As an International Alumni Representative of the University of Bradford, helping to arrange an alumni dinner was one of the topics discussed with the Alumni Office at Bradford. They asked me to look into possible venues to coincide with the visit of colleagues from the University’s Dubai Regional Hub. An event was planned for Sunday 18th February so people could easily attend. Invitations went out two to three weeks before the event to all the alumni living in the Islamabad region in Pakistan. With the great turnout, we filled 25 seats in one day and the numbers continued.
We all gathered at 18:00 on the Sunday at Serena Hotel, one of the top luxury hotels in Pakistan. All the alumni that attended were full-time job holders in reputable organizations, and some had their own businesses in the technology and IT sectors. Interestingly, two very senior alumni who graduated in 1996, completing their PhDs, also joined us and added to the vibrant atmosphere and discussion between Pakistani Braduates. One alumnus traveled from Lahore, almost 400km away from Islamabad, just to be there! It was great to see.
Alumni group photo in the Serena Hotel, Islamabad
Everyone appreciated the idea of having the get-together and were very happy to meet other alumni, recent and senior. Everyone shared the experiences and exposure they got from the University of Bradford. Jessica Harris and Ismat Abu Shihab, from the University’s Dubai Regional Hub, were in great support of the many ideas that were shared with them by alumni in terms of how the University can be promoted in the country. We also created a WhatsApp group for Islamabad-based alumni including of all those who attended the alumni dinner and those who missed due to some commitments.
We planned to organise more alumni dinners in Islamabad and in other cities as well, like Lahore and Karachi, maybe within this year with the support of the University of Bradford. There are many upcoming sessions to be conducted in different universities across Pakistan to raise awareness of how beautiful Bradford is.
In the end, all enjoyed the dinner and the well-planned alumni event in Pakistan.
About the Author
Fahad Iqbal is an international Marketing Professional based in Islamabad. Orginally from Lahore, Fahad attended Bradford to study for an MSc in International Marketing – successfully graduating in 2014. He now works as a Digital Media Strategist at GroupM (Pakistan), the World’s largest advertising media company’.
To connect with Fahad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fahadiqbaluk/
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