in the cohort 7 being organized by NIC for the induction of potential entrepreneurs at the NIC. Lastly, she emphasized that activities like these will strengthen the linkages between SZABIST Islamabad and National Incubation Center (NIC) through their engagement in external activities.

Metro Visit
2019-11-27
Every semester our Faculty plan industrial visits for students to give industrial insight. For sake of this Mr. Bilal Ahmad, Lecturer Management Sciences plan visit for student of BBA-04, for Retail Management course one day trip to International retailer Metro Store Islamabad.
Retail management course covers the principles, planning, implementation and control of the retail management function in organizations. It is designed to enable the students to develop an appreciation of the role of retail marketing and the management of retail in the modern organization like Metro Cash & Carry. Activity is planned for students to understand how retailing work in the real world also implication of theoretical knowledge.

Startup Workshop
2019-11-27
Workshop on Business Startups
The Students of SZABIST from the Department of Management Sciences along their course instructor Mr. Syed Shahwar Hussain organized a workshop on business startups on Wednesday, November 27, 2019, as part of the Entrepreneurship week being celebrated at SZABIST Islamabad.
The event was addressed by M/s Cynia Ejaz (Manager Community Service) from the National Incubation Center, Islamabad. The purpose of the workshop was to promote and initiate an idea to enhance the mental capabilities of students through their involvement in the entrepreneurial activities that would play an active role in sharpening the entrepreneurial mindset in the students. Additionally, that would improve capacity building in students through their exposure to experiential-based learning.
The Guest speakers through her industrial experience and knowledge motivated the students towards the need for business startups. She also emphasized the students to actively participate in such skill-developing activities to help contribute towards the development, especially towards taking part in different business plan competitions and pitch there idea to potential investors and apply in the cohort 7 being organized by NIC for the induction of potential entrepreneurs at the NIC. Lastly, she emphasized that activities like these will strengthen the linkages between SZABIST Islamabad and National Incubation Center (NIC) through their engagement in external activities.

ZAB Maverick
2019-11-27
Many students choose to study business because they hope to start businesses or non-profit organizations of their own someday or to join a family business, or to bring an entrepreneurial spirit in their future profession. They need a way to practice their business plan writing and presenting skills outside the classroom. With the experience that SZABIST has in organizing business plan competitions and with the expertise our faculty members have in helping students learn the fundamentals of business reasoning, we can work together to prepare these business students for the future.
ZAB Maverick – A business plan competition was organized in the Entrepreneurial Week on 26th and 27th November 2019 with the aim of achieving the following objectives:

An opportunity for students to develop their business plans and acquire feedback from business professionals and investors to improve it further
An opportunity for students to get investment for their business idea that might turn out to be a successful venture
Involve a multiple-step process for giving some constructive feedback to all participants while promoting a small number of teams (6-10) to the final round.
Provide a way for students to support one another and build a sense of community in the midst of competition.

SZABIST and FJWU Collaboration
2019-11-26
SZABIST and FJWU Collaboration
26 NOVEMBER 2019
Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi conducted a workshop on “Writing Literature Review, Analysis & Methodology” on November 26, 2019. The workshop was organized by Offices of Research, Innovation, and Commercialization (ORIC) at Fatima Jinnah Women University for faculty members from different departments and the students of Ph D, and MS/M Phil of the university.
In line with the collaboration of SZABIST with FJWU, Mr. Muddasar Ghani Khwaja (Lecturer- Faculty of Management Sciences) represented SZABIST and provided insights on the contemporary approaches of conducting academic research. He emphasized on the need of blending theoretical and contextual analysis for precision in academic research endeavors.
The session was interactive and students enthusiastically participated in the intellectual discourse. The main focus of their inquiry was the dynamics of literature review with conceptual, theoretical and empirical perspectives and the methodological aspects of the research.
The session provided a platform to leverage the collaboration between SZABIST and FJWU for mutual benefits and the shared goal of quality education for the students for the socio-economic development of the county.

Awareness Campaign on Depression & Suicide
2019-11-26
Social Sciences’ Students organized their 5th and 6th awareness campaign on Depression and Suicide
Under this domain, students conducted various activities including Awareness desk, walks at various locations of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, developed a short video clip, and a seminar graced by Dr. Kiran Amir and Mr. Ali Janjua.
Dr. Kiran highlighted the psychological aspects of depression, various precursors and outcomes. Further, she provided audience with effective coping strategies whenever they feel under stress and at risk of developing depression.
Mr. Ali Janjua as a motivational speaker and entrepreneur enlightened the session by sharing positivity and love among audience. He provided them with positive insight that how he struggled from scratch and now has become a successful person. He inspired them that they can achieve the same.
Both speakers emphasized that giving up should not be the option in life # never give up.
In the end, HoD thanked the speakers, students and Ms. Aliya for organizing such campaigns.

