Anica Hossain, a student at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) pursuing a Master's in Communication, won the Global Student of the Year Award at the Global Alliance World Public Relations and Communication Awards 2024 at the World Public Relations Forum (WPRF) in Bali, Indonesia. 

Global Alliance World Public Relations and Communication Awards is a global competition celebrating the most outstanding national and international public relations and communication management programmes and case studies. This year's iteration received over 100 entries from 20 countries across the globe and handed out awards for 19 separate categories. 

Anica was listed as a finalist for the "Global Student of the Year" award alongside Jade Nguyen of New York University (NYU) from the United States. The award was open for undergraduate and postgraduate students who, during the time of submission, were studying public relations/strategic communication or had already been a graduate since 2019. 

"My submission for the award included a statement where I wrote about my aspirations, achievements, and experiences of working with strategic communication thinking and practices as well as an animated video. The script for the video was essentially a condensed version of the statement itself but the process of animation proved to be challenging, especially because I had to finish working on it in a short period of time," said Anica. 

"I am really glad that I managed to complete it though. I am overwhelmed with joy, and I am not quite sure how to process this achievement just yet. However, it wouldn't have been possible without the support of my institution and its teachers who told me about the award in the first place and urged me to participate. I would also like to thank my friends who helped me put the entire project together," she added.