Asia Region Insights with Abhra

We Know All About Villages in Asia …

Surprising as it sounds, I have always thought that Development can be a lonely vocation. While we are usually very good at connecting with people and building relationships to increase understanding and support among our institution’s stakeholders, few of our teaching and learning colleagues, or our leadership teams, understand what we do, embrace why we do it and champion the benefit our work brings to our institutions.

In the “small country town” of Adelaide, where I was based, from 2013-2022, Educate Plus helped me fill that “peer shaped hole in my soul” by connecting me to a local community of colleagues from Advancement. We rarely solved global issues, but there were so many outstanding professionals that I was able to reach out to when I had an issue or an achievement worth celebrating.

When I moved to Tanglin in Singapore in 2022, I deeply missed that sense of understanding and camaraderie that local Educate Plus Chapters offer.

Since then, as an Educate Plus Board Director, my colleagues and I have been busy strategising how to build a similar network of like-minded Advancement Professionals across Asia. Educate Plus has much to offer Advancement practitioners in Asia, just as Asian colleagues have much to offer to over 2,300 Educate Plus members in Australia and New Zealand.

I am so excited to see early signs of an Educate Plus community forming in Asia. We are experiencing a lot of interest in Singapore and Hong Kong, but also includes colleagues in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. I am optimistic because I know we treasure connection, relationship and community in Asia…and know all about how it takes a village to raise a child.

I’ll be attending the EARCOS Conference in Bangkok, together with Educate Plus CEO Mandy McFarland, this week and would love to catch up with you or your colleagues if you are based in Bangkok, or are attending the Conference. Please reach out to me or Mandy beforehand so we can schedule time for a chat or connect with us on the Conference App.

If you’d like to know more about Educate Plus, or have any questions about becoming a member of this network of Advancement Professionals, please reach out and connect.

Abhra Bhattacharjee
Development Director & Head of Foundation | Tanglin Trust School
abhra.bhattacharjee@tts.edu.sg
DID: +65 6770 3542
Mobile: +65 8554 2007