American International University Bangladesh (AIUB), on Thursday, May 7, 2020, hosted a webinar entitled “Post-Pandemic Preparedness: Competencies Needed for Tomorrow’s Job Market”. The guest speaker at the webinar was Ms. Monzula Morshed, Chief Human Resources and Administration Officer, Banglalink and the session was moderated by  the Director of the Office of Placement and Alumni, AIUB, Mr. RoomeeTarequeMoudud. Vice-Chancellor Dr. Carmen C.Lamagna presided over the event while the welcome address was delivered by Dr. Charles C Villanueva, Vice-President Academics and Dean, Faculty of Business Administration.  A total of approximately 80 attendees including faculty members and interns participated in the discussion.

Ms. Monzula delivered an elaborate and informative presentation on the measures Banglalink, in particular, had taken ahead of the lockdown in order to prepare employees for the transition to remote working. She elaborated on the necessary precautions and awareness required by all organizations in order to gradually resume daily operations during post lockdown. The second part of the discussion focused mainly on the competencies needed for graduates to equip in a post-pandemic job market. Ms. Monzula reiterated that future university graduates must be able to demonstrate critical thinking, creativity in problem solving, big data analysis skills, cultural intelligence and people skills in order to enhance their employability in an increasingly competitive market. Lastly, she stressed on the need for organizations to display utmost empathy and avoid adding to the global problem in the form of layoffs especially during such trying times. The discussion was followed by a brief question and answer session where the speaker addressed specific queries from teachers and students.

The webinar was a joint initiative by Mr. Tareque Moudud and Ms. Kishwar M Chowdhury, Assistant Professor, Department of Management and HRM, and was widely appreciated by faculty members who are especially concerned about the changing needs and requirements of the labor market. Further, Ms. Monzula underscored that the  best way to groom university students  for them to excel on  skills relevant and useful   in a post-pandemic Bangladesh so that they  can  contribute to the recovery of our economy.