Dear Fellow Alumni,
Greetings from the newly elected office-bearers of the Asia Chapter of the Medical College Alumni Association.
As you know, this election represents the first occasion when AKU’s medical college alumni based in the Pakistan, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific regions have organized themselves into a chosen set of representatives. For this, we are grateful to Sadaf Khan (MBBS ’92), who in her capacity as President of the North American Chapter prodded the Asia-based alumni into action. A steering committee chaired by Hasnain Zafar (MBBS ’91, PGME ‘97) and including Anita Zaidi (MBBS ’88), Asim Belgaumi (MBBS ’89), Adina Sajjad (MBBS ’96), and Sana Nasim (MBBS ‘04, PGME ‘12) oversaw the elections, in partnership with Abdul Haq Wahedna from the university’s Alumni Affairs office.
With the completion of this election, we are embarking on what we hope will be a ground-breaking journey. While being mindful of the challenges ahead, we are also excited by the possibilities created by this novel opportunity to serve the alumni body and to contribute towards the strengthening of our beloved alma mater.
Our vision is to forge a productive and mutually fruitful relationship between AKU and its alumni. We intend to work towards that vision by focusing on three key areas: (a) developing an innovative and interesting platform for alumni-institution interaction and for interaction among alumni; (b) improving the alumni database and establishing robust channels of communication among alumni as well as between the alumni and the institution; and (c) reviewing the existing governance and bylaws to formulate an effective and coherent organizational structure, in partnership with the North American chapter as well as with alumni of other AKU entities.
We will keep you informed about our progress through regular updates. Very soon, you will also be hearing about the alumni activities we are planning, in which we will look forward to your wholehearted participation. For now, please mark your calendars for the evening of Thursday, December 5th in Karachi – more on that shortly!
The steering committee had the foresight to ensure that the Asia Chapter includes representation from each set of medical college programs, including MBBS, PGME, and Master’s programs. We invite alumni from any of these programs to contact us with ideas and suggestions. You can send an email to mcalumni.asia@aku.edu (this is the official chapter account and will be monitored daily). We have also set up a Facebook page.
We may be a fledgling outfit, but we are keen to get moving and we are committed to serve. We are grateful for your trust and confidence, and we look forward to your support.
Saad Shafqat (MBBS ’88) President
Saniya Sabzwari (MBBS ’92) Vice President, Undergraduate
Tayyaba Ansari (PGME ’11) Vice President, PGME
Fyezah Jehan (PGME ’11, Master’s ‘11) Vice President, Master’s
Asad Ali (MBBS ’01) Treasurer
Amyn Malik (MBBS ’10) Secretary
Karachi: September 24, 2013
