Shooting for the Stars with AUW
As the world changes, the future may depend on empowering women and amplifying their voices. The Asian University for Women‘s April fundraiser helps make education possible.
As the world changes, the future may depend on empowering women and amplifying their voices.
Asian University for Women (AUW) graduation ceremony
Growing up in a small village in Bangladesh, Rimu Byadya witnessed firsthand how a person’s background often dictates their destiny.
“It was an unspoken truth, woven into the very fabric of our community,” she told The ACCJ Journal. “Children of farmers grew up to become farmers. Daughters of families with limited means were often married off early, their dreams fading away before they ever had a chance to blossom. The weight of tradition and circumstance shaped the paths of many, leaving little room for dreams to take flight.”
Determined to attend college and inspired by her mother’s generosity in the face of poverty, Byadya set her sights on the Asian University for Women (AUW).
“Watching my mother, I learned that true wealth lies not in what we have but in what we are willing to share. From a young age, I understood that kindness, no matter how small, has the power to change lives.”
AUW, based in the Bangladeshi port city of Chittagong, welcomed its first class of 130 students in 2008. Today, more than 1,700 students from 15 countries representing 35 ethnicities across Asia and the Middle East are enrolled. AUW plays an important role in bringing inclusive and equitable education opportunities to more people, one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The path to Chittagong, however, was an uphill one. Byadya was met with skepticism and disapproval by some in her community. Neighbors questioned her mother and father, asking: “What’s the point of spending money on a girl’s education? There is no return—better to save for a wedding.”
But her parents had a different vision. “Though they themselves had been unable to pursue higher education beyond high school due to poverty, they were determined to give their three daughters the opportunities they never had,” Byadya explained. “They bore the brunt of societal pressure, standing firm against criticism and ensuring that I could chase my dreams. Their unwavering support gave me the strength to push forward.”
AUW Experience
Upon arriving in the city, Byadya found new challenges. “It was daunting,” she recalls. “I had to navigate an unfamiliar environment, adjust to a different way of life, and prove myself in a place where few expected me to succeed. There was always the underlying notion that I was stepping beyond the bounds of what was traditionally acceptable.”
But her education, she reminded herself, was not just about personal success but about breaking barriers for generations to come. “With every challenge, I grew stronger, proving that investing in a girl’s education is not a loss—it is a transformation.”
At AUW, Byadya found herself surrounded by strong, ambitious women from diverse backgrounds, each with their own struggles and aspirations. “Their stories inspired me to challenge limitations, to dream bigger, and to believe in the power of change. The university was more than just an academic institution—it was a space of empowerment, where I learned that my voice mattered.”
Rimu Byadya shares insights from her journey in public health at the first in-person Global Model WHO, jointly organized by the World Health Organization and the World Federation of United Nations Associations and held October 29–November 1, 2024, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva.
Today, Byadya works to create healthier communities and empower others—especially young girls—through knowledge and access to care. It’s a journey that began during her first year at AUW, when she spent two weeks in a remote village as part of a group of 10 students conducting interviews with 120 mothers of young children.
“Our goal was to understand maternal diets and infant feeding practices,” she recalls. “When we returned to AUW and analyzed the data, we observed significant gaps in both maternal diets and infant feeding.”
The group then worked with their professor to design a small-scale intervention and secure funding. They recruited and trained four community health workers with whom they visited the village every weekend to deliver vital information on maternal nutrition and infant feeding practices.
The experience, Byadya said, was life-changing. “It solidified my passion for public health. The following year, I chose public health as my major. It set me on a path that I continue to walk with determination and purpose.”
After graduating from AUW in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in public health, she joined the Young Professionals Program offered by the global development organization BRAC, formerly known by its long-form name, the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee. She worked with Ebola survivors in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and also led a team of 5,000 health workers to provide essential healthcare to 10 million people in rural Bangladesh.
Byadya was then awarded the prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship by the University of Oxford to pursue a master of science degree in international health and tropical medicine, a program which she completed.
Since 2022, she has been a technical officer with the World Health Organization in Geneva. But her connection to AUW remains strong.
