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The Visiting President of Basel Calls on the Bangladesh Education Minister

Posted on April 8, 2023

Written by AUW

Chittagong, Bangladesh, April 7, 2023  — The Hon’ble Dr. Dipu Moni, Minister of Education of the Government of Bangladesh who also serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Chittagong, hosted at her residence Professor Andrea Shenker-Wicki, the President of the University of Basel in Switzerland on Friday, April 7, 2023 to personally congratulate her on the AUW award of a Doctorate of Laws, honoris causa.  The diploma was conferred to Professor Schenker-Wicki at the AUW campus in Chittagong on April 5 in the presence of the Hon’ble Minister of Information of the Government of Bangladesh Dr. Hasan Mahmud, MP.

Professor Schenker-Wicki was accompanied to the meeting with AUW Chairman of the Board by Dr. Stefano Nogisch, the Secretary General of the University of Basel; the AUW Vice Chancellor Dr. Rubana Huq; and AUW Founder Mr. Kamal Ahmad.

Professor Schenker-Wicki told the Minister of Education how impressed she has been with the Asian University for Women.  It is rare to create a community of excellent faculty, students and staff anywhere; AUW has done that marvelously well.  There is a common commitment across the whole community to learn and teach is extraordinarily compelling.   Earlier, the Hon’ble Information Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud had noted how AUW may be a relatively new and small institution still but it has probably already surpassed all other institutions in Bangladesh in terms of quality of teaching and learning.  He said an AUW graduate almost invariably comes out with superior knowledge and a sense of courage and a commitment to take on challenges and excel all expectations.

Dr. Dipu Moni welcomed Professor Schenker-Wicki as the latest member of the AUW family who would be treasured immensely by the AUW community.  A classroom has been named after her already.

Professor Schenker-Wicki was elected for a rare third term to lead Switzerland’s oldest university

which was founded in Basel city in 1460 A.D.  Basel is the home of the multinational pharmaceutical giants Novartis and Roche as well as a litany of other important institutions such as the agricultural chemicals company Syngenta. It may be noted here that Syngenta is providing extensive support to AUW to recruit and sponsor daughters of landless farmers from across South Asia.