The Alumni Relations team of the Office of Career Services and Alumni Relations (OCSAR) of BRAC University organized an “Alumni Iftar 2023” at the Mohakhali campus auditorium on 12 April, 2023. Representatives of the university’s four alumni associations -- Law Alumni Association of BRAC University (LAABRACU), BRAC University Pharmacy Alumni Forum (BUPAF), Alumni Association of BRAC University Architecture (AABAr) and BRAC University Biotechnology Graduate Network (BUBGN) – were present at the event. The first of its kind hosted by BRAC University with the alumni associations, the event aimed to promote the formation of alumni platforms, create a space for sharing experiences to form a central alumni association and help the Alumni Relations team revamp connections between the alumni and BRAC University.
Reminiscing the university’s early days, Advocate Atiq Reza, president of the LAABRACU, an advocate of the Supreme Court and co-founder of Legal Terminal, said the School of Law opened in 2004 and had its first five graduates in BRAC University’s 4th Convocation. The LAABRACU was formed in 2013 with 30 alumni and now it has around 400 members. Its plans are to engaged with Residential Semester students, seek approval on the use of BRAC University transportation during its own programs and have legal representation in central alumni association, he said.
The BUPAF is quite different in terms of leadership roles as, instead of having an executive body, every member plays a part as a steering committee member, said Shamim Huq, a BUPAF steering committee member and Research Investigator at Child Health Research Foundation. He said the pharmacy department was formed in 2010 with seven students and had its first two graduates in BRAC University’s 9th Convocation. The forum was formed in 2019 and now has around 350 members. Its plans are to associate more in school engagement programs and organize workshops and seminars for the school’s students, he said.
There were three representatives of the AABAr, including Nazmus Sakib Chowdhury, President of the ad-hoc committee of the AABAr and Principal Architect at Space Solution for Social Integration. Another representative, Shihab A Mustafa, Vice-President of the ad-hoc committee of the AABAr and urban design specialist at World Bank project with Dhaka South City Corporation, said the architecture department has around 600 graduates and the association has been able to reach around 453 people. The association’s executive committee will be formed in May through an election, informed another Vice-President, Rahmatul Aziz, also Managing Director and Principal Architect at Grey.D'Studio.
Salman Khan Promon, President of the BUBGN and a lecturer at Independent University Bangladesh, said their goal was to create a professional network, play an advisory role for department students, share job opportunities and create a directory.
On the importance of the alumni community, Dr. David Dowland, Registrar of BRAC University, said that the alumni were central to a university in the form of a two-way relationship and BRAC University’s new campus would give more space for the alumni. The university is becoming increasingly involved in outreach programs in schools and colleges and simultaneously becoming globally connected, with philanthropist George Soros declaring BRAC University the sole South Asian university to join the Open Society University Network having an initial endowment fund of $1 billion, that too amidst the pandemic in 2020. One of Bangladesh’s pressing concerns is having a lot of unemployed graduates, which could be addressed by working closely with industries. This engagement would be incorporated in a strategic plan BRAC University was preparing for the next 5 to 10 years, said Dowland.
Tahsina Rahman, Joint Director of Student Life of BRAC University, requested all to stay connected by checking and responding to emails.
Moderating the event, Alumni Relations Manager Arnob Kumar Saha informed that BRAC University currently has 19,022 alumni. He shared an alumni engagement plan which includes creating a directory of the alumni through https://forms.gle/J9cfkbzevC81kPK78 , connecting, collaborating and engaging through a Facebook group, supporting students and the university’s mission and vision, enabling recruitment and spreading word on the OCSAR portal. He said the new campus of BRAC University would have an alumni lounge while the alumni would be provided identity cards to enable them to access the campus. He also informed of BRAC University alumni being eligible for discounts at Medix for a deal signed recently. More of such get-togethers will be taking place at BRAC University in the near future to boost ties, he said.
The event ended with the representatives of the alumni associations cutting a cake to celebrate the formation of the AABAr and BUBGN.