“The AUW community and network is more than just a professional connection—it is a family,” she said. “From the moment I stepped into AUW, I felt supported by a network of mentors, peers, and alumni who genuinely cared about my growth and success. Even now, whenever I need guidance, inspiration, or even just a reminder that I belong to a strong community of changemakers, I know I can turn to AUW. The friendships, mentorship, and unwavering encouragement from this network continue to fuel my journey.”
More than 350 students from diverse backgrounds unite at Global Model WHO 2024 to simulate the World Health Assembly. Rimu Byadya (far right) shares the stage with Mike Ryan (center right), executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme.
Corporate Support
Ensuring that women have the opportunity to chase their dreams and change their communities as Byadya did requires the collective support of individuals and companies around the world.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, there were about 122 million girls around the world not enrolled in school as of 2024. And in poorer countries, girls are more likely than boys not to complete their education.
This is why the work of AUW is so important—work that is funded by support foundations in Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States, Hong Kong, and Japan, as well as other organizations.
On April 10, the AUW Japan Support Committee will host its 14th annual fundraiser gala at Tokyo American Club. Titled Shooting for the Stars, the event will feature astronaut Naoko Yamazaki—just the second Japanese woman to fly in space—and Priyanka Shrestha, an inspiring AUW alumna who will share her story, just as Byadya did here.
Among the companies that regularly support AUW and the gala is Morrison Foerster. The US-based law firm established the Morrison & Foerster Foundation in 1986 to support children, education, the arts, healthcare, nutrition, and disaster relief, among other important causes. A percentage of all revenue that comes in to the firm—before it gets paid out to the partners—goes to the foundation each year. In 2023, the Morrison & Foerster Foundation’s charitable donations totaled more than $4.4 million.
AUW is one of the many organizations supported by the Morrison & Foerster Foundation. The firm has been a consistent supporter of AUW for years, and donated a significant amount of money over a five-year period in the name of a former Tokyo office manager who passed away from cancer.
Dale Caldwell, a lawyer at Morrison Foerster and member of the foundation board for more than a decade, said he is proud to support AUW “because you’re impacting not only one person’s life but also the life of a community.”
The Morrison & Foester Foundation became connected with AUW, he explained, through former Goldman Sachs vice-chair Kathy Matsui, who is a founder and current Co-chair of the AUW Japan Support Committee. “It lined up quite well with our objectives,” Caldwell noted.
Matsui concurs with Caldwell’s reasoning. “Numerous studies have shown that the return on a dollar is higher for educating women than for men because women are more likely to pass on education to their children and the rest of the community,” she told The ACCJ Journal.
The 13th annual fundraising event at Tokyo American Club in 2024.
Another familiar name in the Tokyo community supporting AUW is Yan Fan, cofounder of Code Chrysalis, a Tokyo-based coding boot camp with roots in Silicon Valley that has empowering women in tech careers as one of its goals.
“If we want to see change happen, we need to uplift the other half of the population—and I think that’s so important for Southeast Asia, and Asia in general,” said Fan, who was born in China and moved to the United States with her family at age three.
“We need to make sure that women are also heard and that they are given opportunities,” she added. “The work that I’ve always done has been about empowerment, trying to help people find better opportunities, trying to unleash people’s talents that maybe they didn’t know they had. I thought AUW was just so aligned with what I have been doing in terms of my career. And the return on investment—for getting these women college educations—is very high.”
Helping women unleash their talents is also a priority for Matsui, who co-launched MPower Partners—Japan’s first global venture capital fund focused on environmental, social, and governance—in 2021, after retiring from Goldman Sachs. One of her MPower cofounders, Miwa Seki, also co-chairs the AUW Japan Support Committee alongside Ali Buford and Catherine Sasanuma.
“My other passion is getting more women into the economy,” said Matsui. “While female economic participation has risen in the past decade from a low base, there is still scope to promote more women in leadership positions. It’s difficult for any country to run a marathon with just one leg, so empowering women is imperative to economic and business growth in every country.”
