Feature
1st Congress of Young Biotechnologists of Bangladesh YoungBB's grand journey in the real world
Mustak Ibn Ayub
 It was a day-long dream for all of us! Young Biotechnologists of Bangladesh has made the dream come true on December 26, 2006. From morning 10 to evening 5, the Curzon Hall of Dhaka University was experiencing the integrated efforts of the young people who came from Sylhet, Khulna, Gazipur and off course from different localities of Dhaka. The event that brought these distant people close together was called- 1st Congress of Young Biotechnologists of Bangladesh. It was arranged by youngBB - an internet based group that connects the undergraduate students of different universities and institutions of Bangladesh who study biotechnology. YoungBB is trying to take initiatives to popularise biotechnology in Bangladesh and also introduce the young people who are preparing themselves to lead the country in the global biotech arena in the coming days. The 1st Congress of young biotechnologists of Bangladesh was organised with that intention and it turned out to be a grand success. This congress of the emerging youngsters will be a yearly event and the next congresses will be organised in different institutions of Bangladesh to make it a national event.
YoungBB: A brief introduction
 YoungBB stands for Young Biotechnologists of Bangladesh. It is a web-based group for the undergraduate students who are studying Biotechnology or related subjects in different institutions of Bangladesh or anywhere in the world for that matter. It has been created to increase the interaction among the students who are willing to build their career in Biotechnology and who dream to change the future of Bangladesh with the magical power of Biotechnology. Anybody having an interest in Biotechnology can become a member of YoungBB. YoungBB promises to create a friendly relationship among its members and inspire them to unite on a common ground. The web address of the group is- www.youngbb.yahoogoups.com
YoungBB is working as the junior section of GNOBB, another web based organization which stands for- Global Network of Bangladeshi Biotechnologists. Prof. Ahmed Shamsul Islam, one of the moderators of GNOBB played key role to inspire the establishment of youngBB.
 Group profile
YoungBB started its journey on 16 May, 2006. From the very beginning, it has created mass interest among the students of Biotechnology and related subjects. Students from diverse disciplines as computer science, botany, zoology, and physics have become members of the group. Now YoungBB is a proud group of 155 members. Every week new members are joining from different institutions of Bangladesh. Dr. Abidur Rahman, Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, USA is the moderator of the group.
YoungBB maintains two important databases. One contains the list of “Expert members”. Some of the GNOBB scientists from home and abroad have been selected as expert members of the group- such as, Dr. Ahmed Shamsul Islam, Dr. Ahmed Abdulla Azad, Dr Abed Chaudhury, Dr. Abidur Rahman, Prof Haseena Khan, Prof Zeba Islam Seraj , Dr.Hemayet Ullah, Dr. Zaheed Husain, all of whom are biotechnologists and Mr. Munir Hasan an IT specialist with a love for biotechnology. They help the young Biotechnologists in various aspects.
1st Congress of youngBB
1st Congress of youngBB was a dream program that was held on 26 December. There were many obstacles on the way to the successful arrangement of the event. Besides the financial constraints the political turbulence was a major concern. But everything came under control like a miracle and it was possible because of the enthusiasm of the members of the group. Though the program was scheduled to start at 10 am, the participants from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) and Khulna University (KU) reached the venue as early as 9.00 am. Their presence was really very encouraging. The students from the biotechnology discipline of University Of Development Alternative (UODA) comprised a big part of the participants.
The member students of department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Dhaka played the role of facilitators at the congress. The congress was inaugurated by the Vice Chancellor of University of Dhaka Professor Dr. S M A Faiz. Prof. Dr. M Anwar Hossain, Dean, Faculty of Biological Sciences, was the special guest in the program. Renowned scientist Prof. Dr. Ahmed Abdullah Azad, Ex-Director Research, Health Science, Cape Town University, South Africa and CSA member of ICGEB presented the keynote paper on “Molecular basis of HIV pathogenesis: Opportunities for novel drugs and vaccines that could slow progression to AIDS.”
The daylong program was divided into two sessions: Morning and Afternoon Session. Both sessions were anchored by Md. Ashraful Islam Bhuyan, a 4th year student of Dept. of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Dhaka. Being chaired by Professor Naiyyum Choudhury, Secretary, Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, the morning session started at 10.30 am with the welcome speech from the convener of the congress, Mustak Ibn Ayub. Then the acting chairperson of Dept. of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Dhaka Dr. Jesmin gave her speech. The chief guest Professor Dr. S M A Faiz and the special guest Prof. Dr. M Anwar Hossain highly praised such an event in their speech. They mentioned the congress as a unique event in Bangladesh. They also promised to help such programs in future. The keynote of the congress was also presented in the morning session. The young participants came to know the novel techniques to fight HIV through the presentation of Dr. Ahmed Abdullah Azad.
