Crawford Alumni Networking Event in Dhaka: Connecting alumni for collaboration and impact
On 17 December 2025, the Australia South Asia Research Centre (ASARC) hosted the ANU Crawford School Alumni Networking Event at Hotel Sarina, Dhaka, bringing together Crawford/ANU alumni and friends to reconnect and explore opportunities for collaboration and impact. The gathering forms part of ASARC’s broader effort to strengthen engagement with alumni and partners across South Asia.
The event was co-organised with the National Skill Development Authority of Bangladesh and Australia Awards, and was chaired by Dr Naznin K Chowdhury—a distinguished Crawford alumna and the current Chair of the Crawford Alumni Network in Bangladesh. Mr Syed Haider, First Secretary (Development) at the Australian High Commission, Bangladesh, also joined and addressed the group. More than 50 alumni attended. Presentations were followed by a lively discussion and dinner.
South Asia sits at the centre of many of today’s most pressing development and policy challenges—from climate risk and migration to human capital and inequality—and alumni networks are essential for ensuring that ASARC’s research and outreach remain grounded in country realities.
During the event, Professor Shyamal Chowdhury (Director, ASARC) shared a brief overview of ASARC’s mission and core activities. Based at the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU, ASARC is dedicated to research on the economies and societies of South Asia, including Bangladesh.
What we discussed
The conversation focused on ASARC’s four core pillars: research, capacity building, outreach and engagement, and collaborations and networks. On the research side, Professor Chowdhury highlighted themes that cut across ASARC-linked work, including social protection and extreme poverty, inequality and labour markets, human capital, migration and mobility, and climate change and rural transformation. He also noted how ASARC-linked projects combine field data with rigorous experimental and quasi-experimental methods, in close partnership with implementing organisations.
We also discussed ASARC’s capacity-building agenda—short courses and executive training, as well as tailored, demand-driven programs for ministries, NGOs and think tanks—designed to strengthen practical skills for evidence-based policymaking. Alumni gatherings like this one are a vital part of ASARC’s outreach efforts and help us stay connected to evolving policy priorities and institutional realities.
Bangladesh as a core partner
A central theme of the conversation was that Bangladesh has long been central to ASARC’s South Asia–focused work. We discussed several areas where collaboration with Bangladesh-based institutions could be especially valuable, including microfinance and financial inclusion, seasonal migration and rural transformation, human capital and education, and climate vulnerability and social protection.
We also emphasised that collaboration with local partners is essential for identifying policy-relevant questions, designing feasible and ethical research, and ensuring that evidence feeds back into local policy debates. Dhaka-based alumni can play an important bridging role by connecting ASARC with ministries, NGOs, research institutes and universities.
How alumni can stay involved
We closed with a practical discussion of how alumni can engage with ASARC—by staying connected through ASARC communications, sharing research and policy interests, co-developing projects where rigorous evidence is needed, supporting training and executive education, mentoring students and early-career researchers, and serving as ambassadors for ASARC and Crawford.
If you are a Crawford/ANU alumnus/alumna based in Bangladesh (or working on Bangladesh-related policy and research) and would like to connect, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please reach out to asarc@anu.edu.au.
— Professor Shyamal Chowdhury, Director, Australia South Asia Research Centre (ASARC), Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU
