Published: 21 July 2023
Culture, celebration, and career development were on display in full force at the vibrant Eid Mela community event held on 9 July in Mile End, which colleagues from the University attended. The event welcomed 1000s of local residents from the Bangladeshi community and provided an excellent occasion for the University to engage with visitors and highlight the life-changing educational opportunities we offer.
The Eid Mela event, celebrating the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, was organised by student-recruitment partners T&T Consultancy. Across the day, visitors enjoyed an extensive range of food stalls, Bangladeshi music performances, and presentations from event partners, including the University. Several Bangladeshi celebrities were also attendance, including actor Chashi Alam, who paid a visit to the University’s stand.
The Student Admissions team welcomed many visitors to the University’s stand throughout the day, with colleagues discussing the courses we offer and handing out university-branded merchandise – which proved incredibly popular. All of which helps to raise the profile of the University in the local Tower Hamlets community, and throughout east London.
Demonstrating the international reach of the Eid Mela event, the University’s participation was covered by several media outlets, including Bangladeshi TV channel NTV Europe, as part of several pre-event promotional interviews. The event also provided the chance for colleagues to speak to councillors from Tower Hamlets and explore future collaboration between the two organisations.
In the afternoon, Yahaya Alhassan, Head of Academic Operations, was welcomed to the main stage to give a short speech - to a packed audience - about the University of Sunderland in London, personal advancement, and community. In his speech, Yahaya said the University was “delighted to be part of this vibrant celebratory event” and outlined “the unique and inspiring learning environment” offered by the University. Yahaya’s speech was preceded by an introductory video from Alan Hardie, Director.
Bhanu Vullanki, Assistant Head of Recruitment, who led the event organisation for the University, said “The Eid Mela event was fantastic occasion for us, as the University, to engage with our local Tower Hamlets community. I would like to thank T&T Consultancy for putting the event together, and we look forward to being part of more such community celebrations in the future.”
