The Centre of Biomedical Ethics and Culture (CBEC), SIUT was inaugurated on October 8, 2004 in Karachi, recognizing the need for ethics related education and research in Pakistan that are relevant and responsive to local cultural and social realities. CBEC remains the only such centre in Pakistan today.
CBEC’s primary objective is to serve as an academic and intellectual resource for Pakistan, facilitating the development of individuals sensitive to indigenous issues and with the capacity to impart ethics education to healthcare communities and beyond. The faculty of the centre undertakes constructively critical research that explores the role of cultural and religious norms and socioeconomic realities in shaping value systems prevalent in society. Through its perspectives, CBEC aims to enrich the predominantly philosophical and secular discourse in contemporary bioethics, and to network with regional and international professionals and institutions involved in similar efforts.
CBEC conducts workshops, seminars, and conferences many of which are open to the public, both on-campus and in universities around Pakistan. Its formal programs include a one year Postgraduate Diploma in Biomedical Ethics (PGD), instituted in 2006, and a two year MA in Bioethics (MBE) that graduated its first class in the fall of 2011. Additionally, CBEC offers Certificate Courses in Clinical Ethics and Research Ethics since 2014. All three programs have an international student body and faculty.
