For the very first time, BRAC University has acknowledged its first Student Organization, Social Impact Lab- SIL.
The Social Impact Lab of Brac University, in partnership with the General Education (GenEd) and Student Life, on Tuesday hosted an inaugural ceremony of Social Impact Lab and welcomed the Millennium Fellows of Class 2022, according to a press release.
The purpose of the ceremony was to praise and inspire the young souls who are enthusiastic about bringing change and making an impact in our society. With the help of the Millennium Fellows, the Social Impact Lab hopes to achieve the goal of a sustainable Bangladesh.
The board member of Brac and the Founder of SBK Tech Ventures and SBK Foundation Sonia Bashir Kabir, Brac University’s Registrar Dr David Dowland, Dr Samia Huq, dean, School of General Education and professor, Dr Sebastian Groh, associate professor, Brac University, founder and CEO of SOLshare Tahsina Rahman, joint director, Student Life, Brac University, and guest Anonnya Banik, social activist, advocate of transgender rights and founder of Shada Kalo, were also present there.
The ceremony started with the introduction teaser of SIL and a short teaser of their upcoming events following a discussion round session with Sonia Bashir Kabir, Dr David Dowland, Dr Samia Huq and Dr Sebastian Groh as discussants.
The program emphasized the importance of student-led social impact works and how these are contributing to social impact in Bangladesh.
The discussion addressed important aspects such as how impact created with the social projects can be magnified and gauged.
The guests presented their powerful speeches, encouraging the young innovators to continue working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and praised the Social Impact Lab and Millennium Fellow’s initiative to create an impact.
SIL has already launched its first two events which are The Global wall of Goodwill through collaborating with people from around the world and the movie screening on the World Mental Health Day to promote freedom from worry and anxiety.
They have already announced one of their upcoming projects – Letter to Stranger, a unique anonymous feelings-sharing platform to destigmatize mental illness and make affordable and quality approaches to help each other.
They are also working on promoting VR therapy by collaborating with the ‘Inside Global’ project.
SIL will also look forward to collaborating with OSUN (Open Society University Network), a global partnership of educational institutions that integrates learning and the advancement of knowledge across geographic and demographic boundaries, promotes civic engagement on behalf of open societies, and expands access to higher education for underserved communities.
The Social Impact Lab is a hub for innovation and collaboration for student changemakers to co-create, connect and collaborate to bring about a positive change in our society to make the world a better place to live. The aim is to instil skills in students that foster the notion of empowered persons and help them become goodwill ambassadors.