Feature

IUB's 11th Convocation held

Feeda Hasan Shahed

Amid great enthusiasm, the 11th convocation of the Independent University of Bangladesh was held at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre, Dhaka . 424 students were awarded graduation out of which 375 received the Bachelor's degree while 49 received the Masters degree.

Professor Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed, the Honorable President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh and Chancellor of the University, presided over the Convocation. Mr. Ayub Quadri, Honorable Adviser for Education was present as the special guest. The Convocation Speaker was Prof. Ataul Karim, Vice President, Research, Old Dominion University , Norfolk , Virginia , USA .

After the guests took their seats at 10.30 a.m., the convocation proceedings started as per the proper protocol. The Convocation procession entered the Hall at 11 after which the National Anthem and recitation from the Holy Qur'an followed. The Master of the ceremony was Dr. Tanvir Ahmed Khan, Registrar of the University, who conducted the program with professional ease.

After the Honorable President and Chancellor Prof. Iazuddin Ahmed declared the grand opening of the convocation program, the Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof M Omar Rahman delivered his address of welcome. He encouraged the students by referring that there are more years in future than there had been in the past. So they should make best use of the upcoming years.

In his welcome speech, Chairman of the Governing Council Mr. S M Al-Husainy said that for sheer demographic reasons, if not for many other associated problems like session jams, debatable politicisation etc., the public sector universities have been finding it increasingly difficult to meet adequately the higher education needs of the country. This necessitated opening of private sector universities to meet the growing needs. He narrated the initiatives taken by the management to make IUB a seat of excellent learning.

Mr. Towhid Samad, Chairman of IUB trust, mentioned in his speech that Bangladesh has enough potential, and what's actually needed is the amassing that potential for greater nation building.

Then the Honorable Chancellor of the University Professor Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed Conferred the Fellowship upon Prof. Ataul Karim. Later in his Convocation speech, Prof Ataul emphasised the imperatives of highly professional education to cope with the advancing world and the younger generation to work with dedication and critical mindset irrespective of their social position and economic status.

Ms Valerie A Taylor, recipient of Order of the British Empire (OBE) and founder of the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) was honored for her contribution and service to the country. In her short speech Ms Taylor emphasized that service to the people is in fact service to God and pledged that she'd continue her job with more dedication in view of the love of people of Bangladesh for her, and the recognition they have given her.

In his speech as special guest Mr. Ayub Quadri, Advisor for Education said that Bangladesh has to reap the benefits of global economy and opportunities of the 21st century. He added that in order to prepare the younger generation the government has prioritised education and allotted substantial amount for the development and expansion of education.

Prof. Bazlul Mobin Chowdhury, Vice Chancellor of IUB, said in his speech that education is not only about technical skills and information, it is more about developing problem solving capacity, enhancing the ability to critically analyse a given situation and nurturing the passion to innovate. He added that for a meaningful development of any society it is important to strike the right balance between scientific knowledge and humanistic principles.

In his speech, the Honorable President-and-Chancellor Prof. Iazuddin Ahmed said that universities have a greater role to play in imparting quality education so that our students can make themselves worthy citizens to face the challenges of the new millennium. The President reminded all about the pace of the globalisation and the ever-increasing challenges that can be responded only by harnessing skilled human resources. Congratulating the graduate students on their success, he expressed his confidence that they are now fully ready to shoulder the responsibilities to be given by the nation. In the second part of the programme, the presentation of the candidates to the Chancellor's Gold medal was held. Khandker Hamidur Rahman, M.Sc. in Telecommunication Engineering, Sabrina Hossain and Kamruddin Parvez, both Masters in Business Administration with Major in Finance secured the Chancellor's Gold Medal with CGPAs 4 in the scale of 4. Fatema Hossain, Major in Management and Sama Mostafa, Major in Finance became valedictions by securing CGPA 3.93 in the scale of 4.

Master of ceremonies Mr. Tanvir Ahmed Khan, Registrar gave the vote of thanks and after that the program ended with the declaration of the closing of the ceremony by the Chancellor.

writer to reach: feeda_shahed@yahoo.com