Team for Suicide Awareness:
Amna Ashfaq, Sara Ali, Sehrish Batool, Zuhaa Iqrar, Ali Bukhari, Hamna Rehman
Team for Depression Awareness:
Haleema Nadeem, Samna Hassan, Mahen Hamda, Sana Tariq, Jamila, Urooj Jamil, Muslim Abbas

Inaugural event – ZAB Entrepreneurial Week
2019-11-25
Entrepreneurship is the act of creating a business while building and scaling it to generate a profit. Studying entrepreneurship benefits students and learners from different social and economic backgrounds because it teaches people to cultivate unique skills and think outside the box. Moreover, it creates opportunity, instills confidence, ensures social justice and stimulates the economy.
As part of SZABIST Islamabad’s vision and mission, the inaugural ceremony of ZAB Entrepreneurial week was organized on 25th November 2019 to familiarize students with the essence of entrepreneurship. Mr. Kashif Joseph was the chief guest of the event Mr. Kashif Joseph is an IT professional with over 18 years of experience. He is also an entrepreneur himself, leading a BPO and a business consultancy.
To develop an understanding regarding the concept of ‘student entrepreneurs’, some of the successful student entrepreneurs from BBA-5 and BBA-8 also shared brief presentations on how they have engaged in entrepreneurial activities, along with simultaneously manage their studies. They also provided guidance to other students on ways to initiate, plan and execute new ideas in the future.

Industrial Tour to Sihala Flour & General Mills
2019-11-25
BBA Students Industrial Tour to Sihala Flour & General Mills
An industrial tour of BBA students was conducted to Sihala Flour & General Mills in Fall 2019. The comprehensive tour at close-by location allowed the students to get a holistic view of the production processes and the value chain that goes into the production of flour. The objectives were:

Have a working knowledge of the building blocks, major functions, major business processes, and major decisions (strategic, tactical, and operational) in a flour mill.
Have a sound understanding of planning, design, develop and implement, manage and monitor supply chain operations in technically optimized and commercially viable operations.

Students appreciated the tour as they learned in a practical environment. Students wished that more trips should be planned in the future as well.

Mock Interview Session
2019-11-21 | SZABIST University Islamabad, Plot No 67، 4 Street 9, H 8/4, Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
SZABIST, Islamabad places due emphasis on providing its students with ample learning opportunities beyond the classroom learning environment. In line with our philosophy of taking experiential learning hand in hand with the curriculum, the Department of Management Sciences arranged a mock interview session for the students of MBA –Day and BBA. The objective of the activity was to provide students with their first hands-on experience of appearing for an actual interview.

Over period of a few weeks, Ms. Sundas Azeem conducted a streamlined mock recruitment and selection process for her classes of HRM and SHRM. This involved allowing students to conduct an actual job analysis for a job of their choice, helping them prepare their resumes, creating a job advertisement, choosing one of two real-time job advertisements advertised in leading dailies for appearing for a mock interview session and evaluating other candidates appearing for the job interview on actual interview evaluation forms. This streamlined activity over a period of few weeks gave students a hand-on experience of the intricacies of the staffing function of HRM.

The mock interview session was held on November 21st, 2019. Students appeared for the mock interview session well prepared with their CVs and were evaluated on their KSAOs for the advertised entry-level jobs. Invited panelists, Dr. Mubarik Hussain, Dr. Sana Aroos and Mr. Rana Kashif conducted the interviews, shared their insights and advised students on important tips for overcoming interview anxiety, preparing for interviews and being mindful of their verbal and non-verbal language during interviews. Observing the panelists, students also learned important tips for interview-taking in line with their course contents. Those in the audience evaluated the candidates on actual interview evaluation forms shared with their instructor as part of the next step of the selection process.

Workshop on Animation Designing
2019-11-21 | SZABIST University Islamabad, Plot No 67، 4 Street 9, H 8/4, Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
Two days Hands-on Workshop on Animation Designing was organized for BS Software Engineering students on 16-17 November 2019. Participants were able to learn multiple tools of animation designing from scratch by Sr. Developer of Quixel Mr. Jawad Ali Khan.
Certificates were distributed among participants by the Head of Department. All participants requested HoD to organize such workshops in the future as well so that they can upgrade their skills which will ultimately help them in freelancing.

Awareness campaign on Mental Health and Physical Disability
2019-11-21 | SZABIST University Islamabad, Plot No 67، 4 Street 9, H 8/4, Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
Social Sciences’ Students organized their third and fourth awareness campaign on Mental Health and Physical Disability
Under this domain, students conducted various activities including Awareness walks at various locations of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, developed a short video clip, and a seminar graced by Ms. Sadia Bhatti and Ms. Zeba Hassan.
Ms. Saadia highlighted the struggles of her life and how she has achieved so much through dedication and devotion. Ms. Zeba enlightened the session with psychological aspect of how to deal with mental health problems. Her own life was and is struggling with various challenges.
Bothe speakers give students positive hope by emphasizing the motto of belief in yourself and the creator, Allah has better plans for us all.
In the end, HoD thanked the speakers, students and Ms. Aliya for organizing such a great campaign.

Team for Mental health Awareness: Khushba Syed, Nirmeen Zia, Hafsa Noor, Reshael Shaikh, Saad Sheikh, Nawal Tariq

Team for Physical Disability Awareness: Enara Khan, Mahnoor Raza, Kinza, Reena Salman, Ahsan Bin Atiq, Rana Mohammad Usman

BBA students’ visit to Pakistan Sweet Homes
2019-11-20
In order to familiarize students with the essence of corporate social responsibility, faculty of management sciences took BBA students’ to Pakistan Sweet Homes on 20th November 2019 with an aim to understand the key values of Pakistan Sweet Homes and how their culture supports those values.
Initially students visited the different sections including classrooms, residential areas and the cafeteria under guidance of Mr. Asim. They also interacted with the children throughout the tour. In the end, a brief interactive session headed by Mr. Zumurd Khan was also held, in which students shared their feedback regarding Pakistan Sweet Home’s administration.
