About Us
Deepening cooperation between higher education institutions and the private sector for sustainable development.
About the Alliance
University & Industry Alliance (UIA) is a dynamic, forward-looking platform dedicated to deepening cooperation between higher education institutions and the private sector. Established in response to the growing imperative of an open, interconnected global economy, UIA serves as the institutional architecture that makes university-industry collaboration structured, scalable, and sustainable.
Today's most pressing challenges — from technological disruption to workforce transformation — demand a response that neither academia nor industry can mount alone. Collaboration between academia and industry can bridge this gap and create multifold impact for sustainable development. UIA exists to make joint action not just possible, but productive.
Our Vision
To be the leading platform for university-industry cooperation, creating an ecosystem where knowledge powers commerce, and industry shapes the leaders of tomorrow.
Our Mission
To build a lasting partnership between universities and industry by co-developing job relevant curricula, funding research, and creating scholarship and placement opportunities that prepare graduates to thrive in the workforce.
Our Foundation
Bangladesh has a valuable opportunity to better connect its university graduates with the needs of a growing economy. While many graduates are still finding their way into employment, the industry is looking for more job-ready talent. Public universities largely depend on government funding, and there is considerable room for the private sector to play a greater role. Structured collaboration between universities and industry on curriculum, research, and capacity building can help bridge this gap, which is precisely our goal.
Core Values
- Collaboration — The most lasting solutions come from universities and industry working side by side, each bringing their own strengths to the table. By listening to one another and sharing responsibility, we build partnerships that benefit students, institutions, and the wider economy.
- Excellence — Commitment to the highest standards in education and industry practice
- Inclusivity — Equal access for all universities, public and private
- Innovation — Embracing new models of learning, research, and enterprise
- Integrity — Transparent governance and ethical engagement at every level
Organizational Structure
The University & Industry Alliance is headed by an Executive Committee (EC) appointed by the university authority. The EC may also constitute advisory and consultative committees representing industry and regions at local and international levels.
Our Story
UIA was founded with a simple but powerful conviction: that the future belongs to societies that can close the gap between what is taught and what is needed — between what is researched and what is applied. Starting from a founding coalition of universities, UIA has grown into an Alliance that spans institutions of higher learning and industry leaders across multiple sectors.
Our journey continues — and we invite every institution, company, and professional who shares this vision to join us.
Message from the President
As an academician, I have spent over 2 decades in classrooms as well as boardrooms teaching students and advising different organisations across the government and other sectors. In that journey, I kept seeing the same problem from both ends- talented students who could not find the opportunities they deserved and industry leaders who could not find the potential they were looking for. That gap is exactly why we started the University and Industry Alliance.
Established in 1921, the University of Dhaka is undoubtedly home to the brightest minds in the country. A little support from our end is what these students across 83 departments and 12 institutes require from our end. An executive committee and an advisory committee will work together to connect academia with the real world by arranging student scholarships, research funding, and internship placement programs. Every partnership we build, every scholarship we fund, is one more student who gets to study in ease, one more researcher who gets to pursue what matters and one more graduate who steps into the right job. As the leader of this initiative, my primary goal is to build a seamless connection between the industry and academia. Renowned institutions including MIT and Stanford have similar platforms and it is high time that we had the same.
None of this happens alone as it requires universities to open their doors and companies willing to invest in something more meaningful. If you believe as I do, that Bangladesh’s future can be built by connecting its brightest minds to the right opportunities, I invite you all to join us.
Prof. Dr. Md. Mohiuddin
President, University & Industry Alliance