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Research Center

Dr. Erum Zaidi, Head of Research Center (Department of Research, Training, and Linkages, headed by Prof. Dr. Jawaid A. Qureshi) 

Dr. Erum Zaidi works at SZABIST as an Assistant Professor, as Head of Research Centre; Focal person Industry and Academia Linkage and ORIC. She also runs her family business, Cleaning Concepts (Pvt.) Ltd., a leading organization for waste management and building maintenance services in Pakistan, which she and her husband launched in 1993. Currently, she is the Marketing and HR director at Cleaning Concepts.

Erum holds a PhD in Entrepreneurial Marketing, an MS (Management Science), and an MBA (Marketing) from SZABIST Karachi. Her schooling at Mama Parsi School has inculcated her passion for continuous learning and proved her an achiever. She has done industry research projects for retail and consumer audits in mapping marketing strategies for Engro Polymer, Toyota, Khaadi, DairyLand (Day Fresh), Engro Foods, Abu Dawood, and UBL. She has provided and facilitated strategies for HR policies in hiring PWD and GT programs for HBL, Engro Foods, Agha Khan Hospital, and TCS. She has conducted surveys for UNDP on the YEP program and has received acclaim from the organizations mentioned above. She has worked on a research project with Toyota-Indus on launching their upcoming brands. As the Head of Research Center she has initiated faculty training from industry experts.

As an academician, she has six publications in well-reputed international journals. Out of which two are impact factor journals. She has a keen interest in the research of AI and Machine Learning in the discipline of  Social Media Marketing and IMC.

Different universities frequently invite Erum to conduct digital and social media marketing training. She gave training to women entrepreneurs and young entrepreneurs at IBA-CED on social media marketing, budget making, and entrepreneurial marketing strategies. She has imparted training to students at Dadabhoy University on leadership style, conflict management, and startup management. She has been lecturing as a guest speaker on launching small businesses at Iqra University and is part of the jury of entrepreneurship competitions at Iqra University. She provides training on conflict management, faculty productivity enhancement at City School Systems and is invited by TV channels to give talks on various topics. She has also worked with Injaz Pakistan to develop the entrepreneurship program at DHA Suffa University and has received appreciation for how she took the audience with the concepts.

Erum is an active member of Rotary Midcity, MAP, and OPEN organizations and regularly participates in seminars, conferences, and other activities.

Research Center Objectives

  1. To organize research training for faculty (In-House/External).
  2. To arrange workshops and seminars on research and management sciences discipline.
  3. To coordinate the formation of research interest groups.
  4. To build linkages with the industry for gaining cutting edge knowledge and mutual gains.
  5. To document and monitor research output in each cluster in coordination with cluster heads.
  6. To provide mentoring through research interest groups.
  7. To identify and disseminate call for papers for conferences, journals and books both locally and internationally.
  8. To organize research conferences from the platform of SZABIST.

Research Center, Faculty of Management Sciences (2022-2023)

