Jahanzeb Burana

co-founder and vice chairman of NIT

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Jahanzeb Burana is a co-founder and vice chairman of National Institute of Technology (NIT), described as Pakistan's first American-affiliated university, launching in 2025. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, which he completed in 2010, and has a decade of experience in public policy, investments and education reform. He has worked as an investment banker, with a private equity background.

Early life and background

Burana has said he comes from South Punjab. As a child he travelled from Lahore to his village by road, which took six to eight hours. He has said he has 3G and 4G connectivity in his village. He has also said the biggest farming problem in the village is that labour is not available, because the labour has moved to the city. [1]

Education

Burana holds an MBA from Harvard. He graduated with the degree from Harvard Business School in 2010. [1]

Career

Burana has a decade of experience in public policy, investments and education reform. He has worked as an investment banker, with a private equity background. He worked in private equity, then in the public sector in Pakistan. He has done investments across Asia and parts of Africa. [1]

He has worked in the primary and early education sector. He did an EdTech venture to democratize access to English language in Pakistan. He has said he invested in a company that wanted to introduce an innovative entrepreneurship program. He has also said he works with some top-tier K-12 schools in New York. He says he does not come from the education sector, which he sees as an advantage. [1]

National Institute of Technology

Burana is co-founder and vice chairman of National Institute of Technology (NIT). NIT is described as Pakistan's first American-affiliated university, launching in 2025. He has said a first batch was taken in 2025 and that its students would graduate in 2029. [1]

Burana has described NIT as powered by ASU. He has said that in designing NIT, ASU brought learnings to the process, including an example from Egypt. He has described three requirements: ASU's courses, the needs of the local market and the requirements of the HEC. He has said NIT can never depart from the standards it has set for itself, even if someone wanted to. [1]

He has said students may spend three years at NIT, transfer credits and get a terminal degree from ASU. He has described 3+1 and 4+1 pathways, the latter ending in a one-year master's at ASU. He has said the ASU transfer is guaranteed for students who meet an academic performance criterion. Students on the ASU pathway graduate with an ASU degree, not an NIT degree, he has said. He has also said a visa is not within any university's control, because it is a matter for an independent government. [1]

Burana has said he and one other person were both inspired by ASU's vision and charter. He has said the aim is an inclusive university in line with ASU's kind of model. He has said that a student in engineering studies less engineering in the first two years and also studies maths, social sciences and humanities. [1]

Views on higher education

Burana has said the higher education enrollment ratio is very low and one of the lowest in the region. He has said the destination to fix is higher education, which is the last degree before a person goes on to a career. He has said public higher education capacity has not kept pace with growing demand. He has also said the tax base and the government's education budget are very low. [1]

He has said financial sustainability is not a crime. In his view, the problem is failing to deliver quality after reaching financial sustainability. He has said LUMS and other private sector universities in Pakistan are all highly noble in their own perspective. He has also said he believes there can be multiple truths at once. [1]

Burana has said education requires a complete reimagination of how it is approached. He has said the education sector cannot take learning-curve risks because children's lives are at stake. He has described a teacher who added one extra line to otherwise standard feedback, saying she believed in the student and that the student could do better. He has said the group given that additional line did significantly better in academics and grades. [1]

Views on work and skills

Burana has said the US class of 2025 had one of the lowest job placement rates in history. He has said anything that can be measured will be automated or AI'd. He expects the global economy and Pakistan's economy to look fundamentally different within 10 years. He has said he does not believe jobs will all disappear. [1]

He has said the new value he hears about, including in the US and elsewhere, is critical thinking. He has spoken of a growth mindset, meaning a wish to learn. He has described a combination of someone who has range and someone who is a deep subject matter expert. [1]

Burana has said one key KPI to track is the job placement ratio of alumni. He has said a job cannot be guaranteed to any student. He has said a student can be prepared to the maximum level that the student can reach. He has estimated that on average a person now switches jobs after four to five years. [1]

He has said infrastructure is one of the biggest enablers of economic growth. He has also said a maturing ecosystem adds speed to the momentum. [1]

Timeline

2010
Graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School.[1]
2025
NIT, co-founded by Burana, took its first batch of students.[1]
2029
Graduation of the first batch of NIT students, as expected by Burana.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2025-07-28 Why Pakistan needs an inclusive university, not another elite one Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jahanzeb Burana?

Jahanzeb Burana is a co-founder and vice chairman of National Institute of Technology (NIT). He holds an MBA from Harvard and has a decade of experience in public policy, investments and education reform. He has worked as an investment banker, with a private equity background.[1]

What does Jahanzeb Burana do?