After the keynote speech there was an interactive session with the expatriate scientists of Bangladesh who share there views and ideas with our young participants. Among the expatriate scientists together with Dr. Ahmed Abdullah Azad the congress got Dr. Kamal Chowdhury, Associate Professor of Biology (Plant Biotechnology), Claflin University, Orangeburg; Dr. Kamrul Hasan, Research Professor, Japan Adv Inst S& T (JAIST); Dr. Asadul Ghani, Research Associate, Frontier Science Research Center, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan.
After the lunch and prayer break the afternoon session began. This session was specially designed to introduce our young biotechnologists to our business community. Two leading business persons of our country, Mr. Abdul Awal Mintoo, former president, FBCCI, CEO, Multimode Group and. Mr. A. S. M. Mainuddin Monem, Director, Finance & Administration, Abdul Monem Limited was present in this session. This session was chaired by professor Zeba Islam Seraj.
The afternoon session began with the speech from Salim Ahmed, a 4th year student of Dept. of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Dhaka. He explained the views of youngBB to promote biotechnology in Bangladesh. Then, three scientific papers were presented by young biotechnologists where they explained their research works to solve real life problems. One presentation dealt with insulin production and it was presented by Md. Hafizur Rahman, a post doc. fellow of Birdem. Another presentation came from the lab of Prof. Zeba Islam Seraj who is working to produce salt tolerant rice that will grow in our coastal region. Md Sougatul Islam, a M.Sc. student of Dept. of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology presented his speech on the problems and prospects of Biotechnology in Bangladesh.
Then came the turn for the business entrepreneurs. In their speech, Mr. Abdul Awal Mintoo and Mr. A. S. M. Mainuddin Monem proposed some encouraging future plans for our emerging biotechnologists. They said that they want to play a vital role to promote biotechnology in Bangladesh. They also said that they will find the right people who can help them; on the other hand, the young biotechnologists said that they are preparing to be the right people to serve their purposes. Thus in the congress the two parties found a common avenue to walk hand in hand in the future.
The closing part: where the new era beings
The congress ended with the thanks giving speech of Professor Haseena Khan, PhD, advisor of youngBB. She also declared an essay completion of youngBB and also the time and venue of next congress. The next congress will be held in December, 2007 in some venue outside Dhaka.
At about 5.30 pm the daylong congress formally ended after the evening tea. All the participants were very happy for the successful conclusion of the congress. The event has created new hopes and dreams for the young learners.
Though the congress ended in the evening of December 26, 2006, its impression will last for a long time to translate the dream of young biotechnologists of Bangladesh into reality. It was the rise of a sun of new hope that will never set in Bangladesh as long as the young biotechnologists will remain awake.
(Mustak Ibn Ayub- Convener, 1st Congress of Young Biotechnologists of Bangladesh and a 4th year student of Dept. of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Dhaka).
Please add the information below as Box item
1st Congress of Young Biotechnologists of BangladeshOrganizing Committee
Convener: Mustak Ibn Ayub (DU)
Finance and Management
Salim Ahmed (DU)
SM Mahbubur Rashid (DU)
Sarmah bin Nayeem (DU)
Venue and Invitation
Ashraful Islam Bhuyan (DU)
A. M. Mahedi Hasan (DU)
Nishat Shayala (DU)Reception and Organization
Nusrat Rahman (DU)
Emran Bashar (DU)
Tuhina Imam (DU)
Md. Riajul Hossain (DU)
Nilanjona Paul (DU)
Farah Shamma (DU)
Sadia Sayed (DU)
Communication and Co-ordination
Kamrul Hasan Rony (KU)
Nahidul Islam Rumel (KU)
Mehedi Hasan Fuad (SUST)
Junaid Al Azadi (SUST)
Abdul Muhin Shajib (SUST)
MD.Ariful Islam (UODA)
Md. Noyem Uddin (BSTAlso: Opu, Tasnuva, Amzad, Ratish, Fancy, Tarana, Irin, Raisa
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