  • Women in Sustainable Entrepreneurship (WISE) is an entrepreneurial leadership program for female led Sustainable Start-ups. WiSE focuses on women working on social and climate impact technology ideas and business that have a significant link to SDG’s and aim to solve Pakistan’s imminent challenges. Across 5 days, women led business ventures were taken through modules of self-awareness, leadership, business development, marketing and sales – a combination of empowerment training and business skills development to help them do better and deliver better. Participants shared it was a great learning experience for them, where they got the opportunity to discuss their business and challenges were individually and identify solutions for them. This event was sponsored by the Friedrich Nouman Foundation for Freedom.
  • SZABIST, Research Center, Faculty of Management Sciences, and MBA Program co-jointly organized a Conversation with Dr. Miftah Ismail, Ex Federal Minister for Finance Revenue & Economic Affairs on “Recent Challenges to Pakistan’s Economy”. The event was held on 28th November 2022. Dr. Miftah talked about the recent economic challenges which Pakistan is facing and what role could we play in overcoming these challenges.
  • A Faculty LinkedIn Training on the topic of “Employer Branding for Higher Education Institutes” was held on 2nd November 2022.  Facilitator was Mr. Sohaib Hassan, Manager Brands & Digital, Amreli Steels. The event was organized by FMS Marketing Cluster & Research Center.
  • Dr. Shumaila Kashif, Head Marketing Cluster along with the Research Center, Faculty of Management Science had organized the Faculty Research Visit to IBA – Institute of Business Administration Karachi Neuroscience Lab on 9th September 2022. Prof. Dr. Wajid Hussain Rizvi briefed the faculty on neuroscience and its application. Dr. Abdullah Zafar Sheikh, Dean, School of Business Studies, dropped in for a brief interaction with the faculty members. Thereafter faculty members got hands interface experience with equipment’s and its real time measures. The faculty members, who went for the visit were Ms. Wajeeha Javed, Ms. Iqra Shah, Ms. Anam Lalwani, Mr. Mazhar Ali, Mr. Afzal Ahmed, Dr. Jawaid Qureshi, Ms. Erum Zaidi, Ms. Ayesha Latif, Mr. Masood Ahmed and Dr. Jamil Ahmed.
  • Workshop on “Research Writing & Thesis Preparation with LATEX”, organized by FMS, Research Center on 26 August 2022. Facilitator was Dr. Jameel Ahmad Khilji, Senior Joint Director, State Bank of Pakistan and Adjunct Professor, SZABIST. LaTeX is document preparation software for technical writing, or creating any other written documents. it is most often used for medium-to-large technical or scientific documents but it can be used for almost any form of publishing. LaTeX encourages authors not to worry too much about the appearance of their documents but to concentrate on getting the right content. 
  • FMS Research Center organized the workshop on OUTCOME BASED EDUCATION (OBE) System, on 24th August, 2022 for all the PMs, Cluster Heads and Co-heads. OBE is an educational methodology where each aspect of education is organized around a set of goals (outcomes). The OBE maps & measures students’ performance at every step. The OBE model aims to maximize student learning outcomes by developing their knowledge & skills. The facilitators of the workshop were Dr. Najmonnisah, Head of the Education Department, and Ms. Sadiya Durrani, Assistant Professor, Education Department, SZABIST, Karachi.
  • Ms. Ayesha Latif, Faculty FMS has attended the two-day workshop on NVIVO conducted by Millennium Institute of Technology and Entrepreneurship (MiTE), Karachi, Pakistan on 24th and 25th September, 2022. NVivo helps you discover more from your qualitative and mixed methods data. Uncover richer insights and produce clearly articulated, defensible findings backed by rigorous evidence.
  • Dr. Kamran Soomro, Mr. Tahir Mamutaz, Ms. Madiha Zeeshan and Ms. Anam Lalwani had attended the one-day workshop on “Data Analysis on PLS-SEM via SMARTPLS” on December 14, 2022 organized by ORIC-Institute of Business Management (IoBM)
  • Dr. Waqar Akbar, presented his research paper ‘Does social climate of trust mediate the relationship between HR practices on firm innovation?’  in ‘8th ASIA International Conference (AIC2022)’ held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) Malaysia on 9-11 Dec, 2022. Research Center, FMS sponsored his travel.
  • Mr Muhammad Asad Ali lecturer at FMS presented his research paper at Asia International Conference held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) Malaysia on 10th December 2022. The title of the paper was “Revisiting real exchange rate misalignment and economic growth using Szolt dataset”. The proud moment of SZABIST, Karachi is that he won 1st prize for his research paper presentation.
  • Ms. Riffat Mughal attended the 4th Financial Crime Summit was held on January 14, 2023 in Karachi, with the theme ‘Post-FATF Financial Crime Action Plan – Continuing the National Anti-Financial Crime Agenda’. The Summit is being organized by Dellsons Conferences under the banner of Dellsons Associates, together with its Knowledge Partner, A. F. Ferguson & Co., a member firm of the PwC network. Honourable President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi graced the event as the Chief Guest. Speakers and panelists at this high-profile summit include Presidents & CEOs and compliance chiefs of commercial banks and other entities, senior representatives of regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies, including SBP, SECP, FMU, FBR, FIA, NACTA and PSX among others. There was also the participation of some foreign financial crime experts from across consulting, fintech and academic backgrounds
  • Research Center, FMS organized the training on SMART PLS 4 on 14th January, 2023 from 10:30 am to 4:30pm for the PhD students and faculty. The facilitator was Dr. Waqar Akbar, Associate Professor, FMS.
  • Research Center, FMS went for collaboration with the Sindh Madressatul Islam University (SMIU) in their Global Research Congress (GRC) during March, 2023. Due to this partnership, our faculty participated in the workshops, organized by the international facilitators, on discounted prices and our few PhD faculty members were invited as session chairs and co-chairs.
  • Ms. Wajeeha Fatima, Mr. Iftikhar, Mr. Faraz, Mr. Salman Bin Sami and Ms. Sumaira Shahid had attended the workshop on “Data Analytics Using Python/Pandas” organized by Sindh Madressatul Islam University on 7th March, 2023, the resource person was Dr. Mehmet Emin Aydin, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at the University of the West of England.