Jahanzeb Burana is co-founder and vice chairman of National Institute of Technology (NIT). He has also worked in the primary and early education sector. He has said he works with some top-tier K-12 schools in New York.[1]

What company did Jahanzeb Burana found?

Jahanzeb Burana is co-founder of National Institute of Technology (NIT). NIT is described as Pakistan's first American-affiliated university, launching in 2025. Burana has described NIT as powered by ASU.[1]

Where did Jahanzeb Burana study?

Jahanzeb Burana holds an MBA from Harvard. He graduated with the degree from Harvard Business School in 2010.[1]

Where is Jahanzeb Burana from?

Jahanzeb Burana has said he comes from South Punjab. As a child he travelled from Lahore to his village by road, which took six to eight hours.[1]

References

  1. Why Pakistan needs an inclusive university, not another elite one . Thought Behind Things , 2025-07-28.
Show the source passages (55 statements)
  1. Jahanzeb Burana is co-founder and vice chairman of National Institute of Technology (NIT). Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of National Institute of Technology (NIT)
  2. NIT is described as Pakistan's first American-affiliated university, launching in 2025. Pakistan’s first American-affiliated university launching in 2025
  3. He holds an MBA from Harvard. With an MBA from Harvard and a decade of experience in public policy, investments, and education reform
  4. He has a decade of experience in public policy, investments and education reform. a decade of experience in public policy, investments, and education reform
  5. He graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2010. I graduated MBA at the Harvard Business School, 2010
  6. He has worked as an investment banker, with a private equity background. I by training am an investment banker and private equity background, investment background
  7. He worked in private equity, then in the public sector in Pakistan. Then I've been doing private equity, phir kuch der public sector mein Pakistan mein wapas aake kaam kiya
  8. He has done investments across Asia and parts of Africa. doing investments across Asia, parts of Africa
  9. He has worked in the primary and early education sector. I've worked in the primary education, early education sector, K-12 sector mein bhi kaam kiya
  10. He did an EdTech venture to democratize access to English language in Pakistan. so did an EdTech venture to democratize access to English language in Pakistan
  11. He says he does not come from the education sector, which he sees as an advantage. I don't come from the education sector, which I think is an advantage
  12. He has said the higher education enrollment ratio is very low and one of the lowest in the region. we have a very low higher education enrollment ratio and one of the lowest in the region
  13. He has said the destination to fix is higher education, which is the last degree before a person goes on to a career. fix the destination which is the higher education, which is the last degree before you will go on to your careers
  14. He has said public higher education capacity has not kept pace with growing demand. public higher education institutions ki capacity has not been able to keep pace with the growing demand
  15. He has said the tax base and the government's education budget are very low. Tax base bahut low hai. Government ka education budget bahut low hai.
  16. He has said financial sustainability is not a crime. financial sustainability is not a crime
  17. He has said the problem is failing to deliver quality after reaching financial sustainability. Crime is ki agar aapne financial sustainability ke baad quality deliver nahi ki, that's a problem
  18. He has said he believes there can be multiple truths at once. am a big believer, as a quick side note, in the fact that there can be multiple truths
  19. He has said LUMS and other private sector universities in Pakistan are all highly noble in their own perspective. LUMS and the work that Habib um does and other great private sector universities in Pakistan are doing, apne apne perspective mein is all highly noble
  20. He has said he and one other person were both inspired by ASU's vision and charter. I and Shazib both were very inspired by um ASU's vision, ASU's charter
  21. He has said the aim is an inclusive university in line with ASU's kind of model. we particularly want an inclusive university in line with ASU's kind of model
  22. He has said the US class of 2025 had one of the lowest job placement rates in history. Class of 2025 this year that graduated in the US, one of the lowest job placement rates ever in history
  23. He has said a first batch was taken in 2025 and that its students would graduate in 2029. 2025 mein apna pehla batch liya hai, 2029 mein aapka bacha graduate kiya
  24. He has spoken of a growth mindset, meaning a wish to learn. growth mindset hai ke mujhe learn karna hai
  25. He has said anything that can be measured will be automated or AI'd. everything that can be measured will be automated or will be AI'd if you like
  26. He has described a teacher who added one extra line to otherwise standard feedback, saying she believed in the student and that the student could do better. teacher ne otherwise standard feedback, she just added one extra line and that line was, I believe in you, I think you can do better
