Shoaib Shabbir: From military leadership to tech-driven impact

What led you to choose the Cambridge MBA?

I have spent more than a decade serving in the military, gaining invaluable experience in leadership, navigating uncertain environments, as well as learning the value of discipline and hard work. As someone who’s pivoting to the corporate world, I aim to combine that experience with the hardcore business skills. Cambridge Judge Business School stood out to me for its intensive one-year MBA program that is known for its bias for action and hands-on approach to learning.

The school’s location and culture were also decisive factors. Being in Cambridge places me at the heart of Silicon Fen, one of the world’s most active tech clusters, allowing me to build meaningful connections in the technology sector. And the university’s collegiate system expands my community far beyond the business school, offering a network that I can both contribute to and learn from for life.

What has been your biggest career accomplishment so far?

I am particularly proud of the work I did in Balochistan, which is Pakistan’s largest province by land area, yet also the least developed, with sparse population and marred by recurrent unrest. Poverty rates remain the country’s highest and climate shocks regularly batter vast areas since the infrastructure is fragile. Against this backdrop, I was tasked to establish and lead a Programme Management Office (PgMO) to deliver social impact projects as part of a winning hearts and minds campaign while I was posted to the Frontier Corps in Balochistan.  

I built the PgMO from scratch and oversaw completion of three interventions including flood-protection works, a vocational training programme for underserved youth and a recruitment pathway that brought local tribesmen into the Frontier Corps. These initiatives established a high level of trust and legitimacy for Frontier Corps’ operations in the area, strengthened civil-military relations and improved the quality of life for thousands.

How do you feel about receiving your scholarship?

My first reaction to when I received the email confirming the scholarship was complete and utter disbelief. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t think I would be here at Cambridge Judge Business School had I not received the scholarship. I feel immense gratitude for the privilege of being able to learn and grow at a prestigious institution like the University of Cambridge and I hope to give back in some way in the future.

What do you hope to gain from the MBA over the next year?

Coming to the MBA from a non-traditional background, my knowledge of core business concepts and practices is quite limited, so I am eager to get better at those. I am also particularly excited about exploring the intersection of business and technology, especially AI and creating ventures that prioritize social and environmental impact. I believe the Cambridge MBA provides ample opportunities to delve into those areas through its various concentrations.

Where do you see the MBA taking you in your future career?

I am passionate about technology and believe in its ability to transform our lives for the better. I hope the Cambridge MBA will equip me with the skills and network to one day launch a tech venture that solves a critical problem in my home country.

What does Cambridge mean to you?

Serendipity. The collegiate system throws you into formals and common rooms with people studying the classics, or physics and history. The kind of people you wouldn’t meet if life stayed inside the business school. It’s those chance encounters in the college dining halls or the various bars and cafes in Cambridge that make both the university and the city so magical and full of possibility. Whether your goal is to find a cofounder for your future venture or you just want to socialize with some of the most interesting and most gifted people in the world, you’ll find yourself in amazing company.

Something few people know about you… 

I can code a neural network from scratch and finetune it for a niche purpose. Also, I make great chicken karahi.