  • Five Faculty members had attended the workshop on “Advance Quantitative Data Analysis Using SMART PLS-4” organized by Sindh Madressatul Islam University on 7th March, 2023 and the names of the Faculty are Mr. Muhammad Ahmed, Ms. Farhat Fatima, Mr. Asif Shahani, Ms. Asra Sheikh, and Mr. Ferhan Syed. The resource person for the workshop was Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mumtaz Ali Memon, from NUST Business School Islamabad.
  • Dr. Shumaila Kashif, presented her research paper in 2nd International Conference on Management, Business and Leadership (ICMBL-2023), 1st SMIU GRC held on Match 8th and 9th 2023, with the paper title “Impact of e-marketing Exposure and e-WoM on Consumer Post-Purchase Regret: A Case of Electronic Gadgets”.
  • Ms. Uzaima Nasir (MS Scholar) along with Dr. Noman Soomro, Assistant Professor, FMS presented their research paper in 2nd International Conference on Management, Business and Leadership (ICMBL-2023), 1st SMIU GRC held on Match 8th and 9th 2023. The paper title was “Examining the Impact of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation on the Public Sector Organization Employees’ Job Performance.”
  • Research Center, FMS sent four faculty members to attend the workshop on “”Understanding Nuts & Bolts of Qualitative Case Study” organized by IBA Karachi. Ms. Shafaq Rubab, Ms. Anam Lalwani, Ms. Hareem Siddiqui and Ms. Madiha Zeeshan attended this workshop at IBA city campus, Karachi during April, 2023.
  • Dr. Kamran Ahmed Soomro, Head of HR and Management cluster, represented Faculty of Management Sciences, SZABIST at Sindh HEC’s Training of Trainers Faculty Development Program held at DOW University Karachi on May 22- 31, 2023.
  • Research Center of Faculty of Management Sciences has conducted the workshop on “Professional Development Training Program” for the Program Support Officers and Office Assistants during May, 2023. The resource person was Dr. Noman Soomro, Assistant Professor, Program Manager BABS and BS Entrepreneurship Program, Faculty of Management Sciences. The Program Support Officers of different departments had attended the workshop and participated with great zeal.
  • Dr. Jamil Ahmed, Dr. Sarah Wali Qazi, Dr. Noman Ahmed, Dr. Rana Imroze Palwasha and Mr. Fahad Zuberi, the five Program Managers went to IBA Karachi for the workshop “Assurance of Learning in Higher Education Institutions” on 30-31st May, 2023 that was designed on the AACSB standard #5 and the resource persons were Dr. Sana Touseef, Associate Professor, Ms. Kanza and Ms. Tahira Jaffery , Lecturers from IBA, Karachi.
  • Dr. Jawaid Qureshi went to the IBA SBS International Conference 2023 organized by IBA Karachi on 26th and 27th May 2023, for presenting his paper on “Adopting Marketing Analytics and Artificial Intelligence for Superior Marketing Performance: Insights from Information Technology-Enabled Firms”. Research Center had sponsored the participation.
  • Mr. Masood Ahmed, MBA Day Program Manager, and Assistant Professor went to the IBA SBS International Conference 2023 organized by IBA Karachi, held on May 26-27, 2023, for presenting his paper on “Critical Discourse Analysis of CEO’s Message in Corporate Sustainability Report: Prevalence of Business Case for Sustainability”.
  • Ms. Erum Zahoor Zaidi, Assistant Professor had presented her Paper on “Social Media Marketing Practices for SMEs in Pakistan: A Qualitative Study”, in the IBA SBS International Conference 2023 organized by IBA Karachi, on May 26-27, 2023.
  • Ms. Talha Arsheen (MS Scholar) and Dr. Shumaila Kashif had presented their Paper on “Chasing Sustainability Marketing Ambitions: A Case Study of Pakistan Telecommunications Industry”, in the IBA SBS International Conference 2023 organized by IBA Karachi, on May 26-27, 2023.
  • Research Center, FMS had organized the workshop on “Stress Management” for the faculty after the spring 2023 semester, where the facilitator Ms. Marium Fatima had shared the ideas for managing the depression, anxiety and emotions. It was conducted on 31st July, 2023.
  • Sindh HEC Faculty Development Training was conducted at SZABIST University for six days from 15th August to 22nd August 2023, with the primary objective of enhancing the teaching and professional skills of faculty members of various departments. The training aimed to equip them with the latest pedagogical techniques and methodologies to create an enriched learning experience for students. It was organized by Research & Training Center, Faculty of Management Sciences, SZABIST University Karachi in collaboration with Computer Sciences Department. Lead Facilitators of the training were Dr. Kamran Ahmed Soomro, (Assistant Professor & Head of HR & Management Cluster, Faculty of Management Sciences SZABIST University Karachi) and Mr. Asif Khalid Qureshi, (Lecturer & Program Manager BS Software Engineering & MS Cyber Security, Computing Science, SZABIST University Karachi).  Guest Facilitators included Dr. Sarah Sayed Kazmi (Head of the English Department, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology), Dr. Maria Atif, (Director, Bachelor of Science in Public Health, Dow University of Health Sciences), Dr. Faraz Ali Junejo, (Head of Mechatronics, SZABIST University Karachi), Dr. Syeda Saima Qamar (Deputy Director, Department of Medical Education, Baqai Medical University), and Dr. Shams Nadeem Alam, (Director, Department of Medical Education Baqai Medical University). The participants from the different departments of SZABIST, University showed great interest and actively engaged in collaborative learning. Six days training was based on interactive sessions on variety of teaching and professional development, including teaching methodologies, effective instructions, curriculum design, research, research supervision, student counseling, educational technologies, assessment strategies, quality assurance and microteaching. Madam Shahnaz Wazir Ali, President SZABIST University joined the training sessions and appreciated the learning buzz in the hall and applauded the engaging activities by the trainers. Dr. Muhammad Kashif, Dean Faculty of Management Sciences, Dr. Imran Amin, HoD Computer Sciences, Dr. Sarah Wali Qazi, Head of Research & Training Center, FMS, SZABIST University attended the closing ceremony and appreciated the active participation of trainees. 

