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Writer's pictureMustafa Sakib

The Journey of Sajid Amit: From Student to Academic and Development Strategist

Updated: Aug 28, 2023


Sajid Amit is a scholar, strategist, academic, and foreign development professional. He is essentially a former investment banker who is now a scholar, academic, and strategy adviser. His customers include respectable companies like the United Nations, Wall Street investment banks, Silicon Valley startups, private equity investors, multinationals, government departments, and various bilateral and multilateral organisations. He also conducts research and offers consulting services to these companies.


Prior to joining ULAB, Mr. Amit attended some of the best universities in the world, including Dartmouth, Columbia University, and SOAS. He studied a variety of subjects, including business and Islam in South Asia, applied mathematics, history and economics, and South-Asian economies.


Education

Due to his impressive experience in both education and development, Sajid Amit is uniquely qualified to create game-changing tactics for the education sector. Sajid Amit earned his B.A. in history from Dartmouth College with a minor in economics, and his M.A. from SOAS, University of London, in international economic history of Asia and Africa. He got his PhD from Columbia University, New York where he was a Richard Hofstadter Faculty fellow.



Expertise and awards

Sajid Amit has over 17 years of experience in management consulting, academia, social/market research, and investment banking, to name just a few. He worked as a board member for BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Limited when he was only twenty-nine years old, making him the youngest director at a BRAC company. He was in charge of a $250 million USD portfolio at BRAC EPL, which was mainly held by foreign big investors like Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Deutsche Bank.


He founded and served on the board of the Digital Finance Forum Bangladesh (DFFB), which was important in promoting fintech-friendly legislation in Bangladesh. He is presently the country leader for the international fintech firm Tala.co. He is a significant player in the financial inclusion and technology sectors in Bangladesh.


Additionally, he is a specialist in investment consulting for international investors, fintech, and financial inclusion. Startups, social enterprises, youth, skill development, technology, and last but not least, social media knowledge are all areas that should be prioritised.


He oversaw KPMG's global study initiatives in the US, UK, and EU. He has also won study awards from Morgan Stanley Investment Management and BlackRock (UK) Advisory Ltd. for several years running. (2012-2013).


The Richard Hofstadter Faculty Fellowship from Columbia University (2007), the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award from KPMG India (2009), the Vivian B. Allen Foundation Scholarship from Dartmouth College, and the South Asia Institute Research Award from Columbia University (2006) round out his list of honors. (2000-2004). Not the least significant truth is that he was one of the twenty-five Global Leaders under twenty-one selected by Credit Suisse in New York.


Path to become development strategist

Sajid Amit’s whole educational background was in foreign countries. So he learnt stuff which is very rare in Bangladesh. Such as all his university level courses made him focus on skills. Like he had to learn excel no matter what for most of his courses. Then most of the courses required public speaking knowledge for presentation. His university life made him prepared for the real world.


Between 2000 and 2010, Sajid Amit lived outside of Bangladesh. He spent those eleven years residing in Delhi, New Hampshire, New York, London, and London. 2011 saw him return to Bangladesh. He's always wanted to do something in his own nation where he can see firsthand the positive development and be a part of it.


The fact that Bangladesh lacked a comparable position for Sajid Amit prevented his mother from allowing him to return when he wanted to. The economy was holding up better and better when he relocated back in 2011. He had the perfect chance to learn in the wake of the stock market crash, despite it.


Sajid Amit never got used to this because the advantages of his work, education, and experiences were going to a society and country that had already "advanced," and because the change he was trying to bring about was relatively small when compared to the change he could bring about over the course of a career in Bangladesh. In fact, it caused him to sense a sinking, dissatisfied sensation. In the meantime, Bangladesh was riding a wave that could lift countless millions of people while also not synchronising—to continue the water analogies.


The business research and computing at ULAB, where Amit currently works with a small staff but a bigger group of freelancers, is probably the most prominent and high-impact of any institution he can think of in Bangladesh. According to the most recent WURI globe University Ranking, ULAB is currently rated 39 out of 50 among the Top Universities in the globe.


Amit's knowledge extends beyond studies and development because of his experience as a teacher and the head of the EMBA program at ULAB. Thanks to this experience, he now has a thorough understanding of the challenges that teachers and pupils face on a daily basis as well as how schools actually function. He has used these insights to guide his strategies for enacting major change in the educational system.


He is helping his students by focusing on skills, trying his best to give them real world business exposure. Amit favours an educational approach that is more hands-on and practical, where students are encouraged to explore their hobbies and acquire information that will be valuable in their future careers. By ensuring that all students have access to high-quality education and by providing them with the resources they need to succeed, he is attempting to create a more fair and viable future for everyone.



He thinks that Bangladesh needs people who have great leadership skills with good networks in the education sector. Bangladesh is still stuck in the same old education system which is not helping with the unemployment problem.


Conclusion

Sajid Amit has already talked about how to present yourself to potential employers. His talk shows are life changing. He is leading the EMBA program of ULAB with expert hands and investing in startups. He has advice on how to build a startup as well. Bangladesh actually needs more development strategist like Sajid Amit in higher education level so that this country can produce more employees.

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