Every month we highlight Wedu Rising Stars’ achievements in this series of blog posts: see how they are shining!

In August, our Rising Star Rashida rocked the 6th congress of the Asia Physical Therapy Student Association at HK Polytechnic University, where she joined and delivered a speech as a Myanmar country representative.

Rashida has been a Wedu Rising Star since 2013 and is currently President of the Myanmar Physiotherapy Student Society (MPSS) and EC member of Myanmar Physiotherapy Society (MPTS).

She is a pioneer in her profession: when she joined Mahidol University in Bangkok, she was the first woman from Myanmar to ever apply for a PhD in Physical Therapy .

After the destructive Nepal earthquake in April, Rising Star Sujata Baskota voluntereed to help the population by starting a fundraising campaign for schoolchildren affected by the tragedy. Originally from Nepal, Sujata connected with local organisations to identify those who needed help most urgently. We are happy to announce she reached well beyond her target!

According to the latest government data, the 7.8 earthquake destroyed over 36,000 classrooms. With the funds collected, Sujata will allow children to regain a vital sense of routine in a country where education is key to keep them safe, protected, and out of danger from child trafficking, child marriage and child labour.

Popo Thaungwin’s paper “An Overview of Higher Education Reform in Myanmar” was accepted by the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies (ICBMS) 2015 academic committee. Our Rising Star from Myanmar was invited to present her paper during the seminar, “Constructing Knowledge on Transitional Myanmar” on July 23, 2015.

ICBMS brings together leading scholars and intellectuals in Myanmar to develop a deeper understanding of the enormous political, social, environmental, and economical transformations occurring in this country, provide a thought-provoking platform for the exchange of ideas, and facilitate proactive dialogue.

We are very excited for Rising Star Jesmin Nahar, who just graduated from AUW — Asian University for Women — and landed a job as Programme Associate with UN’s World Food Programme in Bangladesh. We truly believe she’ll be a key resource for WFP!

Jesmin is originally from Bangladesh and studied Public Health and Development Studies. When she applied to be a Rising Star, she said her dream was to work with local and international NGOs to improve the health conditions in her country: “I would like to have a clear policy to ensure health rights to my community and a better, healthier society.”