BUET hosts Career Development Workshop

For ages, the idea of a "proper" degree or career choice has revolved around either engineering, the medical sciences or mathematics. However, reality is different than what the one track minds of parents and high school teachers will have you believe: engineering graduates are regularly seen behind desks, attired in suits and ties, cash mongers for banks and corporations.

That has scope for change, however. BUET, forever the light that engineer-hopefuls gravitate towards in Bangladesh, recently hosted several department-themed festivals, with the Mechanical Engineering department holding a much needed career development workshop to guide future graduates.

Held on 12 May 2015 at the BUET Auditorium, the workshop featured eminent speakers from varied fields.

Mushfiq ul Huq started the proceedings with an inspiring lecture on his experiences as director of Creative Engineers Ltd., supplying Swiss-made Schinlder lifts and escalators to the world. "China and India are facing a huge growth in demand, and the time for being closed to certain career paths in certain areas is gone. You have to keep your minds open. Market perceptions of technology are changing, which represents a huge growth in employment opportunities."

Mushfiq also urged the fresh BUET graduates to go abroad, gain experience, but ultimately come back to Bangladesh, stating that the engineers of the country would be the ones to lead the way in the coming decade. With the global focus quickly shifting to energy efficiency and environmentally friendly technology, Bangladesh needs to stay on par, he said.

With the preliminary session over, the Chief Technical Officer of Banglalion Wimax was called on stage to speak on the necessary qualities that an engineer must possess when entering the job field. The importance of a positive mindset, the ability to adapt and adjust attitudes on the fly were touched upon. Mushab Bin Khondoker, Head of Implementation at Banglalion Wimax, gave the attendees a host of useful CV writing tips and interview board norms.

Sabbir Ahmed, Manager and Head of Sales at Bangla Cat and one of BUET's own, gave a humorous delivery, touching upon personal experiences of facing interviews.

Other notable speakers included Dr. Mohammad Ehsan, a faculty member of the Mechanical Engineering department, Nurunabi Siddique, Senior Manager at Reve Systems, and Razeeb Hyder, Managing Director at Outpave Spinning Mills and R.A. Spinning Mills Ltd.

Chowdhury M Shahriar, a recent BUET graduate, had an interesting proposition, asking graduates to grab opportunities and learn from them instead of stagnating while chasing after a particular passion: "Leaving something is easy but getting it is hard, so no harm in taking whatever you get and learning from the experience."

Ashiqur Rahman, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, had one of the last sessions on applying abroad. Although he expressed concern about brain drain, he felt going abroad was necessary because it was a way of keeping up with the world.

At the end of the career development workshop, it was evident that it was a worthwhile effort, bringing students, teachers, and industry leaders together under one roof. It's definitely a step forward in the right direction.