Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka

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IBA Building, Dhaka

The Institute of Business Administration of the University of Dhaka - commonly known as IBA - is the premier institution for business-education in Bangladesh. It was established in the 1960s in collaboration with the Karachi IBA, the Ford Foundation, and Indiana University, Bloomington.

From its inception until 1993, IBA offered the MBA as its major academic program. In 1993, after a review initiated by Professor Dr. M Shamsul Haque (ex-Director, IBA, and ex-Treasurer, Dhaka University), a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program was added. The BBA program is now one of the most coveted undergraduate programs in the country.

IBA has so far had 14 BBA batches and 40 MBA batches. Currently there are plans to start an Evening Executive MBA (EMBA) program - replacing the current evening-MBA, and to revamp the BBA program (offering double majors, for example). Also, concerns regarding the dwindling calibre of the MBA graduates are being addressed by restructuring the MBA admission process and revising curriculum. The BBA admission process has also gone through major changes lately and the change process will probably continue as the demand for the BBA graduates continue to rise unabated.

IBA alumni are to be found in private and public enterprises (many a times in leadership positions) across the country. Unlike most other public universities of Bangladesh, IBA has managed to keep itself free from political affiliations and subsequent session jams. As a result, students enrolling with any Program in IBA can plan their career from a very early stage.

In spite of an acute shortage of suitable jobs for university graduates in the country, IBA-ites (as the IBA graduates are known), generally find themselves as the most sought-after university graduates in the corporate world. IBA graduates are not only doing well inside the country but also contributing substantially to many reputed MNCs all over the world.

IBA, by inaugurating a blend of Amreican-styled but locally oriented business education, has played a pivotal role to bring about dynamism in the private sector business management in Bangladesh.

Despite its many successes, IBA has been criticised for not being able to promote entrepreneurship amongst its alumni as IBA graduates have been found to have preferred working for established corporate houses rather than going into business. But one must remember that a key underlying factor could very well be the level of financial compensation the IBA-ites receive as incentives (the range of which starts at the highest echelons in the country).

The well-known Bangladeshi economist Dr Muzaffar Ahmed is a professor at IBA.