UK trade envoy visits BRAC University, paving the way for the exploration of higher education collaboration opportunities

BRAC University extended a warm welcome to the United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy to Bangladesh, The Rt Hon. the Baroness Winterton of Doncaster DBE, who came on a visit to the Merul Badda campus in Dhaka last Thursday (9 October 2025).

The Rt Hon. the Baroness Winterton of Doncaster DBE was received by Tamara Hasan Abed, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, and Professor Syed Ferhat Anwar, Vice-Chancellor of BRAC University, along with members of the university’s senior leadership team.

The Rt Hon. the Baroness Winterton of Doncaster DBE was accompanied by The British High Commissioner H. E. Sarah Cooke, Stephen Forbes, Country Director of the British Council in Bangladesh, and officials from the British High Commission Dhaka.

The Rt Hon. the Baroness Winterton of Doncaster DBE was taken on a tour of the campus, which features sustainable and energy-efficient infrastructure blending environmental consciousness with state-of-the-art learning facilities. Following the tour, The Rt Hon. the Baroness Winterton of Doncaster DBE sat for a meeting with the university leadership. She has been a strong supporter of the transnational education partnership between BRAC University and SOAS University of London.

The partnership, inaugurated in June 2025, features an innovative collaborative PhD program aimed at advancing global research and academic exchange. This visit by The Rt Hon. the Baroness Winterton of Doncaster DBE was an opportunity to celebrate BRAC University’s significant contributions to higher education in Bangladesh and to explore prospects for expanding academic and research collaborations between the UK and Bangladesh.

Among those present at the meeting were Ariful Islam, Treasurer; David Dowland, Registrar; Professor Fuad Hassan Mallick, Dean of the School of Architecture and Design; Professor Arshad Mahmud Chowdhury, Dean of the BSRM School of Engineering; Manzoor Hasan, Executive Director of the Centre for Peace and Justice; Mohammad Khairul Basher, Director of the Office of Communications; and Mohammad Sajedul Karim Chowdhury, Director of Operations Office.