Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending an event at Dublin Business School (DBS), organised by Hamza Razaq in collaboration with the Embassy of Pakistan in Dublin, to welcome newly arrived Pakistani students to Ireland.

This was truly a unique and inspiring event—something I have not witnessed in my 23 years in Ireland—where the Embassy made a dedicated effort to support, guide, and assist new students beginning their journey in a new country. All credit goes to Ambassador Ms. Aisha Farooqui for thinking outside the box and going the extra mile to help and empower the community.

As an immigrant myself, I understand how meaningful this kind of support can be for students, both in boosting their confidence and helping them integrate, build networks, and settle into life in Ireland. The event also reminded me of my own journey when I first arrived in Ireland in 2001 to study at DBS, with very limited resources and little knowledge of English.

I remain deeply grateful to DBS for providing quality education and nurturing Pakistani talent, helping pave the way for success stories like mine. We are proud that our company is being featured in The Irish Times as we celebrate 10 years in business—a testament to the quality education and opportunities that Ireland and DBS continue to provide.

As President of the Pakistan Ireland Business Council (PIBC), we are eager to work closely with DBS and the Embassy to launch information and internship programmes for students. As Damian Glynn from PIBC mentioned during the event, Ireland is truly a land of opportunity. Mustafa Shuja, our Head of IT at PIBC, is already working on developing a platform to help facilitate this initiative.

A heartfelt thank you to the Ambassador, the Embassy team, Shahid Iqbal, and DBS for inviting PIBC to collaborate and for their tremendous efforts in making this event such a success.

We look forward to creating even more opportunities for our talented students and strengthening the future of the Pakistani-Irish community