The tech literacy revolution
Shajahan Ali had dreams of becoming a high ranking official since his student days. To fulfil it, he completed his post grad at the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Economics. He came to the capital in search of a livelihood, but job placement for people with a humanities background is rare. He applied for the IDB-BISEW scholarship programme of Islamic Development Bank. The programme was a great experience for Shajahan. On completion, he became an Oracle certified professional and is now serving at Square Informatix. The above is just an example of the success stories of the trainees of the IDB-BISEW scholarship programme.
The era of revolution
The programme started in 2003 to create a youth community for a technology driven society. The initial step of the programme was a professional diploma course. International certification from Microsoft and Oracle gave extra advantage within a short time.
Around five thousand trainees have gotten national and international job placements under the supervision of the officials.
Muhammad Enamul Huq, one of the trainees, got an award from the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) in the freelancing category. Enamul is now working to develop a youth community to promote online outsourcing.
The scholarship
Applicants have to pass a written examination and a subsequent viva. The two venues for the examination are in Dhaka and Chittagong.
Reputed personnel hold training for four hours, six days a week. Most of the activities of the programme are regulated through the internet. There are 26 organisations that maintain the international quality of the training tools.
Technology courses
The training course is designed focusing on the contemporary needs. It should also be noted that some 75 percent of the trainees come from rural areas.
There are 8 categories in the programme, which include Basics on Computer Literacy, Computer Fundamentals, Architecture and Civil Cad, Computer Assisted Animation, Database Design and Development, Enterprise System Analytics and Design, Networking and Web Presence Solution and Implementation.
International certification
There is a great opportunity for trainees to achieve international certification after completing the one year training programme. The trainees of the programme can easily apply for the IT Vendor certification examinations of Microsoft and Oracle free of cost.
The IDB BISEW students have been involved in many cross border activities in Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, Canada, America and Singapore, competing with BUET graduates. They have an average salary of Taka 50,000 after the training.
Another initiative of IDB BISEW is the Online Career Hub that helps students connect with successful seniors. The initiative increases the job placement ratio. The Chief Executive of the organisation, Niaz Khan says, "We are working on a network where all students are connected with each other. We move with the joint initiative of students and trainers. This kind of co-operation is very rare in our country. Every student is an ambassador of our programme."
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