An Open House session with Open Society University Network (OSUN) Representatives was held at BRACU on 22 March, 2022. A three-member team from OSUN visited BRAC University and had this in-person meeting with faculty members. The session allowed BRAC University’s Faculty members to know more about OSUN and the opportunities that it offers.
The visiting team consisted of Bonnie Goad, Director, OSUN Program & Communications; Brian Mateo, Associate Dean, Civic Engagement, and Caitlin O'Donnell, Program Coordinator and Special Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor for OSUN. They shared an overview of OSUN, the key programs of the OSUN for all the partner universities and how to be actively engaged with OSUN initiatives.
Samia Huq, PhD, Dean, School of General Education BRAC University, highlighted that OSUN now has 42 partner institutions. The session also discussed various points including grants, involvement of non-member institutions, how OSUN impacted BRAC University, changed day to day routines due to Covid and over the continuation of the hybrid mode of classes. The visiting OSUN team members also answered questions from the participating audience.
OSUN was announced and inaugurated in 2020 by George Soros, the founder of Open Society Foundation. OSUN’s key mission is to establish collaborations between universities, institutes and think tanks around the world towards teaching, research and other forms of exchanges between faculty, students and university administrators.
BRAC University was one of the founding members of OSUN. Over the last two years, BRAC University has been actively involved with several initiatives of OSUN to enhance teaching and learning and to encourage research and communication. Faculty members have been teaching OSUN network courses and taking part in workshops, meetings, fellowships, PhDs and projects.