Twograduates of the Asian University for Women (AUW) have been selected to pursueMaster's degrees at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced InternationalStudies (SAIS) in Washington D.C. as part of the SAIS Women Lead Initiative(SWL).

CHITTAGONG,BANGLADESH - Media OutReach - August 21, 2018 - Two graduates ofthe Asian University for Women (AUW) have been selected to pursue Master'sdegrees in international studies and economics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced InternationalStudies (SAIS) in Washington D.C. as part of the SAIS Women Lead Initiative(SWL). Sabiha Subah Mohona and Samanta Sharmin Laskar, both nationals ofBangladesh, graduated from AUW with Economics degrees in 2016. They are theinaugural fellows of a fully-funded program established by AUW and SAIS torecruit qualified graduates to pursue advanced training in internationalstudies and economics at SAIS. Throughout their two-year graduate program atSAIS, Sabiha and Samanta will study full-time, participate in professional mentorshipopportunities, and complete a SAIS Women Lead practicum and internship.

AUW is a leadinginternational, independent university for women located in Chittagong,Bangladesh. It offers an liberal arts and science education to women ofoutstanding academic and leadership potential, regardless of their social,economic, national, or religious background. Since AUW's first CommencementCeremony in 2013, AUW graduates have earned placements at top Master's andDoctoral programs in the US and the UK, including those of Columbia, Stanford,New York University, and University of Oxford.

"We are absolutely delightedto hear of our alumnae commencing their graduate studies at Johns HopkinsUniversity through the SAIS Women Lead Initiative. Sabiha and Samanta are tworemarkable young women, who are launching a fruitful partnership between AUWand SAIS to foster the next generation of female leaders in Asia and the MiddleEast. We are truly inspired by the exceptional determination, focus, and hardwork that our alumnae dedicate to their educational and professional pursuits."says Dr. Rosie Bateson, the Dean of Faculty & Academic Affairs at AUW.

SAIS Women Lead is a globalwomen's leadership development program that partners public and privateorganizations with SAIS' faculty, students, and alumni, to improve thepolitical and economic outcomes of communities through the empowerment ofwomen. By fostering scholarship and cross-cultural exchange, SAIS Women Leadraises awareness of gap areas in research and advocacy to create moreinclusive, compassionate, and service-oriented societies. Its mission is toincrease and amplify women's leadership around the world to inspire balancedand sound policies.

"Since the first classentered in 1944, SAIS's women students have stood shoulder-to-shoulder withtheir male colleagues and gone on to make immense contributions in all fields.Recognizing that women's empowerment can drive global economic growth andpromote human flourishing, SAIS has made a commitment to train women leadersfrom around the world and to support them in their time here. I am honored tobe part of making it possible to support our inaugural SAIS-AUW Fellows Programand look forward to witnessing all the ways they contribute to and enhance ourSAIS community as students and alumnae," says Dr. Kathy Pike, ExecutiveDirector and Scientific Co-Director of the Global Mental Health Program atColumbia University, and longtime advocate of AUW and SAIS.

"[Both AUW and SWL] areinnovations of global importance. More leaders and change agents with a senseof social tolerance are badly needed," remarks Dr. Kent Calder, Vice Dean forFaculty Affairs and International Research Cooperation at SAIS.

About The AsianUniversity for Women

Founded in 2008 and located inChittagong, Bangladesh, Asian University for Women is the first of itskind:  a regional institution dedicated to women's education andleadership development -- international in outlook, but rooted in the contextsand aspirations of the people of Asia. Approximately 800 students from 16countries attend AUW; over 700 have been graduated. This University existssolely to support a rising network of women leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers from across the region. It seeks out women who have significant academicpotential, demonstrate courage and a sense of outrage at injustice, and areempathic to the woes of other people. A majority of AUW's students arefirst in their family to enter university; 98% of AUW's students are on full ornear-full scholarships funded by private donors from around the world. Oursupport comes from a wide range of individuals, corporations, and foundationsthat believe in our mission, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, UNIQLO, Maybank, and Lee Foundation,Singapore. A majority of AUW graduates find employment in the private sector intheir home countries, while about 25% go on to pursue graduate studies. AUWgraduates or former students have been admitted to Stanford, Oxford, Columbia,Brandeis, New York University, Surrey and a host of other leading universitiesin the world. For more information, please visit www.asian-university.org.