Sara Khan
MA HRD & Management Learning, 2002
PhD in Management, 2006
Country of origin: Pakistan
Employer : Institute of Business Administration, Karachi
Before I came to Lancaster I was a lecturer in management and marketing in a business school in Pakistan, and I was keen to develop and concentrate in the area of management studies.
Ideally I was looking for a course where I could gain some knowledge of the teaching and training of management, rather than just concepts from management, in order to specialise in consulting later on.
In searching for such a course, Lancaster's programme in MA in Human Resource Development and Management Learning (now the MA in HRD and Consulting) appeared to be exactly what I was looking for. In addition, Lancaster University Management School's prestige as a centre for research was well-known in business school brochures and websites.
I can confidently say my stay in Lancaster during my Master's degree was among the most fruitful periods in my life – in terms of learning, thinking, broadening my horizons, and developing new relationships. This came from not only the learning in the Department of Management Learning, but also from the international student body, the city in general - and of course living away from home for the first time. In fact, I learnt so much about myself, my culture, and my religion that I don’t think I would have discovered had I not lived in Lancaster.
I can say that my learning in the UK was the single most important factor in firming up my decision to come back to Lancaster for a PhD in Management. My research experience in the department of Management Learning had given me confidence to pursue research as a career.
With my dream for establishing my own management consultancy, I decided to marry the two by preparing for a specialisation in the consultancy of management education. For my PhD I researched management education in Pakistan from a socio-cultural point of view – the impact the Pakistani MBA is having on the values of students. Freedom of exploration at Lancaster is what gives me the energy and zeal to go forward. Though challenging, a PhD can be really enjoyable if one is passionate about it.
Having completed my studies successfully I am now an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi, one of the most renowned business schools in Pakistan. My area of teaching and research is business-culture interface and social responsibility. I particularly like to research Islamic teachings on this topic.