  27. He has said the group given that additional line did significantly better in academics and grades. the group that had been given that additional line did significantly better in academics and grades
  28. He has said education requires a complete reimagination of how it is approached. that requires a complete reimagination of how you approach education in my opinion
  29. He expects the global economy and Pakistan's economy to look fundamentally different within 10 years. Agle 10 saal ke andar the the global economy and Pakistan's economy is going to look fundamentally different
  30. He has said he does not believe jobs will all disappear. jab to job hi khatam ho jayengi. I don't believe that
  31. He has said the new value he hears about, including in the US and elsewhere, is critical thinking. the new value that I'm hearing uh you know even in the US and elsewhere as well is critical thinking
  32. He has said he works with some top-tier K-12 schools in New York. I work with some of the top tier K-12 schools in New York
  33. He has said he invested in a company that wanted to introduce an innovative entrepreneurship program. ek innovative program entrepreneurship ka introduce karana chaah rahe the, um, through a company that I had invested in
  34. He has said that a student in engineering studies less engineering in the first two years and also studies maths, social sciences and humanities. woh agar engineering kar raha hai toh pehle do saal mein woh itni zyada engineering nahi padh raha, pehli do saal mein woh math bhi padh raha hai, woh social sciences bhi padh raha hai, woh humanities bhi dekh raha hai
  35. He has described a combination of someone who has range and someone who is a deep subject matter expert. a combination of somebody who has a range and somebody who is a deep expert, an SME, a subject matter expert
  36. He has described NIT as powered by ASU. we are NIT, but we're powered by ASU
  37. He has said NIT can never depart from the standards it has set for itself, even if someone wanted to. woh NIT therefore can never even if someone wanted to depart or have a departure from the standards that we have set for ourselves
  38. He has said the education sector cannot take learning-curve risks because children's lives are at stake. education sector mein aapko learning curve ka risk le nahi sakte kyunki bachon ki zindagiyan are at stake
  39. He has said students may spend three years at NIT, transfer credits and get a terminal degree from ASU. hamara bacha jo teen saal yahan padhta hai will be able to transfer their credit hours and could potentially go to ASU in their fourth year um and get their terminal degree from ASU instead of NIT
  40. He has described 3+1 and 4+1 pathways, the latter ending in a one-year master's at ASU. woh 3+1 hai for an undergraduate or 4+1 hai they do an undergrad here and then they go for a one year masters um at ASU
  41. He has said the ASU transfer is guaranteed for students who meet an academic performance criterion. Ji to bacho ke liye who meet a certain academic performance criterion hai, woh performance criterion hai, unke liye guaranteed transfer hai
  42. He has said a visa is not within any university's control, because it is a matter for an independent government. Visa is not part of any university's uh you know uh of course woh woh to ek independent government hai
  43. He has said students on the ASU pathway graduate with an ASU degree, not an NIT degree. they graduate with an ASU degree, not an NIT degree
  44. He has said that in designing NIT, ASU brought learnings to the process, including an example from Egypt. in designing NIT, ASU has brought to us those learnings saying ki dekho bhai Egypt mein yeh ho raha tha
  45. He has described three requirements: ASU's courses, the needs of the local market and the requirements of the HEC. aapke ek apne courses hain ASU ke, ek aapne local market ki needs ko meet karna hai, ek aapne HEC ki requirements ko meet karna hai
  46. He has said one key KPI to track is the job placement ratio of alumni. one of the the key KPI that we want to track is the job placement ratio of our alumni
  47. He has said a job cannot be guaranteed to any student. aap kisi bache ko job guarantee nahi kar sakte
  48. He has said a student can be prepared to the maximum level that the student can reach. aap bache ko tayar kar sakte hain to the maximum level that they can
  49. He has estimated that on average a person now switches jobs after four to five years. Now on average, I think the time is 4 years, 5 years before a person switches job
  50. He has said infrastructure is one of the biggest enablers of economic growth. infrastructure is one of the biggest enablers of economic growth
  51. He has said he comes from South Punjab. I come from South of Punjab
  52. As a child he travelled from Lahore to his village by road, which took six to eight hours. jab bachpan mein we would travel from Lahore to my gaon, uh we would go on the GT road. It would take us 6, 7, 8 hours
  53. He has said he has 3G and 4G connectivity in his village. everybody is solarized. Uh I have 3G, 4G in my gaon
  54. He has said the biggest farming problem in the village is that labour is not available, because the labour has moved to the city. Ab gaon mein sabse bada farming mein problem yeh hai ke labor available nahi hai. Kyun? Kyunki sara labor shehar mein aa chuka hai
  55. He has said a maturing ecosystem adds speed to the momentum. jis tarah woh ecosystem mature hota jata hai, that creates and adds speed to the momentum