About Dr Irfan Hyder

Prof. Dr Syed Irfan Hyder has a wide experience in academic leadership, consultancy, entrepreneurial ventures, trainings, research and in the design and implementation of innovative programs and as a multi-disciplinary speaker. He provides consultancy for entrepreneurial and personal visions, students/parental counseling and school education.

Since 2005, Dr Irfan Hyder’s has been vigorously involved in promoting Project Based Learning and Experiential Learning as an alternative paradigm to conventional education system. His change leadership of educational systems at the university level and also at the school level have been instrumental in developing a major shift in the education sector. As director of L2L (Learn to Learn) Academy and Ahsan Memorial, he is pioneering the introduction of Project Based Learning (PBL) and a constructivist approach to education.

 Syed Irfan Hyder 
Vice Chancellor, Salim Habib University, www.shu.edu.pk
Director, Learn to Learn (L2L) Academy
hyder@L2Lacademy.org
Learning and Life Blog 
Summary CV
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4429-0535
dr.irfanhyder@gmail.com (primary email address)
Director, Ahsan Memorial

Brief Profile

Recognized for his knowledge in various disciplines ranging from Engineering, Computer Science, Management, Entrepreneurship to Educational Leadership, Dr. Syed Irfan Hyder possesses a strong educational background attained from some of the top institutes across the globe. He has a BE in EE from NED, MBA from IBA Karachi, and MS Computer Engineering and PhD Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994.

Dr Syed Irfan Hyder has over the last 28 years gained a vast range of experience in various leadership positions. He is currently the Vice Chancellor of Salib Habib University

He has been the Vice Chancellor of Ziauddin University, the Rector of IoBM, Dean of CBM, VP and Dean of KIET, and Deputy Director at IBA Karachi.

Over the last two decades, he has been a strong proponent of learning by doing through experiential learning and PBL; i.e Problem based learning and Project based learning. His innovative initiatives in disciplines ranging across MIS, computer science, engineering, computer arts, business, social advocacy, higher education, and school education have succeeded in making education a worthwhile experience for both students and faculty members. The effectiveness of these engagements have now been recognized by academia, industry and society.  His focus has been on industry consultancy and MS/PhD research programs and establishing their relevance to industry and creating impact on the solution of societal problems. He has scores of research papers and is a recognized speaker at conferences and seminars.

Overview

Dr Irfan Hyder did his MS (1989) and PhD (1994) from University of Texas at Austin. He also has BE (1985) from NED, Karachi and MBA (1987) from IBA, Karachi.

As Vice Chancellor of Ziauddin University (www.zu.edu.pk), his projects included capacity building of the university to centrally monitor the large number of its dispersed academic programs through uniformly defined roadmaps, program structures, scheduling, examination, etc. Also, recognition of the university as a multidisciplinary institution of higher education through a strategic commitment to creating an impact on industry, economy and society. 

As Rector of IoBM (www.iobm.edu.pk) his projects included Paperless Accreditation and Regulatory Compliance Management System. His projects at IoBM included redesign of MBA program, strategic recognition of Engineering Programs, consolidation of PhD program in business management and strategic projects involving design and implementation of systems and processes for engagement, impact and innovation that would enable accreditations from AACSB and other reputed industry bodies, and would create a long term impact on society and industry through entrepreneurship, experiential learning and alignment of vision and missions of faculty members with that of the Institute. Under his leadership, CBM has conducted over 400 capstone consultancy projects for industry organizations in the areas of strategic management, marketing, HRM, SCM, health management, finance and related business areas.

As Vice President and Dean Academics of Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology (www.pafkiet.edu.pk),  he led the growth of College of Management Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Computing and Information Sciences and College of Media Arts through innovative and pioneering initiatives in academics, administration, marketing and organizational development. He led the design, development and successful launch of various academic programs such as BBA, MBA, BCS, BE, BS, MS and PhD in the areas of computer science, Electronic Engineering, ERP, Islamic Finance, Education Leadership and management sciences. Dr Irfan was at IBA from 1995-2000 and led the growth of the Center for Computer Studies at IBA (www.iba.edu.pk) as the Deputy Director (CCS) with launch of programs in BBA-MIS and BCS programs and various consultancy and training projects. 

He founded ePatterns, a Software House and was the architect of ePattern’s enterprise solution for various vertical industries. He has over 15 years experience of IT consultancy, management, software design and implementation. He has been deeply involved in the design and architectural evolution of Business Patterns ERP. He has been instrumental in the implementation of the Business Patterns software at over 20 companies in such diverse industries as services, packaging, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and engineering. 

Dr Irfan Hyder has been a regular speaker and session chair at scores of national and international conferences and workshops. He has carried out extensive long term and short term consulting assignments for a number of public and private sector organizations such as Pakistan Steel, Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF), Oxford University Press, AGPR, CBR, EPB, ICMA, KIIT and MoST.

Dr Irfan has served at various national level forums and has an extensive industry consultation experience. He participated in the development of National IT Policy during 1997-98 and later in 2000-01. He has been the head of E-Commerce Task Force of the Ministry of Science and Technology, member of Sindh IT Board and a member of the Electronic Clearing House Task Force of State Bank during 2000-02. He has been a member of the selection committees of State Bank of Pakistan from 1999-2001, and later during the selection of IT Head and IT specialists. He has been on the Board of Governors of Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology from 2000-2013. He has served on the advisory board of Usman Institute of Technology, Karachi Institute of Information Technology, Institute of Business and Technology, and member BASR of Institute of Business Management.

He has been instrumental in the development of research based MPhil/MS and PhD programs and supervises research in the areas of software engineering, networking and quality systems. He has over twenty international publications in reputed journals and proceedings. His current interests include development of a vision oriented projects-based culture in students and faculty that motivates them and drives them towards excellence in their professional and personal achievements at both the degree programs level and the school level. Dr. Irfan Hyder has developed a framework for the development of motivation for successful careers of students and is providing consultancy and guidance services. 

Current research interests are concentrated in the areas of leadership, strategic management, school and higher education, experiential learning and PBL, history, semantic (ontology based) software engineering, technology and entrepreneurship, and analysis of classical texts. 

He is also a blog writer and writes on subjects ranging from school education to higher education, experiential learning and PBL, parental counseling, economic costs of political decisions, IT, life and other social subjects.