British Council Bangladesh hosted a workshop on “Career Development” for final-year university students and young graduates at the Dhaka University Campus branch on 24 February 2018. The event was organised by Bangladesh Association of Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows (BACSAF) under the support of Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in UK.
About 100 students from both undergraduate and master’s levels as well as graduates from around the country registered online to attend the workshop, which was aimed at providing the students with an opportunity to learn about career planning and development from the stories of some successful Commonwealth alumni in the country. Students from a diverse range of universities attended the workshop that included Dhaka, Chittagong and outside Bangladesh as well. Panellists for the event consisted of Dr Abbas Uddin Shiyak, Assistant Professor, Bangladesh University of Textiles, Professor Dr Tahmina Joy Rashid, MBBS, MPH, PhD (UK), Farhana Sharmin, National Consultant, World Health Organisation (WHO) and Senjuti Masud, Senior Communications Officer, British Council. The panellists recounted their career paths to outline their professional journey to provide some guidance to the young participants looking to start exploring their career options. There were also sessions on career planning, drafting effective CVs and preparing for job interviews which are some of the key elements of job application. Participants were given valuable tips on various aspects pertaining to job searching in order to improve their understanding and quality of job applications, subsequently improving their chances of getting their ideal job.
The workshop concluded with a brief open discussion session where participants were able to ask questions to the panellists to get clarity about specific topics. Few lively discussions took place during the session and the audience appreciated the chance to engage with the panellists. The workshop was well-received by the young students who felt it gave them a sense of direction regarding their future steps and they expressed their interest to attend more similar workshops in the days ahead. The British Council has plans to arrange more workshops in the coming days.