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Graduation Ceremony of AUW's AA class of 2010

Tazrian Shahid

137 Young women from 12 Asian countries -- Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Sri Lanka and Vietnam had started a journey about a year ago when they arrived with nervous yet brave steps to the campus of Asian University for Women (AUW) in Chittagong. They hailed from diverse socio economic backgrounds with distinct cultures and traditions. They spoke in a variety of languages and shared 4 different religious beliefs. They had only one thing in common: a driving passion for acquiring knowledge and skills to create positive changes in their lives, their communities, their countries and maybe even the world. 17 July, 2010 was not the end of their journey but a salute to their efforts, their courage and their achievements as they graduated from AUW's Access Academy (AA) to its undergraduate programme.

Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni, the chief guest at the graduation ceremony of AUW's second batch of AA students, emphasized the need for increased women's education. She said that this was the only way for women's advancement and development of effective leadership to improve our society. The programme, adorned brightly with AUW's colours of red and yellow was also graced by the presence of State Minister for Environment and Forests Dr. Hasan Mahmud and Founder and Acting Vice Chancellor of AUW, Mr. Kamal Ahmed who presided over the occasion held in Chittagong Club.

In a captivating speech, Loan Bui, a graduating student from Vietnam, shared her incredible journey and all that this journey has given her friends from all over Asia, sensitivity for differences among people, and a deeper understanding of humanity. Kathy Schneider, the outgoing Access Academy director, gave another inspiring speech urging her students to be a part of the solution.

(Tazrian Shahid is the Admissions Officer of AUW)

Pearl Fashion Institute

SET up by an international ready-to-wear supply chain involved in manufacturing, distribution, branding and retailing, Pearl Fashion Institute is envisaged to be a benchmarked fashion institute imparting world-class education with world class systems.

A sister Institute of Pearl Academy of Fashion, India, the objective of Pearl Fashion Institute (PFI), Dhaka is to develop professionally trained managerial level manpower to meet the current and future needs of the highly competitive global garment and textile industry, thereby, provide Bangladesh a cutting edge in the international trade.

Set up in the year 2006, within a span of four years, Pearl Fashion Institute has carved itself as one of the most highly regarded institutes in Fashion Technology, Management and Design. Pearl Fashion Institute has resources and Infrastructure to deliver world-class education. PFI also has amongst the best internationally trained faculty resources with rich industry experience, fully committed to education and research.

The institute boasts of world-class infrastructure, state-of-the-art workshops and facilities to train professionals at all levels. A strong Advisory Board, comprising of stalwarts from the local as well as international garment industry, art & design and academics, continually guides the vision and direction of the institute.

Pearl Fashion Institute also stands as the first and only validated delivery center of Nottingham Trent University, UK, with its strong industry linkages and internationally affiliations, the students at PFI benefit from continued industry visits, internships, workshops and seminars. Over the past 4 years, the institute has demonstrated an impeccable track record of 100% job placement; highlighting growing acceptance of the PFI trained graduates in the industry. A few prominent names where the Institute's alumni have interned or placed are: Gap Inc., H&M, Pride Group, Palmal, Epic, Beximco, Asmara (Bangladesh) Ltd., Mascot Group, Mitali Fashions, Norwest Industries, Generation Next Fashions, Radiance Group, Tex Services Liaison Office, Ananta Apparel, IDS Group, Harvest Rich, GASL, East West (BD) Inc., Pelican among others.

Pearl Fashion Institutes offers the following full-time programs of study:
· BA (Hons) Fashion Design
· BA (Hons) Fashion Merchandising & Production
· Fd A Fashion Merchandising & Production Technology
· PGD Knitwear Merchandising & Technology