Those interested in contributing to this important mission are encouraged to attend the April 10 gala and explore opportunities to support AUW, either personally or through their organization. In addition to the insightful stories shared during the evening, attendees will have a chance to win prizes such as lunch with legendary architect Kengo Kuma and a dinner party with British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom at the UK Ambassador’s Residence.
Why It Matters
Returning to Byadya’s journey, a 15-year-old girl watching her female friends and classmates being married off—their futures decided for them—eventually found a way to pursue her dream of doing something more through AUW. And today, she is able to help others and make a profound difference in their lives and communities.
Looking back, Byadya said that her time on campus was more than just an education.
“It was a revolution in my mind. It gave me the confidence to stand up for what I believe in and to advocate for a world where no girl has to justify her right to learn. The lessons I learned there continue to shape my path, guiding me to empower others and create a future where education is a force for liberation and transformation.”
To young women who dream of pursuing education and helping their communities, Byadya has this advice. “Never forget your roots, because they are what make you unique. Do not question whether you can or cannot achieve something—just strive for what you believe in with unwavering determination. The world may tell you that you are not enough, that your dreams are too big—but never let those voices define you. Your dreams matter, your voice matters, and your actions have the power to create change. Keep pushing forward, keep believing, and never stop fighting for the future you deserve.”
Rimu Byadya (center right) and fellow young professionals with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (center left).
AUW 14th Annual Fundraising Event
Shooting for the Stars
April 10, 2025 • 6:30–9:30 p.m. • Tokyo American Club
Tickets: ¥8,500–15,000
Academic Evolution
The British School in Tokyo is moving from A Levels to the International Baccalaureate.
The British School in Tokyo is moving from A Levels to the International Baccalaureate
The British School in Tokyo (BST), the largest British international school in Japan, is planning to transition from the A Level curriculum to the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) for students in Years 12 and 13 (ages 17 and 18). This shift is part of the school’s commitment to providing an educational experience that aligns with the evolving aspirations and needs of its diverse and dynamic student community.
BST is currently a candidate school* for the IBDP and aims to become an authorized IB World School, with the last A-Level cohort running from 2024 to 2026. The (International) General Certificate of Secondary Education—or (I)GCSE—will remain for Year 11, and there will be no changes for other year groups.
Evolving Education
Founded in 1989, BST is widely recognized for its strong reputation and commitment to excellence. The school currently serves a diverse international community of students representing 65 nationalities. While A Levels remain a respected qualification, the school has recognized the need to evolve in response to its changing demographic. The IBDP, a globally recognized qualification offered by thousands of schools worldwide, provides a broader, more international approach to education.
The IBDP offers a comprehensive education, requiring students to study six subjects across disciplines. It encourages critical thinking through Theory of Knowledge and promotes holistic development through Creativity, Activity, and Service, fostering independence and confidence.
Widely recognized by universities, the IBDP is one of the most rigorous pre-university qualifications. Research shows that IBDP graduates are more likely to be accepted at top higher-education institutions, with components such as the Extended Essay preparing students for university challenges.
Student Success
Over the past five years, BST students have matriculated to institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Columbia, Pennsylvania, Chicago, NYU, Toronto, UBC, Amsterdam, Leiden, and Todai. BST believes that it is important to match students to the best university for them, and the IBDP will help BST students continue to secure places in a wide variety of universities around the world.
As BST embarks on this exciting journey to become an IB World School, it remains committed to providing students with the best possible education, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary for success in an increasingly globalized world.
For details and to enroll, visit www.bst.ac.jp.
Social Impact
If the future of Earth as we know it is to be secured, not just for ourselves but for generations to come, the way we do business has to change. That was the conclusion of scientists in a recently released report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a body under the mandate of the United Nations. Serial entrepreneur Priya Sultan agrees with the report’s conclusions, adding that the education system—in addition to business practices—must be upgraded.
US-raised entrepreneur Priya Sultan opens paths to social innovation in Japan
If the future of Earth as we know it is to be secured, not just for ourselves but for generations to come, the way we do business has to change.
That was the conclusion of scientists in a recently released report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a body under the mandate of the United Nations. In August, an IPCC working group found that human activity is changing the climate of the planet in unprecedented ways, and that a change in course is necessary.
