It was 1st November of 2014 and Yangon Institute of Economics (YIE), situated on the campus of Yangon University,
was unusually crowded with a great num- ber of people especially those in their 50s and 60s. Wearing big and bright smiles on their face and making their way through the crowd, they would stop and greet their very old friends who they had not seen for decades. In fact, they were alumni who were once the young and fresh scholars of YIE and on that remarkable day, they were there to participate in the 50th Jubilee celebration. 2nd November was the 50th Year Anniver- sary since the Yangon Institute of Econom- ics had officially started educating to those who have interests in learning Economics. YIE was founded in the year of 1964 by its very first Rector Dr. Aye Hlaing and by the year of 2014, it has come 50 years of long history.
The celebration was held for a total of three days starting from 31st October to 2nd No- vember, each day consisting of a variety of programs and entertainment. The open- ing ceremony attended by the Minister Dr. Daw Khin San Yi and the friendship football match between University Old blues Vs. Eco Old stars were held on the first day of celebration, on 31st October and the dinner reception of day students in the evening of that day.
On 1st November, the opening ceremony of the statue of Dr. Aye Hlaing who was the founder and the first Rector of YIE was cel- ebrated at 9am. It was followed by the cere- mony of planting Kant Kaw as the celebra- tion of 50th Jubilee. The Union Minister Dr. Kan Zaw who was a notable alumnus of YIE paid his visit to the celebration on the same day. Entertainment programs performed by alumni started around noon on the campus. One of the programs on the last and final day was paying homage to the professors, lecturers and teachers of Yangon Institute of Economics. The closing ceremony of 50th Jubilee was then successfully celebrat- ed with the performances of nation’s well- known artists of classic singers such as San- daya Kon Zaw, Khine Htoo, Kaing Za as well as modern singers Sai Sai Kham Leng, Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein and the Lazy Club Band. The business fair was also a part of the 50th Jubilee celebration and a number of private business groups from diverse fields partic- ipated in the business exhibition inviting various opportunities. All major local banks
such as AGD, AYA, MOB and UAB were present at the fair. The rest included brands and business groups – Rinnai, HIGH- TECH, MCC, KMD, IMA Group, Sheseido etc. Among the total of 130 booth spaces available, 88 were sponsored by the above business organizations and companies who exhibit at the fair.
During this three-day ceremony, the gallery displaying the photographs of notable and memorable moments from past decades was opened throughout the whole ceremo- ny hosting different audiences who came in search of old memory as well as those who wanted to find moments from history. The first gallery contains historical moments from the early days of YIE displaying pic- tures from the year of 1964 to 1988. Pictures
from 1989 to 2011 and those from 2012 to current days were respectively shown in sec- ond and third gallery. The 50 years long his- tory of Yangon Institute of Economics can be seen in these pictures capturing moments of graduation ceremonies, Fresher Welcome, sports competitions, student fairs, coopera- tion with foreign universities as well as the photographs of former and current rectors and professors.
One of YIE alumni, Daw Nwe Nwe Aye came to the 50th Jubilee together with her two other friends said, “We went to Yangon Institute of Economics in the year of 1970, 6 years after it was founded. Our group of friends studied there together from 1970 to 1974. When we were in our first year at YIE, we encountered with the 50th Anniversary of the University of Yangon. Today, we were very glad to be here participating in the cele- bration of our mother university, YIE’s 50th Jubilee. ” She then continued, “We’re going to be here for three consecutive days and participate in all fairs and programs. It is re- ally exhilarating to be here, honestly. We’re very happy and anticipated in meeting our old friends who we haven’t seen for years.” Not only senior students and alumni but also students currently studying at YIE Ywarthargyi Campus came to enjoy the cele- bration and their seniors’ accomplishments. A student in her second year at YIE said “It was a rare opportunity to encounter such a ceremony. We are going to be here for all day long watching various kinds of enter- tainment. We get some knowledge and op- portunities from the business fair. And we’re also proud of our university.”
On its 50th Anniversary, the campus was filled with laughters and smile under the sunshine. Greetings were all over the place. Alumni once again gathered together on the campus once they left their footprints, hop- ing to trace back their old steps.
