Ms. Dulce Lamagna, Member, Board of Trustees, AIUB, attended the fireside chat “How nations build global influence through higher education” at the Asia Universities Summit 2026 and found the session both instructive and motivating. They took particular interest in Dominik Reisner’s account of Austria’s focused national approach—prioritising selected research strengths, negotiating performance agreements with universities, and implementing sustained multi‑year strategies to turn ambition into measurable impact. Reisner’s emphasis on sharpening national distinctiveness and concentrating resources resonated as a clear path for medium‑sized nations to “punch above their weight.” Laurie Pearcey’s reflections on institutional network‑building, culturally aware mobility schemes, and linking English‑taught programmes to work pathways further underscored the need for trust‑based, institutional partnerships that endure beyond individual relationships.

Drawing on these insights, they identified actionable lessons for Bangladesh universities, and AIUB specifically: define a small number of strategic strengths (e.g., ICT, engineering, entrepreneurship) and align funding, hiring, and promotion to those priorities; adopt 5–8 year implementation plans with measurable targets and internal performance frameworks; formalise MoUs with clear deliverables (joint degrees, faculty exchanges, co‑funded research); and expand selective English‑taught postgraduate programmes tied to internships and industry partnerships to improve retention. They recommend piloting one or two partnership projects managed by a dedicated international‑partnership office, paired with a two‑year performance roadmap to demonstrate impact, build reciprocal regional trust, and scale successful models across the university.