BULLETIN BOARD

NSU launches South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance

The launching ceremony of South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) of North South University was held on October 13, 2018. The Institute is established with an aim to be the leading academic institution and think tank in the fields of policy and governance in South Asia.

The institute has already acclaimed due to its relentless endeavour in knowledge creation and dissemination on policy and governance issues across national, cross-national, and regional level. The uniqueness of the institute is the effective South–South and North–South Partnership in the field of academic and research with countries such as Norway, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan.

Dr. Akbar Ali Khan, eminent scholar and former adviser to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh was the chief guest. Ambassadors of Norway, Nepal, and MA Kashem, former President of FBCCI and Member of NSU BOT attended the ceremony as special guests. Prof. GU Ahsan, Pro-VC of NSU chaired the session.

UIU receives research grant from EPRC

Centre for Energy Research of United International University Received research grant of BDT 3,97,88,600 for research on "Demand Response Enabled Smart Grid". The grant is awarded to the team leader and principal investigator of the research project Shahriar Ahmed Chowdhury, Director, Centre for Energy Research, UIU by Energy and Power Research Council (EPRC) of Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources of Bangladesh.

The award giving ceremony was held at Bidyut Bhaban on October 9, 2018. This is the first-ever research grant of Energy and Power Research Council (EPRC) after its formation in 2015.

The State Minister of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid MP; Secretary of Power Division, Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus; Chairman, EPRC, Shahin Ahmed; Chairman of BPDB Khaled Mahmud; and VC of United International University Prof. Dr. Chowdhury Mofizur Rahman were present.

ACCA holds career fair and workshop at DU

A two-day long career fair along with knowledge-building workshops were organised by ACCA Bangladesh on September 22-23, 2018, at the Faculty of Business Studies, University of Dhaka. The event was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Kamal Uddin, Treasurer, University of Dhaka; Dr. Reazur Rahman Chowdhury, Chairman, AIS Dept.; University of Dhaka; Shabbir Ali, Group HR Head, City Group; and Ahsanul Hoque Bashar, Head of ACCA Bangladesh.

ACCA Career Day 2018 is an annual flagship event of ACCA Bangladesh that aims to establish link between students, professionals, executives and employers who are exploring prospects in the workforce. The event also offers a great platform for networking and attending knowledge building sessions to nurture employability of the students and fresh graduates/young professionals.

This year's prime attraction was the presence of almost 40 employers who were there to collect CVs from potential candidates for existing and future openings. Candidates attending the ACCA Career Day 2018 were able to speak with Human Resource representatives of the participating employers and also could sit for spot interviews.

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. It aims to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.

NEO 2018: Let's make our earth free of plastic

The National Environment Olympiad, Art, Essay, Map and Poster Competition 2018 was held on October 13-14, at the University of Dhaka (DU), organised by Environment Club of the Department of Geography and Environment. This year's theme was 'Beat Plastic Pollution' of World Environment Day 2018.

Around 550 students from different institutions participated this year. For classes 1-5 there was an Art Competition; students of classes 5-12 took part in Essay Competition; University students from all over participated in the Poster Presentation and Map Making Competition. The main event was an Olympiad where students from class 9-12 took part to test their level of environmental consciousness.

The events ended with a closing ceremony at Nabab Nawab Ali Senate Bhaban. VC of DU, Prof. Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman was the chief guest. The session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Rejuan Hossain Bhuiyan, Chairman, Department of Geography and Environment, DU.

Among the guests of honour, there were Prof. Dr. A.S.M. Maksud Kamal, Dean, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, DU; Prof. Dr. Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, Dean, Faculty of Business Studies, DU; Prof. Dr. Amanat Ullah Khan; and Prof. Dr. Shahnaz Huq Hossain. Syed Waseque Md. Ali, Managing Director of First Security Islami Bank Ltd. was present in the programme.

The Daily Star was the official Media Partner for the event.

GUB holds Inter-University Programming Contest

A two-day long competitive programming event, titled "US-Bangla Airlines - Green University Inter University Programming Contest (IUPC)" on October 12-13, 2018. A total 116 teams from 45 universities participated in the contest held in permanent campus of GUB.

The key objective of the contest was to attract new students to programming and introduce them to programming contests.

In the closing ceremony speakers said, the goal of this campaign is to improve students' problem-solving skills in order to make sure their successful participation in various competitive programming events including the ACM-ICPC Regional. The competition was supervised by Prof. Dr. Abdur Razzaque, Chairperson, Dept. of CSE, GUB.

The prizegiving ceremony was held October 13 where Prof. Dr. M. Yousuf Ali Mollah, Member of UGC; Prof. Dr. Md. Golam Samdani Fakir, VC of GUB; eminent author Prof. Dr. Muhammed Zafar Iqbal; Prof. Dr. Muhammad Fayyaz Khan, Pro-VC of GUB spoke as guests.

The British Academy Writing Workshop concludes at IUB

The Department of Law of Independent University Bangladesh (IUB), in collaboration with Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham; British Academy and South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS) organised the British Academy Writing Workshop in IUB's own campus from October 12-14, 2018. Prof. Fiona De Londras, Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, was the keynote speaker of the closing ceremony.

Dr. Kamal Hossain, Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, and the Chairperson, South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS); Prof. M. Omar Rahman, VC, IUB; Towhid Samad, Chairman, BOT, Chittagong Independent University; Prof. Matthew Carven, University of London; and Prof. Kate Bedford, University of Birmingham also spoke on the occasion. Prof. Shirin Rai, University of Warwick, UK, chaired the presentation session of Prof. De Londras.

The programme ended with vote of thanks given by Prof. Borhan Uddin Khan, Head, Department of Law, IUB, and Dr. Mohammad Shahabuddin, Reader in International Law & Human Rights at Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham.

IUBAT observes World Mental Health Day

Prof. Mahmuda Khanum Counseling and Guidance Center & Department of Psychology of IUBAT observed "World Mental Health Day" at IUBAT campus in Uttara, Dhaka. The programme began with a workshop on "Anger Management''.

The workshop included mental health and protection in mental disasters, parenting skills training, anxiety management, teaching techniques, anger control, stress management, mindfulness, and addiction control.