News Room

Seminar at Stamford University

Staff Reporter

A seminar was held in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Stamford University, Bangladesh on 03 July. Mr. Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, a renowned media personality of the country, attended the seminar as the chief speaker.

NUB to celebrate 5th founding anniversary soon

Northern University Bangladesh (NUB) will celebrate its fifth founding anniversary soon. NUB vice chancellor (VC) Prof Dr M Shamsul Haque announced this to a group of journalists while exchanging views with them on the main campus of the university in the capital recently.

About 1,200 students have already graduated at the first convocation of the university. Bangladesh president and chancellor of the university Prof Iajuddin Ahmed distributed certificates among the graduates as chief guest.

Founded in 2002, the university has emerged as one of the largest universities in the country within a short span of time, he said. It has been able to draw attention of students, teachers, guardians and others. The university is providing quality education to thousands of students at a time when opportunities for higher education is limited because the public universities are plagued with various problems including session jam, student politics and unhealthy atmosphere, the VC added.

At present, the university has about 8,000 students with six faculties, six departments and 20 need-based programmes including four campuses in the capital, two others each in Rajshahi and Khulna.

Photography Presentation at ULAB

Md. Nabil

A photography presentation by Iranian photo journalist Manoocher Deghati was held in the auditorium of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh on July 18. The event was organized jointly by Drik, Pathshala and South Asian Institute of Photography and ULAB.

Manoocher's theme was worldwide history of conflicts and politics. He flashed back through his lens to the days of Gulf War, Iraq-Iran war, Arab-Israeli conflicts, the Shah Regime in Iran and the invasion of Iraq. Manoocher Deghati has 30 year-long career in international professional photography. He worked for AFP, Time Magazine and National Geography Channel. At present he is based in Paris.

"Bangladesh is a very photo-friendly country," he commented and expressed his desire to come back here again.

Shahidul Alam of Drik introduced Manoocher Deghati. Dr. Kazi Anis Ahmed, director of academic affairs, ULAB gave the welcome note. Vice chancellor of ULAB Prof. Rafiqul Islam, Prof. Brian Shoesmith, dean, dept. of media studies & journalism in ULAB, delegates from Drik, Pathshala and South Asian Institute of Photography and a number of journalists were present at the event.

(Student of Dept. of Media Studies & Journalism)

BUET awarded 1st, 2nd & 3rd prize 2nd Daffodil Inter-University Programming Contest 2007 concludes

The 2nd Daffodil Inter-University Programming Contest 2007 concluded on Friday evening. BUET Black Hats team was awarded the first prize. BUET Asterix and BUET Judged Crashers group have been awarded second and third position.

The two-day long programming competition was arranged by The Daffodil International University (DIU) and held on the main campus of DIU. The prize awarding ceremony was held at the auditorium of DIU located at Prince Plaza Business campus. In all ten teams were awarded at the prize giving ceremony. Sixty-three teams from twenty-six universities from all over the country participated in the competition. Professor Dr Tareque Shamsur Rahman, Member of University Grants Commission (UGC) attended the ceremony as chief guest. The ceremony was chaired by the chairman, BOG, DIU, Md Sabur Khan, Professor Muhammed Zafar Iqbal was the chief judge at the contest. Dr M Kaykobad, Professor, Department of CSE, BUET was the convener of Technical Committee.

Film Festival @ ULAB Film Club

G. Sumdany Don

With over 250 people as captivated audience and the Director of Academic Affairs, Dr. Kazi Anis Ahmed as the Chief Guest, the ULAB Film Club has recently organized the biggest event by any single club in the ULAB's history. Credited for being the club that organized the first concert and the first fashion show at ULAB, the Film Club this semester organized ULAB's first film festival! The event was held on the 21st of July, 2007 at the ULAB auditorium where the audience enjoyed three latest Hollywood blockbusters of this year.

The event was inaugurated by Dr. Anis who thanked the Film Club for organizing such events where the students truly participate and contribute. He recalled his own experiences of being a film club member in his university in America and shared his views of how a club like this should operate. He ended his speech by requesting the audience to give a round of applause for the club, and thus the whole auditorium vibrated with the clapping of the audience.

The excited audience wooed and echoed with the mind boggling scenes of Spiderman 3; the charismatic acting by Captain Jack Sparrow's Pirates of the Caribbean, At World's End and the fascinating special effects of Fantastic Four, the Rise of the Silver Surfer.

