Science students future nation builders

More science students should be given opportunity to participate in national and global competitions so that they can showcase their talents and emerge as future nation builders, said noted scientist Prof M Kaykobad yesterday.

“Look at applications like WhatsApp and Angry Birds. They are earning billions of dollars. We expect that you [Bangladeshi students] will develop such globally popular apps and software,” said the Buet professor.

He was addressing a group of budding scientists at Mastermind English Medium School in the capital on the occasion of a daylong “Mastermind Inter-School IT Fest 2018,” on its Dhanmondi campus yesterday.

With over 200 participants from all over the capital, the fest aimed to help students connect better with the ever-changing IT sector. The Mastermind Science Society arranged the event.

Addressing the closing ceremony, Prof Kaykobad said once students from South Korea used to enrol in Dhaka University for higher studies, but the tide has turned. They are the best in “global internet density” now, he said.

Also, “Japan has no natural resources and it's highly vulnerable to calamities. Yet, they are wealthy as they are highly skilled in technology. They import technological raw materials from different countries and assemble those into laptops, computers and cameras. Later, they sell those at a higher price in those countries.”

Bangladeshis also have to learn this technique, he added.

Prof Kaykobad further said Bangladesh's economy is largely dependent on “unskilled” garments and migrant workers. “But the time has come for skilled and educated people to contribute more to the economy”.

He stressed the need for giving a priority to human development to achieve a sustainable economic growth. “If we cannot turn population into human resource through proper education, progress will remain far from achievable.”

Bangladeshi science students are highly talented and they often beat their neighbouring counterparts in global science competitions, he added.

Praising the IT fair, he said the school should also create scope for its students to regularly compete in Bangladesh Informatics Olympiad and International Olympiad in Informatics.

At the IT fest, inaugurated by Prof Mohammed Zafar Iqbal in the morning, the students took part in five events -- programming contest, IT quiz, drone racing, E-sports, and an IT workshop. The drone racing competition captivated the audience.