Special Interest Groups of Research Center of Management Science SIG


1: Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain (OLS)

About the SIG:

The globalization and the development of the economy as a process enable the creation of a single market and in this process logistics is an important tool. A market with well-organized logistics and supply chain management facilities has a qualified advantage over other economies, whereas improving logistics infrastructure may serve as a competitive tool and is also effective in rising market share. Moreover, we believe that trade logistics and supply chain management are needed by emerging countries in order to improve their competitiveness as by obtaining the advantages of globalization. The success in combining international supply chains starts with the capability of companies to move goods across borders faster, in a more consistent manner and cheaper.

Supply chain academics and practitioners enjoy a unique bond. The applied heritage of logistics and supply chain motivates researchers to identify problems residing in current and future practice, address them in a conscientious manner, and to provide findings that yield meaningful insights. Fortunately, there has never been a better time to work with practitioners in light of the disruptive forces at work in industry and the thirst for meaningful insights. The OLS SIG therefore will act as a supporting body to those studying, researching and teaching Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain. 

SIG 2 – Human Resource Management

About the SIG
Effective management of the organizational workforce is necessary for the efficient management of organizations. Hence, organizations are actively searching for ways to enhance their competitiveness by adopting effective people management practices. Among other things, this research group in involved in the study of management practices that increase organizational performance through a more committed and engaged workforce while also maintaining employee well-being.
The researchers in this group are actively involved in publishing relevant research in collaboration with local as well as reputed international scholars. This platform provides support to faculty members as well as graduate students who are interested in the study of people management and its related topics in organizations.

SIG 3:  Finance and Economics

Vision

SZABIST Special Interest Group for Finance and Economics aspires to promote in-house research collaborations, knowledge sharing, resource sharing and enhancing skills of both faculty and graduate research students in the MS and PhD research programs. It aims to provide a platform for aspiring researchers to share research ideas, seek mentorship, critical evaluation, feedback and mutual collaboration. It can enable team-work and more impetus in research output as well as improving its depth and quality. 

Objectives and Functions

  • Seminars and policy dialogues on the state of home and global economy.
  • Workshops on finance and economics research tools and writing.
    • Financial times series econometrics
    • Panel data econometrics
    • Microeconometrics
    • Academic research writing in economics
  • To coordinate the formation of research interest groups.
  • To document and monitor research output in finance and economics cluster in coordination with cluster heads.
  • To provide mentoring through research interest groups.
  • To identify and disseminate call for papers for conferences, journals and books both locally and internationally.
  • Developing a Staff Working Paper Series.

Research Themes Explored in Special Interest Groups

  • Asset Pricing and Capital Market Research
  • Behavioural Finance Research
  • Banking and Finance Research
  • Islamic Finance Research
  • Sustainable Development Research

SIG 4: Entrepreneurship & Marketing

About SIG: Entrepreneurship and marketing research group is supported by faculty of management sciences SZABIST Karachi, combining various activities under one common goal. The intensive networking increases the relevance of research and teaching. This group bring together faculty and research students with similar interests to focus on particular areas of entrepreneurship and marketing, develop projects, undertake joint activities, and share expertise.
The nature of this research group is such that it covers a diverse range of areas of interest and expertise. The guiding objectives of this research group are:

  • To coordinate and originate dedicated research activities in the field of entrepreneurship and marketing.
  • Facilitate multidisciplinary research excellence.
  • To stimulate researchers network for the exchange of information and expertise relating to entrepreneurship and marketing.
  • Encourage a culture of creativity, innovation taking in learning through research.
  • Promote rigorous research that is relevant to real world learning and provide opportunities to publish research papers in international recognized journals.

Education Resources