The faculty members of different departments, students and other guests attended the festival.

TAFE NSW Trains students for global Careers

Staff Reporter

Study in Australia Exhibition to be held 4-6 August 2007 at the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel. More and more students in Bangladesh are choosing Australia as their number one study destination for its quality education, safe and friendly lifestyle, and flexible tertiary programs. Over 820 Bangladeshi students commenced vocational courses in Australia this year, an incease of 17% from last year according to figures released by Australian Education International, an Australian federal government department.

Many Bangladeshi students select TAFE NSW Institutes because of the wide range of professional courses, practical on-the-job training, and diploma to degree pathways. Ten TAFE NSW Institute are located in Sydney and New South Wales (NSW). Sydney, the NSW capital, was recently voted the best city in the world based on its climate, lifestyle, friendly people, affordability and transport networks. A TAFE NSW representative will be available at the IDP Bangladesh Exhibition at the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 August 2007.

Satkhira Debating Club begins its journey

Saraban Tahira & Imran Hossain

A group of students of Satkhira for the first time established a debating club named 'Satkhira Debating Club.' Some students of Dhaka University from Satkhira inspired the organisers in this regard. The club organized the first ever Knowledge Festival where 16 debating teams and 16 general knowledge teams participated in the 13 day- long competition.

BRAC University: Admission Test for Fall 2007 held

The admission test for Fall 2007 was held at BRAC University (BU) main campus on Friday, July 20,2007. A total of 649 students appeared in the test and 243 were selected for viva voce. Students applied for different departments i.e. Architecture, BBA, Computer Science, ECE, Economics and Social Science, English, LLB and Physics. After viva voce they will attend the orientation programme and club fair activities. Afterwards all the selected students will be housed for eight weeks in the Training and Resource Centre (TARC) of BRAC in Savar to complete the Residential Semester (RS). Currently 3500 students are studying at BU in different departments. The next admission test will be held on 17th August, 2007.


Talks on Kurt Vonnegut at IUB

Staff Reporter

Professor Syed Manzoorul Islam, Professor of English of Dhaka University, spoke on the American author Kurt Vonnegut in the fifth lecture in the IUB Lecture Series on English Studies, on Wednesday evening, 25th July at Baridhara Campus of the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB).

Novelist Vonnegut, who died in April this year, was a post-modernist writer of novels and short-stories. Among his other works Breakfast of Champions and Slaughter House 5 are the two prominent ones.

Professor Islam, himself a renowned scholar and writer who has to his credit five volumes of short stories and a novel in Bangla, discussed Vonnegut's theme and his narrative style which is a departure from the normal linear structure of novel writing.

The talk was attended by a good number of scholars, academics, faculty members, students and others.

Extension of Bangladesh-Kuwait Maitree Hall

Snigdha Madhuri

The authorities of Bangladesh-Kuwait Maitree hall, one of the halls for female students of Dhaka University, are constructing an eight-storied extension building that will also have a lift. After completion, it will accommodate about 384 students. The vice chairman of Shikder Medical College, Mrs. Monoara Haque Shikder has donated Tk. 1 crore for the purpose. She has also agreed to bear the extra cost, if any, for this extension.

The construction work had started last June and so far four floors have already been completed. The provost of the hall Mrs. Tahmina Akhter hopes that it will be finished by December. In the extension part, the ground floor and 1st floor will have auditorium, canteen, health centre, study room, ranger and B.N.C.C room, house tutors' quarters etc. The provost says, “I was a resident of this hall as a student. Now being a provost of this hall, I feel I have some additional responsibilities. Since accommodation problem is a burning issue in Dhaka University, I have tried to do something for my students. This extension is the outcome of my dreams.”

(Student of Mass communication and journalism,
University of Dhaka)

Interior Design Course at FID

Staff Reporter

With the vision to help creative people build a firm foundation in interior designing in order to come out as qualified professionals, Fashion Institute of Designing (FID), a premier fashion school at Dhaka, now invites innovative minds to get enrolled in their 1st yr and 2nd yr "Professional Course in Interior Design".

The curriculum containing 12 subjects is designed to develop fundamentals and principles, which are an integral part of the design process.

Students engage themselves in concrete exercises through class lectures, in-class design studio and projects/assignments.

