Feature

A F Mujtahid

WITH the impeccable rendering of Rabindranath's immortal song “Anondo lokey mongol alokey birajo” by the IUB choir group welcoming the graduating students and all others in the Convocation Hall, the 12th Convocation Ceremony of the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) was held on Sunday, 15 June 2008 at the Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre, Sher-e-Banglanagar, Dhaka. The Honourable President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh and also the Chancellor of the University, Prof. Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed presided over the Convocation Ceremony. This year a total of 547 students received their degrees in the Convocation. Among the graduates four students received Chancellor's Gold Medal for their outstanding results (CGPA 4 on a scale of 4). Those who have received the gold medals are: Mr Maidul Alam Chaklader MPH (Public Health), Ms Afroza Sultana MSc (Telecommunication Engineering), Mr H M Neaz Rabbi BSc (Computer Science), and Mr Rubayat Khan, BSc (Environmental Management). Mr H M Neaz Rabbi and Mr Rubayat Khan also received the valedictorian award for the class of 2008. Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, the Hon'ble Advisor, Ministry of Education and Commerce of the Govt. of the People's Republic of Bangladesh attended the ceremony as the Special Guest. Prof. Charles L. Choguill, an internationally famous expert on Urban Development and currently Professor of Urban Planning, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia attended as the Convocation Speaker.

In his address the President Prof. Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed said, “We have to build a knowledge-based society to make our country prosperous with their knowledge and wisdom”.

Prof. Charles L. Choguill advised the graduates “Base your work on solid foundation and do not rush into things without adequate knowledge”. The Vice Chancellor Prof Bazlul Mobin Chowdhury said, “We started our academic journey with just three academy disciplines and now we offer 29 varied disciplines. The first Convocation witnessed graduation of just 29 graduates and today we have more than 2900 alumni. From 12 teachers to a multitude of highly qualified faculty, 158 to be exact with more than 40 doctorates".

The Chairman of the founding Trust of IUB, Mr Towhid Samad mentioned that the world is the market for the students of IUB and they should not fall short. The Convocation Ceremony ended with loud cheers and the singing of the international song of the youth “We shall overcome someday….when many amongst the audience joined the chorus.

(Director - Media & PR)