Vincent Chang (academic)

His pre-academia experiences, mainly in the US, included medical imaging, energy, investment, marketing and consulting, with start-up firms as well as JP Morgan, McKinsey, ExxonMobil and the US Federal Reserve.[5]

Vincent Chang served as the executive dean of Peking University HSBC Business School, established as China's first all-English international business school.[6] He was the founding president and planning director of the University of Business and Technology in Oman (academically affiliated with Virginia Tech in the US),[2] and inaugural chair for institutional development at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in China.[7]

Shortly after joining Brac University in February 2019, he introduced Brac University 2.0 as Bangladesh's international university and a research institution.[8] He has made the near-term milestones consist of three pillars, namely internationalization, student life, and research with impact.[9]

During his first year in office, he re-structured and created the Graduate School of Management, School of Data and Sciences, School of Life Sciences, School of Architecture and Design, and School of General Education, in addition to School of Engineering, School of Law, School of Business and School of Public Health. The School of Medicine is currently under planning.

In March 2019, Chang visited the Rohingya refugee camps, which are located near Cox's Bazar in south-eastern Bangladesh in close proximity to the neighboring country Myanmar. Over one million Rohingyas have taken refuge in the camps following a Myanmar military crackdown in Rakhine State in August 2017. He has since committed Brac University to humanitarian research particularly about the Rohingyas.[10]

Following the visit, he supported the partnership between Brac University's Centre for Peace and Justice and the International Institute for Social Studies (ISS) to organize the International Conclave on Justice and Accountability for the Rohingyas, which was held in The Hague, Netherlands, on October 18, 2019.[11] The Conclave opened up constructive debates around the Rohingya crisis.[12]

He officially introduced Brac University 2.0 on October 26, 2019 in the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony for Brac University's new campus in Dhaka. The founder of Brac University, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, laid the foundation stone.[13]

In December 2019, Chang received the Bangladesh's national flag that was taken into space by Bangladesh's first nano-satellite BRAC Onnesha. The flag was delivered by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The satellite was developed by Brac University School of Engineering's faculty and students. [14]

In January 2020, he mandated the Duke of Edinburgh Award Programme into Brac University's student life curriculum.[15] It is the first University in Bangladesh to make it an essential student experience.[16]

He was instrumental in Brac University's inaugural membership of the Open Society University Network.[17] George Soros announced the University's involvement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 24, 2020.

Under his leadership, Brac University ranked GLOBAL TOP 50 for ‘Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 1): No poverty’ in Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2020.[18] Brac University's performance has been found to be particularly encouraging in delivering the goals in the university's research on poverty and their support for poor students and citizens in the local community.[19]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chang launched the Student Assistance Fund in May 2020. And in June 2020, he launched Brac University's online learning platform buX.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]