As a part of the curriculum, students will have to undergo a 2 months internship in reputed firms for in-plant practical training. FID also conducts job search, career advising, discussions regarding writing a resume, making a portfolio, facing an interview, choosing a major and determining a career direction for the students.

Poetry recitation competition at Southeast University

Masud Alam

The students of Department of English with the Chair, Professor Abdul Baten, held an afternoon of poetry recitation competition on Tuesday, July 17, 2007. Adjudicating the session along with other teachers, students recited from poets like Shakespeare, Donne, Blake, Browning and Heaney, touching on roughly about 400 years of the development of poetry.

The programme ended with the prize distribution to the three best contenders, with Nishat Sharmin, a student of 1st batch claiming the first prize.

Confucius Institute at North South University

Sarah ZH

It all started when Yunnan University (YU) of Kunming, China showed profound keenness in setting up of a Chinese language institute in a Bangladeshi university as part of their agenda to reach out towards South East Asian
countries in order to enhance better understanding of cultures and inspiring friendship among the countries. Successively, a meeting was held between the
representatives from both YU and North South University (NSU) to materialize the institute within a concise d period of time. Soon enough NSU, backed by Hanban signed an agreement with YU and was on the verge of bringing into being the first ever Chinese language institute among the universities of South East Asia. The institute has been named after the great Chinese thinker Confucius who is a symbol of wisdom and enlightenment around the world.

Presently, Confucius Institute (CI) is housed on the 4th floor of Monami Tower of NSU. Since its inauguration on 14 February 2006, Confucius institute has received a generous contribution of teaching materials from YU such as books, audio and video films, maps and other essentials for foreign language learning. Keeping the following facts in mind, NSU is offering Chinese language courses both for regular and working students. A fluent knowledge of Chinese might assist in strengthening trade relationships between the two countries. Availability of employment opportunities and higher education in technical arena in China and other South East Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore or Hong Kong is likely to increase with skill of Chinese language. Moreover it is one of the major UN languages which is facilitating communication amidst the East and the West. The primary objective of Confucius institute at NSU is to promote Chinese language and culture and make Bangladeshi students more familiar with Chinese norms and values so that they can work in concert to put together a brighter tomorrow. The proposed courses are taught by native teachers recommended by the Chinese government. CI at NSU has an Honorary Director and a Deputy Director who is also the most senior instructor. The overall administration, logistics and schedules are peddled by the director while the Deputy formulates the syllabus, teachers, oversees exams, corrects scripts and approves certificates. Initially, a three month long beginner's course is introduced that leads to the completion of a one-year certificate course. Confucius institute also offers scholarships for eligible candidates to learn Chinese language in China. In the year 2006, Confucius institute awarded six students with this scholarship. The students are provided with well-equipped classrooms proficient teaching materials, audio-visual devices, beneficial admission policies and suitable class times according to their preferences. The students of Confucius institute formed a Chinese club at NSU which celebrates all major Chinese festivals around the year. On March 4, 2007 Chinese embassy along with Confucius institute jointly arranged a celebration of the Chinese Spring festival. The eventful association included different performances like lion dance, martial arts, a short drama, recitation a Chinese poems and video presentations by students of CI.

Other than educating students with a persuasive amount of Chinese, Confucius institute also conducts activities like organizing seminars, sharing musical and theatrical events, screening Chinese movies and exhibiting Chinese paintings and sculptures. In future, CI at NSU deliberates to have an expansion by accommodating more teaching staff, training Bangladeshi instructors to teach Chinese language, regularizing cultural events depicting Chinese civilization and fortifying the relationship between the two universities as in the two countries.

BUBT orientation held

Staff Reporter

The Orientation Ceremony of the newly admitted students of Under Graduate Programs of BUBT (Bangladesh University of Business & Technology) for Summer Semester was held on 17th July, 2007.

Professor Md Abu Saleh, Vice-Chancellor of BUBT, was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Prof Dr Shafiq Ahmed Siddique, an honorable member of the Syndicate and Chairman of the Academic Committee, BUBT, was the Special Guest on the occasion. Prof Enayet Hossain Mia, Registrar, BUET addressed the Students about the rules and regulations related to studies at BUBT. Prof Md Ali Azam, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University, presided over the ceremony. The Syndicate members, Faculty members and Students of the University attended the Ceremony.

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