Singapore-based Alumni Council member Hyder Gulam has forged a truly unique career path. He has worked as a registered nurse and qualified lawyer, an accredited mediator and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing in Australia.
But that’s not all: he spent almost 10 years as an officer with the Royal Australian Air Force, was President of the Islamic Council of Victoria, co-founded the Muslim Legal Network and volunteered with St John Ambulance Victoria.
“I’ve had a multi-faceted career,” Hyder says. “But I think going to the University of Melbourne really inspired in me the ability to think outside the box and think about other people.”
Hyder has undertaken three qualifications at the University of Melbourne at various points: an Advanced Diploma in Clinical Nursing, a Graduate Diploma in Military Law, and finally a Masters of Law, which he finished in 2007.
As well as working in law and nursing, he’s also been a disability support carer and was on the board of a national disability support body.
Now, Hyder works as a corporate lawyer for a multinational company based in Singapore. He is particularly interested in sustainability, and says his diverse experience and current job mean he is “uniquely placed” to contribute to a greener future.
“I’ve always had a bit of a humanitarian streak,” he says. “Everyone talks about ‘oh, we need to be good corporate citizens’, but what does that actually look like on the ground?
“When I, as a corporate lawyer, actually say ‘look, we need to concentrate on sustainability’, it means that people who otherwise don’t share my worldview will probably listen. And that’s all we want - to be heard.”
A long association with Parkville
Born in Singapore, Hyder migrated with his parents to Melbourne as a child. His dad died when he was a young teenager, and his mum raised him and his four siblings alone.
“Mum worked four jobs and made us value good education,” Hyder says.
He attended University High School, across the road from the Parkville campus, and started visiting the University from an early age.
“My classmates and I would head over to the campus because the University had arcade machines. So, we’d go over and play Space Invaders, Defender and King Kong, and kick the footy on the oval.”
University High was a “multicultural melting pot” at the time, he says, and students strove to attend the University of Melbourne after they graduated.
“For a lot of us, that would mean we’d done well for our parents, and ourselves.”
Hyder’s parents “always instilled in us the value of education,” he says, and three of his siblings also graduated from the University of Melbourne.
“They were also big on us contributing to society. That was my Dad’s thing - to always give back to the community.”
Giving back to the community has been a common thread uniting much of Hyder's diverse work experiences.
“As a nurse I really broke down barriers, trying to push nursing into diversified communities and environments,” he says. “That meant working with NESB (non-English-speaking background) communities to encourage more Muslims to join the nursing profession.”
He is also passionate about the role diversity plays in enabling better outcomes for organisations and individuals alike.
“If you look at nature, how nature can thrive, it’s through diversity. It helps us be better people. It can be a hard thing, you know, to deal with someone with a different background or language, but these attributes only make us better people.
“The challenge is, how do you deal with your own prejudices? And how do you help other people? The disadvantaged, the downtrodden, the impoverished?”
In 2017, University High School announced that they had named a sub-school after him, inaugurating Gulam House.
“The name ‘Gulam’ means ‘servant of the community’, he says. “It means to help others with humility, courage and strength. I want the students of Gulam House to always remember they are Australian, and to never forget where they came from, who they are, and the Indigenous lands on which they live.”
Engaging international alumni
After hearing about the Alumni Council from former member Dr Rachel Baird – his friend and prior senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force – Hyder recently joined the body.
Comprising up to 18 members, the Alumni Council represents all faculties and has several roles, including representing the interests of alumni and the University around the world, enhancing the student experience, guiding alumni programming and providing input on how the University can continue improving.
Hyder was initially unsure about the commitment, given he is a busy parent of three young girls and lives in Singapore.
“Having known my diverse background and work experience, Rachel thought I would be a good fit on the Council,” he explains.
“It’s been a great period of learning for me. The big question I’m grappling with is: how do we make ourselves a relevant force? One of the things I’m working on is increasing connections between the Alumni Council and our local Alumni Association here in Singapore, and elsewhere in the world, so the University Council has a network of overseas alumni feeding into its decision making systems.”
Hyder is passionate about fostering greater informal connections between alumni, especially those who live outside Australia. He is also eager to participate in activities designed to raise the Council’s profile among alumni.
“If you’re travelling to, say, Japan, and there’s a Japanese alumni group, it would be great to be able to say, ‘I’m coming to Tokyo, what do you recommend?’ I want to really foster those types of connections, where the alumni value the fraternity of attending the University of Melbourne, where we have intergenerational graduates of the University, from the same family.
“And to offer services and facilities for overseas alumni when they visit the University with their families. To show a place of belonging”.