Serial entrepreneur Priya Sultan agrees with the report’s conclusions, adding that the education system—in addition to business practices—must be upgraded.
For Sultan, a new focus has to be placed on education and business models driven by social outcomes if the challenges identified by organizations like the IPCC are to be tackled. That’s the reason she established Social Impact Lab Japan, a company that incubates, accelerates, and invests in businesses that have societal solutions at their core.
Since its founding in 2019 in Tokyo, Social Impact Lab Japan has supported dozens of aspiring entrepreneurs, including high school and university students, as well as professionals. Working with partners in industry and education, the company isn’t just trialing new ideas; it is also inspiring a generation of founders in Japan—and, in the future, overseas.
It is Sultan’s hope that, by supporting social entrepreneurship, new, socially minded leaders will emerge to define the shape of future business opportunities and solutions.
Social Business
The chief executive officer and founder of Social Impact Lab Japan, Sultan speaks in rapid sentences, a sense of urgency and determination rising in her voice.
“The way that we are living in the world is not scalable or sustainable, it’s not good,” she told The ACCJ Journal. “There are a billion people going hungry every year, and it’s worse now because of the coronavirus pandemic. Why is that?”
But it’s not just solving the challenge of global hunger that motivates Sultan. Lack of access to education is another of her bugbears.
“Why don’t people have access to basic education, things that we took for granted when we were growing up?”
There are three ways to begin tackling both issues, all of which are priorities at her lab, she explained:
- Education
- Creating allies
- Raising awareness about social impact as a solution
For Sultan, “it’s about people hearing that things need to change. And so, you have to inspire more people to effect that change, because you can’t do it alone.”
What’s more, she added, “it’s realizing that social entrepreneurship is crucial to how we do business in the future.”
Young people are amenable to socially driven change and businesses. “They want to spend their money on companies that are doing things the right way,” Sultan said. “And if more companies start to do things that way, we’re going to be able to make the changes that are absolutely needed.”
Inspiring Founders
The motivation behind Social Impact Lab Japan goes back to 2017, when a conversation between Sultan and a female student at Showa Women’s University sparked an idea.
“I told them my story; told them about the Hult Prize. At the end, I remember some students coming up to me to say thanks,” she said.
At the time, Sultan was speaking at Japanese universities in her capacity as the global projects director with the Hult Prize, a global competition that incentivizes students to pitch socially focused business ideas.
“So, this girl comes up to me—I think she was 20 or 21 years old. And she burst into tears. I asked, ‘Are you okay?’ Clearly there was something there.” As Sultan recalls, the student said, “This is the first time in my life that someone told me that I could pursue my own dreams.”
For Sultan, the student’s comment was eye-opening. On reflection, she remembers thinking, “How can you be 21 years old and have this sense of hopelessness?”
Speaking to other students during her tour of Japan, she discovered that this sense of hopelessness ran deep among students, especially regarding their post-university career.
“They would say, ‘I have all these ideas, but when my third year comes, I have to start job hunting so that I’m secure in my final year, and that’s it.’”
In other words, students in Japan—quite apart from professionals already in the workforce—often sideline their ideas about entrepreneurship for the sake of a risk-free career in a large company. Social Impact Lab Japan was established to provide such people with the resources necessary to take their burning ambitions from idea to product or service and beyond.
Impact Lab
Working with socially minded startups and founders, Social Impact Lab Japan provides a platform where ideas are pitched, tested, and prototyped—and incubated or accelerated.
Entrepreneurs there can tap into a wide network of mentors from the private, public, and non-profit sectors to learn the ins and outs of developing and launching a business.
The company does “a lot of sessions with entrepreneurs to help them get the skills they need, and for them to hear different voices, meet different people, and leverage our network, which can give them more resources if they need it,” Sultan said.
Sessions include seminars and workshops on subjects such as purpose-driven leadership, pitching for contests, and mentoring.
“We’re focused on the education side, because I think there is an education and cultural change that needs to happen,” she explained. “People need to get a better understanding of what social entrepreneurship is really about.”
