Department of Organization Strategy and Leadership hosted a seminar
Published : 12:04, 30 June 2025
As a part of its 11-day long celebration to mark its 9th Founding Anniversary, the Department of Organization Strategy and Leadership (OSL) hosted a seminar titled- Strategic Leadership: Empowering Youth and Moral Leadership in Challenging Environments on Sunday, the 29th of June 2025, at the Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban, University of Dhaka from 3:00pm-5:00pm. The 11 Day-long celebration also included Movie Day, Art Exhibition, OSL Marathon, Sports Day, Chess Competition, Debate and so on.
The seminar had the honour of having Dr. A.F Serajul Islam Chowdhury, Emeritus Professor, University of Dhaka as the chief guest, honourable Vice Chancellor of the University of Dhaka, Prof. Dr. Niaz Ahmed Khan as the inaugural speaker, Kamran T. Rahman, President, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industries as the keynote speaker, Dr. Md. Sanwar Jahan Bhuiyan, Secretary, Bangladesh Public Service Commission Secretariat, Dr. M. Rezaul Islam, Director, IQAC, University of Dhaka and Prof. Muhammad Abdul Moyeen, Founding Chairperson, Department of Organization Strategy & leadership as special guests of the seminar. Prof. Dr. Md. Shariat Ullah, Professor & Director, Executive MBA, Department of Organization Strategy & Leadership gave the opening remarks while the chairman of the department Md. Rashedur Rahman was the moderator of the session and gave its closing remarks.
Prof. Dr. Md. Shariat Ullah shared that we need to demonstrate leadership in our everyday lives no matter what role we play in the society. Actions or strategies of leaders are directly linked to the success and failure of an organization no matter what area of society it is operating in, which goes on to show the significance of the department across countries and industries where we need to lead with clarity, courage and strong moral compass.
Kamran T. Rahman began by congratulating the department for continuously shaping ethical leaders for the future. He discussed that we are living in an era marked by global disruptions, therefore, in such a landscape, leadership is no longer just about vision and authority, it is about character and integrity to make morally sound decisions under pressure. He emphasizes that this is where youth leadership can act as a beacon because leadership without ethics is direction without a compass.
Prof. Dr. Niaz Ahmed Khan highlighted that this seminar is a celebration of youth and morality both of which are alarming issues that need to be addressed in this time and age. He further congratulated the department for being able to make its place and mark in the university as well as the country within such a short span of time. This seminar marks the fact that OSL has been able to make itself an integral part of the academic diaspora to the extent that significant shareholders of our society are delighted to partake in its celebrations. Morality and Integrity are issues that are not limited to a single seminar rather decisions that we need to make on the daily.
Dr. Md. Sanwar Jahan Bhuiyan stated that over the years leadership theories have evolved from being people centric to relationship centric. Strategy, Leadership and Challenges are key concepts for organizations of all kinds but very rarely do organizations shape their strategy, their mission or vision based on value centric sentiments. Leadership is as relationship based as it is an integrated process rooted in empowering followers. Managers are everywhere but it is hard to find leaders, so he applauded the administration of the university for establishing a department for Strategy & Leadership in order to address the gap in leadership that our country is so direly facing.
Dr. M. Rezaul Islam shared that the seminar topic for today is very simple yet has a deep nuance to it especially in the era of AI disruption. He applauded the course curriculum of the department for addressing the ever-evolving contemporary issues of the world and requested them to add dedicated courses for youth leadership and ethics in its curriculum to address the dearth in moral decision making that the youth of today face as an alarming issue.
Prof. Muhammad Abdul Moyeen discussed that moral leadership is making the right decisions and not the easy ones, it is about asking oneself if their actions will lift others and leave a positive legacy. He highlighted that we must think long term, instead of chasing grades and titles, our focus should be creating a meaningful impact in our community in 10 years’ time. The focus of youth should go beyond building their career but emphasise building character. True leadership is not about dominating others but about co-creating and collaborating with others to leave behind a meaningful impact around you.
Dr. A.F Serajul Islam Chowdhury stated that in an era where knowledge is treated as a commodity, the Department of Organization Strategy & Leadership should be applauded for introducing emotional intelligence as a course in its curriculum as it is critical for building integrity and is the antidote for problems that are borne from the rise in artificial intelligence. He also shared that of the six founding pillars of the department, entrepreneurship development should be duly noted because when people think of entrepreneurship development, they connect it with private ownership and capitalism but in this era entrepreneurship development should focus on public ownership and socialism to fight the ills of capitalism. He finished by reminding the youth in the audience that as we go developing our character and integrity to identify ourselves as moral leaders, we must always uphold our culture and not lose its essence.
Md. Rashedur Rahman closed the event by re-emphasising the necessity of building character and moral compass in business and wished that the audience be able to develop themselves as the next Serajul Islam Chowdhurys. He finished by saying that it is our duty to translate the key takeaways from this seminar into actions that we uphold in our daily lives.
