IUB AERO FEST 2015
Encouraging students to invest their interests in the appealing field of Aerial Robotics, School of Engineering and Computer Sciences (SECS) of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) organised "AERO Fest 2015" on March 6, 2015, at the university campus located at Bashundhara. This event, the second of its kind, called out to enthusiasts from all corners of the country to showcase their talents and test their skills in this modern technology.
The event attracted more than 80 participants from 22 organisations. During the course of this daylong event, the participants, who were divided into two categories – Rotary Wing and Fixed Wing, exhibited the creative ingenuity that they put into their projects. For a technology that only originated around five years ago, the amount of interest it generated and the number of people in Bangladesh who were eager to push it forward is astonishing. Even more appreciable, the event drew interest from a wide age range despite little to no formal training yet to be available in the country. Among a crowd of mostly undergraduates, there was Md. Fahim Hossain, a tenth grader of Uttara High School and College, one of the youngest participants. Expressing his fondness of aviation and flying machines, he said, "Flying is everyone's dream, so I came here for the experience."
In the afternoon, the participants from the "Rotary Wing" category displayed the flying qualities and capabilities of their inventions. Soon, the drones, buzzing in the large hall, captured the attention of everyone present, captivating both peers and patrons. Following that, participants from the "Fixed Wing" category showed the manoeuvrability of their machines by taxiing – moving their devices on the ground using only the machine's power and control. Each participant was carefully assessed by expert judges – including Fairus Sakib Tanzim (Lecturer, MIST), Dr. Khosru M. Salim (Associate Professor and Head, IUB) and Dr. Mahady Hasan (Assistant Professor and Head, IUB).
The Dean of Engineering School, Dr. Ali S. Sabbir, started his speech at the closing ceremony to point out what was most evident during the event, "Nothing captures our interest more than the thought of flying." Afterward, VC of IUB, Professor M. Omar Rahman, strongly expressed his appreciation of the level of sophistication achieved by the participants despite the lack of formal instruction. He mused about how "Everything flew!" and acknowledged the drastic development of technology that was presented, saying "A few years ago it might have been out of the realms of even science fiction." Moreover, he stated that IUB, a pioneer in aerial robotics research, intends to uphold the tradition of organising AERO Fests.
The event proved to be a brilliant exhibition of both the resourcefulness of our country's fine young minds, and the curiosity generated by this ever expanding topic. It ended with a prize giving ceremony presided over by the VC. The first prize winning team of the Rotary Wing Category was A.I. Squad (Independent University Bangladesh) and the first prize winning team of the Fixed Wing Category was Flying House (United College of Aviation).