And the result? “You can see them light up when they feel that they can make a change in society, and I notice that particularly with young people, especially high school students,” Sultan said.
Because of social-distancing rules during the coronavirus pandemic, these sessions are conducted via video conference instead of in person.
But it’s not just founders and aspiring entrepreneurs who are the focus of activities at the lab. Companies, too, are important players in their social impact ecosystem.
“In talking to, and doing sessions with, corporates, I noticed that there is a big misunderstanding about the concept of social entrepreneurship,” Sultan said. “I think [they believe that what we do is] charity, but it’s not charity. And the reason it’s not charity is that charity doesn’t work, because it’s a donor-based model, which makes it donor-dependent. If charity worked, we wouldn’t see the problems that we are seeing, such as so many people going hungry, or without water or electricity.”
Time to Change
Born in India and raised in the United Sates, Sultan’s own journey into entrepreneurship could not have been predicted from the choices she made early in her career. Like so many in her peer group, her priority on graduating college was to join the workforce, and to do so in a sector that conformed to societal expectations for job security. That’s why she joined multinational financial services provider Wells Fargo & Company in New York, where she worked for a couple of years as a credit manager.
“It’s banking in New York, so working 90 hours a week [was] normal,” she recalls.
But it was not long after joining the bank that she hit a crossroad: continue or change path. In the end, it was her father’s worry for her well-being that helped her decide.
“My dad came up to me and said, ‘Priya, it’s six in the morning. You’re stressed all the time. And you don’t seem happy with your job, so think about changing it.’”
That very same day, Sultan walked into her workplace and tendered her resignation.
“I walk out of there with no job. I’m 25 years old, and I don’t know what I’m doing with my life,” she remembers.
And yet, only two months later, she set off on a new course, boarding a plane to New Delhi, India’s capital. That was 2009.
Meaningful Mentors
Starting her life in New Delhi, Sultan found refuge in a small garage apartment. Her goal? To begin work at World Health Partners, a sustainable healthcare services provider in the city.
In hindsight, her experiences at the organization played an important role in setting her on her current trajectory. In particular, she found a mentor there who inspired her to pursue a career in the social impact sector.
“Gopi Gopalakrishnan, the director of World Health Partners, took me under his wing and said, ‘I’ll teach you everything I know.’ What I learned was that you can do business and make socially positive changes. And that was something that was not often spoken about more than 10 years ago,” she explained. “He really opened my eyes to how you can make profitable companies and create the positive change that society desperately needs.”
After nine months at World Health Partners—but desiring to add new skills to her knowledge belt—Sultan enrolled at the Hult International Business School in London.
During that period, she herself became a student competitor in the Hult Prize (then the Hult Global Case Challenge). Her team made it to the regional finals.
When she graduated with a masters in international relations, another mentor connected her to a job opportunity at the Hult Prize, which was at the time—more than a decade ago—taking on its very first hires.
Full Circle
As the global projects director at the Hult Prize, Sultan is able to leverage the platform’s international network to support her work at Social Impact Lab Japan.
“We exist in over 121 countries; we have over 3,000 universities that participate every year—and that’s just in the on-campus program,” she noted, speaking about the prize.
In Japan alone, student teams from 50 to 100 universities take part in the Hult Prize’s annual pitch contest. The challenge for students in 2022 is “to create 2,000 jobs by 2024 by thinking globally and acting locally.”
Pitches are made at the campus level, with successful ideas going through regional finals and an accelerator program in the United Kingdom. The top prize of $1 million in startup funding is awarded to one team at a ceremony at the United Nations in New York.
Promoting participation in the competition among universities in Europe and Asia was the main thing that drew Sultan to Japan in the first place.
“I first came to Japan because we saw an opportunity to grow the Hult Prize here. Ahmad Ashkar, the founder of the Hult Prize, said, ‘Priya, why don’t you go and check out the scene.’ This was at the end of 2016,” she recalls.
A year later, Sultan had the encounter with the student at Showa Women’s University, a despairing moment that opened new paths of hope and entrepreneurship. And she has been helping young Japanese talents pursue their dreams ever since.