The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi and the Bank of Punjab (BoP) signed an MOU to support the education of needy students from across Pakistan and fund research conducted by faculty on areas of mutual interests. The MoU was signed by CEO and President of the Bank of Punjab Mr. Zafar Masud and Executive Director IBA Dr. S Akbar Zaidi at a ceremony held at the IBA Karachi City Campus. As per the agreement, under the scholarship program, financial assistance will be provided to five fresh undergraduate students from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, rural Sindh, Baluchistan and Southern Punjab regions for the duration of their studies under The BoP-IBA National Talent Hunt Program (NTHP). Speaking about the partnership, Masud said, “This collaboration between the IBA and BoP reinforces our commitment towards helping outstanding students from marginalized areas of Pakistan, without any preference for any particular province. This will also serve as a ray of light for those families who are going through a testing time and are unable to meet their children’s educational expenses. Employees of the bank are the biggest asset and their family welfare is my personal goal. Taking this objective ahead, this MOU will include extending full support for expensive higher education for the children of the BoP employees.”