BULLETIN BOARD

ICCCAD's "Pathway to Paris" workshop at IUB

On August 27, 2015 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, as a part of a global citizen based initiative called the "Pathway to Paris", a workshop in Bangladesh organised by International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) jointly in collaboration with Citizen Climate Lobby (CCL) hosted at  Independent University Bangladesh brought together young participants from different universities, NGOs, INGOs, environmental initiatives and research organisations to share their concern and priorities for climate change and adaptation in Bangladesh. 

Ina F. Islam, Deputy Director of ICCCAD, welcomed the participants and key note speakers Dr. Ainun Nishat of BRAC University and Dr. Mizan R Khan of North South University. Dr. Mizan presentated on "UNFCCC Process, Adaptation & Climate Finance: The Bangladesh Context" and Dr. Nishat had the interesting discussion with the participants regarding the "Role of Youth in Climate Change in Bangladesh". 

The workshop consisted of 25 young participants from different organisations such as Independent University (IUB), North South University (NSU), BBC Media Action, ActionAid, South Asian Youth Society (SAYS), Bangladesh Environmental Youth Initiative (BYEI), Jaago Foundation, etc. 

Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) is a non-profit, grassroots organisation focused on national policies to address climate change through advocacy. "Pathway to Paris" is a project under CCL aimed at building a working coalition of engaged partners, including citizens and stakeholders, NGOs, multilateral institutions, scholars, leading policy-makers, and private sector to actively coordinate a strong and effective consensus agreement at COP21 in Paris.

BRACU wins TechFest championship

TechFest 2015 was held by Project BE at NewsCred Office on September 5, 2015. The event was intended to gather the brightest minds for a new journey of innovation. A team from BRACU stood as champion in the "SumoRoboFight" category. The team was entitled as "BRACU Zero" and the members were namely Md Asif Ibtehaz, Md Shadman Sakib Chowdhury, Syeda Noor Jahan Azim and Abu Sufian.

Another team from BRACU, "CounterBot" was knocked out from the semi final round. The members were Md Kamal Hossain Shajal, Arafat Habib, Tajul Islam and Ahnaf Rafid Bin Habib.

Freshers' orientation programme at EWU

The orientation programmes of the newly admitted students for Fall Semester 2015 in different academic programmes of East West University were held at the University's campus at Aftabnagar, Dhaka on September 6, 2015. Every department arranged the individual programmes for their newly admitted students. More than 700 students got admitted at the graduate and undergraduate programmes in 11 different departments in this semester. The objective of the programme was to welcome the new students and orient them to the university facilities, faculty members and academic system.

Department of Economics arranged the orientation programme where Dr. Mohammed Farashuddin, Chairperson of BOT, who is also Advisor and Visiting Professor of the department, graced the occasion as the chief guest.

Department of Business Administration arranged the orientation programme where Prof. Ahmed Shafee, VC, attended as the chief guest. Prof. Dr. Tanbir Ahmed Chowdhury, Chairperson of Department of Business Administration and Dean of Faculty of Business and Economics chaired the programme. Among others, Air Cadre Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury (Retd.), Registrar of EWU presented the rules and regulations of the university to the newcomers. 

DIU introduces "Unconditional Appreciation Awards"

S.M. Firoz Ahmed, son of Md. Abdul Karim and Firoza Karim and the student of the Computer Science and Engineering department of Daffodil International University had been conferred "Unconditional Appreciation Award" for his noteworthy performance in responding in need of his father and family. Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, BOT, DIU handed over the Appreciation Award at a ceremony. Country's renowned cultural activist and President of International Theater Institute (ITI) and Sanmilito Sangskrtik Jote, Nasir Uddin Yousuf Bachchu, famous journalist Anis Alamgir and former Pro-VC of Jahangirnagar University Prof. Afsar Ahmed were present as the special guests. 

DIU recognises S.M. Firoz Ahmed for his tangible dedication to his parents and family. Being a responsible young student he is offering his duty that clearly indicates his prosperity and improvement in life. DIU believes this award will help him to understand the real role of education in transforming man/woman into rational being. 

The function was also attended by Professor Dr. Yousuf M. Islam, Vice Chancellor; Professor Dr. M. Golam Rahman, Pro- Vice Chancellor; Emeritus Professor Dr. Aminul Islam; Syed Mizanur Rahman Raju, Director (Student Affairs); Deans of different faculties and Registrar Prof. Dr. Engr. AKM Fazlul Hoque.

Reception of students at RUD

Royal University of Dhaka hosted a reception on August 29, 2015 at its campus (Banshgari, Bhairab) to the students who passed HSC/equivalent examinations in 2015. Md. Reazul Karim, Additional Managing Director, Premier Bank Ltd. was present as chief guest. Md. Shahdat Hossain, SEVP, Premier Bank Ltd; Brig. Gen. (Retd.) Md. Golam Hossain Sarker, Advisor; Mohammad Shah Alam, Principal; George Fancis Sarker, Vice Principal and Md. Faridul Hasan Tutul, Vice Principal of Z. Rahman Premier Bank School & College, Banshgari attended the programme as special guests.  Amongst others the teachers, officers and students of RUD and Z. Rahman Premier Bank School & College were present at the occasion. Col. (Retd.) Prof. Md. Mosharrof Hossain, VC (Acting), RUD presided over the programme.

Wi-STEM organises workshop for female students 

Wi-STEM (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) organised a behavioural workshop for Bangladeshi female students in STEM.  This workshop took place at EMK Center on August 19, and was a first of its kind workshop that connected distinguished Bangladeshi women in STEM with female students in HSC and university. The panellists shared their own stories of struggles and overcoming obstacles, and inspired young women to take ownership of their dreams.

The event kicked off with a speech by Dr. Nova Ahmed, a CS professor at North South University, who shared that female students tended to have a very low opinion of themselves. This was followed by a video message from Dr. Yasmeen Haque, who pointed out that the very first programmer was a woman. Tonima Tasnim Annanna, a Yale physicist, spoke about how gender stereotypes threaten women's participation in STEM. Jennifer Farrell, founder of CriticaLink, shared her own experiences navigating the tech entrepreneurship scene in Dhaka and working with all-male developers. Nusrat Ishtiaque, an internationally renowned sustainable design architect shared her own story of actualising her goals. Kallol Ahmed, the director of first-ever Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research group in Bangladesh concluded the event saying that women's participation in STEM should revolutionise STEM epistemology, using their unique perspectives and ethos to create new pathways in science.