The Cube

Since graduating, Amjad has achieved
a multitude of professional accolades and has
worked in many different contexts and countries
like Switzerland, Syria, Jordan, Argentina, Egypt,
Nepal and Malaysia. However, a consistent aspect
of his life has been his priority on maintaining a
balance between his professional ambitions and
his personal responsibilities. Amjad values this
balance immensely and vouches that anyone
can combine two or more careers. Furthermore,
he believes that being part of multiple careers
allows you to learn and gain perspectives from
both paths and use the lessons to develop yourself
holistically. In Amjad’s case, being a consultant, a
UN official as well as an academic has helped him
learn from each of these perspectives, and this
expanded viewpoint has helped him bridge the
gap between these different fields. His work reflects
what UNU-MERIT values – breaking down silos and
working on multifaceted solutions for global issues.
When Amjad was in the programme, the
programme was mostly made of mid-career
professionals coming in to upskill themselves.
While this has been consistent, over the years, the
programme has also welcomed many early career
and immediate graduates into their cohorts. To
this, Amjad says that the programme is a unique
opportunity to build knowledge in multiple different
facets of policy, as well as to become a resilient
individual through a challenging course. However,
for Amjad, mindset and attitude are everything. One
can definitely leapfrog in their career but only with
the right attitude towards the challenges that the
course throws at you. Finally, when Amjad was asked
to provide a motto that he lives by, he asserted “I
have an allergy to cliches. The world is more complex
than words of wisdom.” Nevertheless, he shared that
one must do things with devotion. Being in this field,
your motivation should not be money or prestige,
but devotion. If one doesn’t devote themselves
to their work, they lose themselves in the process!
”In a professional setting, there will
be issues with data, your boss will
give you the vaguest instructions and
an unreasonable timeline, but the
graduates of UNU are better prepared
to deal with these frustrating realities
of the workplace since they practiced
in a safe and guided environment like
UNU-MERIT.”