Department of English, UAP arranges a feature writing workshop with Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia.

Department of English, University of Asia Pacific organized a 32-hour long feature writing workshop in collaboration with Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia, titled “Writing a Feature Piece”. The workshop was the second collaboration so far between the respective English departments of UAP and UNM. The inauguration ceremony of the workshop started at 3 PM, BST on October 14, 2022 via the online platform, Zoom, with participants and facilitators from Bangladesh and Indonesia.

The workshop intended to introduce the basic concepts of feature writing, conduct collaborative study sessions involving students from both the departments. It also featured intercultural exchange and exposure of ideas among Bangladeshi and Indonesian students. At the end of the workshop, the participants would also get the opportunity to present their work during the closing ceremony. It was also announced that the top features would be published in the Anthology of Feature Writing which is going to be published from Indonesia. For the purpose of the workshop, participants were divided into 16 groups. The speaker at the workshop sessions was Dwi Ratih Ramadhany, a prominent freelance writer in Indonesia. She also used to work for a prominent Indonesian publisher titled “Gramedia”.

The Opening ceremony included wonderful and welcoming speeches from the Heads of the English Department, of both UAP and UNM, the Director of the Office of International Affairs (OIA) of the two universities, and the Deans of the respective faculty.

Honorable Head, Department of English, UAP, Dr. Mehnaz T. Choudhury hoped for further collaboration and friendship between the two parties. The Director of Office of International Affairs (OIA), UAP, and Advisor, Seminar Committee, Department of English, Ismat Zarin, was delighted to be a part of the event, wishing to facilitate the international and cultural exchange between each other. The Dean of the School of Business, Humanities and Social Science, UAP, Baqui Khalily, welcomed the participants to the program, emphasizing the need for both textual and applicatory knowledge in part of the students. Next, the Head, Department of English, UNM, Dr. Suharyadi, thanked the organizers, facilitators, and participants for joining this event, hoping it to be a vehicle of meaningful interconnection and fruitful experience. Later, the Director of International Affairs, UNM, Evi Eliyanah thanked everyone for joining the program and gave her best wishes for the workshop.

The Closing Ceremony was held on October 21, 2022 from 2:30 BST to 5:10 BST. At the closing ceremony, Sharifa Akter, Coordinator of the Seminar Committee, UAP, delivered a speech and thanked the organizers for making the event successful. After her speech, Dr. Suharyadi, Head, Department of English, UNM, delivered the closing speech hoping for further collaborative events between UNM and UAP. Later, three groups among sixteen were selected for the final presentation. Facilitators from UNM assisted the participants and members of the Seminar Committee of UAP guided the students in every need.

During the closing ceremony, the names of the best participants were declared by the Indonesian facilitators out of the 16 groups respectively. Interestingly, all the best participants were from the Department of English, University of Asia Pacific. Universitas Negeri Malang congratulated the University of Asia Pacific for the participants' outstanding performances at the event. Thus, the workshop ended with a note of gratitude from both the universities.