The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) of Lahore, Pakistan recently held an information session at Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo with the objective of raising the awareness about LUMS MBA programme in Sri Lanka and to invite qualified Sri Lankans to apply for LUMS MBA programme. The session was conducted by LUMS Alumni in Sri Lanka with the support of the video conferencing by LUMS faculty member from Pakistan.

LUMS is the premier business school in Pakistan and LUMS MBA ranks among top twenty programmes in Australasian business schools and 3rd best in South Asia according to Asia Week magazine. LUMS has research linkages with renowned international universities such as Harvard University, McGill University, University of Essex, MIT, University of Chicago and University of Sussex. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has recognized LUMS as "A Place of Excellence in Asia" along with other twenty prestigious universities selected from Asia, Australia, New Zealand and United States.

LUMS is a unique academic institution in the region due to several reasons. LUMS was established in 1986 with the aim of being a recognized as an internationally acclaimed research university. It has established itself as a premier institution primarily due to strict adherence to its core values of merit, integrity and excellence. LUMS case method of teaching against traditional lecturing is another main success factor of LUMS. It has introduced case method of teaching due to its high interaction with Harvard Business School (HBS) at the early years of its existence. LUMS maintains its international orientation through international advisory committee consists of academics from Harvard, Stanford, IMD and Western Ontario.

The MBA Programme of the Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB) at LUMS is a two years full time residential programme. The MBA has made tremendous impact in the last two decades primarily by ensuring relevance of its curricula, where the effort is to stay tuned to changing needs of the local and global environment. More and more programmes have come under the umbrella of the school-the flagship MBA programme and the Executive MBA, and the newly introduced PhD Management programme, which caters to the growing need for research based management positions. An Undergraduate BSc Honors degree of Accounting and Finance has also been added to the SDSB program family.

Addressing the gathering from Pakistan, Dr. Jamshed Khan -Associate Dean of Executive Education at LUMS mentioned that LUMS is currently expanding its international reach in South Asia and in the Middle East and looking forward to welcome more students from Sri Lanka for LUMS MBA programme. According to newly introduced policy, all South Asian students admitted to LUMS students now are treated as local students when calculating fees. Therefore, all fee paying Sri Lankan students now can afford LUMS MBA. Dr. Jamshed also pointed out that LUMS follows "need -blind admission policy" where admission is done purely on merit and all students who are in need will be supported by LUMS under various scholarships and other financial assistantship programmes. Dr. Jamshed invited qualified, motivated and committed Sri Lankan students to study for a rigorous world class management programme to apply to LUMS MBA.

Mr. Chaminda Hettiatachchi (LUMS MBA 2001), the Sri Lankan representative of LUMS is an international management consultant and an academic attached to a Sri Lankan University. Chaminda shared his experience at LUMS with the audience explaining his learning at LUMS and how it opened up new career opportunities for him. Chaminda explained " I was one of few students to get enter LUMS with a prestigious Asian Development Bank (ADB) scholarship which covered full tuition-fees, living expenses, air travel, research and book allowance for entire 2-years period. After graduation with an MBA from LUMS in 2001, I have done my further studies, research, teaching and consultancy in more than 15 countries in Europe, Africa and South Asia. During my stay at LUMS, I was not only able to gain a world class academic experience in management but also the stay taught me how to adapt to various international situations. MBA at LUMS was one of key success factors in my diversified international career." Having visited more than twenthy best business schools in U.K, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and South Asia, Chaminda believes that LUMS is in par with world's best business schools in terms of quality and commitment of the academic staff, quality of the programme and appreciation for hard work. Chaminda also mentioned that he gets very positive feedback from his MBA students in Sri Lanka for using case method of teaching which he adopted from LUMS. "Being an ADB scholar and LUMS MBA graduate are best rewards; I got in my career life". Chaminda added.

Mr. Amin Piracha (LUMS MBA 2002) is a Strategic Planning & Insights Manager in a well-known multinational company and he is currently on secondment in Sri Lanka. Amin, as a Pakistani living in Sri Lanka, gave an impressive account of "life at LUMS". He further talked about how LUMS experience helped him to become a top manager of an international business. According to Amin, LUMS thought him about value of hard work, performance orientation and team work.

He also described how global LUMS alumina network speared all over the work assists him making important business contacts. Amin being a native of Lahore talked about the ideal setting of Lahore as a place for higher education. Lahore known as the "Garden City of Pakistan" is a city with an ideal mixture of traditions and modernity where international students can lead a balanced life of study and socialization.

The panelists answered various questions from the enthusiastic audience about general issues in studying in Pakistan, life in Lahore and educational setting at LUMS, comparative advantages of studying for a MBA program at LUMS compared to other schools ect.

As a part of LUMS admission procedure, LUMS is conducting LMAT-LUMS admission test at Cinnamon Grand at 9am on 22nd February, 2009. Those who are interested to apply to LUMS MBA Program are invited to take this test for free. Reservations can be made by emailing to dilhanake@yahoo.com or calling 071-3576910. More details about the LUMS, its admission process, financial aid and online application for the MBA program can be found at LUMS official website www.lums.edu.pk.