|  Spotlight
ICT Festival 2009 @ IUT
Shaikh Jeeshan Kabeer
The Islamic University of Technology (IUT) and IUT Computer Society (IUTCS) hosted a grand National ICT Festival titled AB Bank-IUT 2nd National ICT Fest '09. Almost 1200 participants from over 50 universities and more than a dozen schools and colleges participated in the event.
The gala event kicked off on the 13th of August. The event commenced with the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by distinguished faculty and personalities from around the country. The Chief Guest of the inauguration ceremony was Nurul Islam Nahid, Honourable Minister, Ministry of Education. Kaiser A. Chowdhury, President and Managing Director of AB Bank Limited was present as the Special Guest. Professor Imtiaz Hossain, Vice Chancellor of IUT presided over the ceremony.
Professor M. A. Mottalib Chief Patron IUT Computer Society and Head, CIT Department and Anowarul Abedin Mithu, President IUT Computer Society and Convener of the AB Bank-IUT 2nd National ICT Fest '09 were also present. In his speech the Minister emphasized the need of ICT in the 21st century and at the same stressed on the importance of ICT in the perspective of a developing country such as Bangladesh. At the same time he also emphasized the role of ICT Development towards the realization of the dream, Digital Bangladesh.
The special guest in his speech emphasized the increasing significance of ICT in the Global perspective and urged everyone to contribute their shares in the development of the sector in Bangladesh. Professor Mottalib welcomed everyone to the event and asked for the cooperation of everyone concerned.
The two day long festival was divided into 6 primary segments; Programming Contest, ICT Seminars, Computer Gaming Competition, Software and Hardware Project Showcasing, ICT Olympiad and General Knowledge Competition.
The programming contest was the most prestigious event of the festival with a total of more than 63 registered teams. Thirty-seven private and public universities from around the country participated in the festival. The programming contest, which took place in the computer labs of IUT was one of the largest gathering of programmers in the country; with intense competition and neck to neck fight persisting till the very last second. BUET's Bhushondir Kak and Rand Ecliptic secured the first and second position with DU's Balloon Monster securing the third.
A total of two seminars were held during the festival. The seminars were attended by distinguished teaching personalities of different esteemed universities from around the country.
 On 13th August a seminar titled 'Digital Bangladesh: A roadmap to achieve the Goal' was held in the seminar room. The seminar was chaired by Prof. M. Abdus Sobhan, School of Engineering and Comp. Science, IUB and co-chaired by Prof. Chowdhury Mofizur Rahman, Pro VC, UIU. Prof. Syed Akhter Hossain, Head of CSE Dept, ULAB was present as the Keynote Speaker.
On 14th August, another seminar titled 'Human Resources Readiness for ICT.' Professor M. Lutfar Rahman, Department of CSE, Dhaka University was present as the chair with Prof. Saidur Rahman, Head of CSE, BUET as the co-chair. M. Rokonuzzaman, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Department of CSE, IUB gave his speech as the Keynote Speaker.
On 13th August, a distinguished and unique gathering of ICT academic personnel was organized, titled “Professors Together”. The main aim of this gathering was to address the issue of ICT Education Towards Digital Bangladesh and at the same time to tackle the current emerging issues of the ICT sector.
The special session yielded many effective suggestions towards the rapid and efficient development of ICT sector and that of the ICT Community.
The gaming competition was the most anticipated and participated event of the entire festival. It offered FIFA '09 and Counter Strike Source. A total of 54 teams participated in the Counter Strike Tournament with 168 contestants in FIFA. Team VOID were the Winners of Counter Strike with XK as the Runners up, meanwhile in Fifa, the crown of the Champion went to Rubayet Rahman of IUT and Tanvir Hoq being Runners Up, who is also from IUT. The Student Centre of IUT, the venue of the Gaming Competition was packed with crowds and visitors as the teams battled for the ultimate honour and respect of being revered as Champions.
 The project showcasing took place in the Auditorium and attracted a lot of visitors who were fascinated by the works of the Developers. It was divided into two categories, Hardware and Software. In the Hardware category a total of 6 projects were showcased. Harun Ur Rashid and Md. Saifur Rahman for “Smart Home/Office” and Md. Hossain Reza For “Mobile based home and Industrial appliance control” took the 1st and 2nd prizes respectively on behalf of DUET.
In the software category a total of 18 projects were showcased. Akond Ashfaque Ur Rahman and Atiqul Islam Mollah For "Ekattor", Mohammad Hasibul Haque and A. N. M. Fauzul Hossain For “2B Web Translator" and S. M. Shahnewaz and Md. Anowarul Abedin Mithu For Result Solution took the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes respectively.
The auditorium, which was the venue of the Olympiad, offered a glimpse of the typical examination hall with participants battling against the clock to finish in time with the invigilators keeping a close eye on them. The ICT Olympiad was segmented into two categories of participants; Colleges and Universities. Some 100 participants took part in the event.
In the college category Rifat al Shahriar (Notre Dame College) secured 1st positions with Shahdip (Sylhet Int. School and College) and Wasim (Notre Dame College) securing 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
In the University category Md. Mahbubul Hasan (BUET) secured 1st position with Debakar Shamanta (SUST) and Md. Masudur Rahman (JU) securing 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
The General Knowledge Competition was a new event for the ICT Fest introduced only this year. Students from only schools and colleges were eligible for participating in this event. The main objective of this event was to expose the young minds to the latest developments of the ICT sector and at the same time stimulate interest towards the ICT sector.
A total of 16 teams registered for the General Knowledge Competition and the fight for being the championship was enjoyed by a live audience who supported and applauded them all the way. Teams “Dhaka Fighters” and “DC rockers” from Dhaka College took the 1st and 2nd positions respectively while team “Arnob” from Trust College took the 3rd position. The Award Giving Ceremony marked the end of the ICT Festival. Professor Nazrul Islam, Chairman, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh was present as the Chief Guest. Md. Anwar Jamil Siddiqui, Director, AB Bank Limited was present as the Special Guest. The ceremony was presided over by the Vice Chancellor of IUT, Professor Imtiaz Hossain. Prof M. A. Mottalib, Chief Patron IUT Computer Society and Head CIT
 Department, IUT, Ali. Al-Mamun, Moderator IUT Computer Society, and Anowarul Abedin Mithu, President IUT Computer Society and Convener of the Festival were also present. The Chief Judge from each of the categories announced the winners, who were presented with gifts, crests and certificates. In his speech the chief guest mentioned that IUT holds a special place being the only international university of the country and at the time commended IUT and IUT Computer Society for organizing such a grand event. He also expressed his hope that IUT will host such events in the future. The special guest in his speech congratulated the winners and he mentioned that AB Bank was always keen towards partnering with the youths to give rise to a better tomorrow. Professor Imtiaz Hossain, Vice Chancellor of IUT congratulated the winners and in his presiding speech congratulated the students who were the main organizers of the festival and praised their effort for being able to organize such a large event amidst their tough academic schedule. Prof. Mottalib, in his speech mentioned the importance of such events in the field of ICT Education and he hoped that the government will include ICT Education in the ICT Policy of Bangladesh, which is a significant factor towards the achievement of the goal, Digital Bangladesh. The Moderator of IUT Computer Society thanked the distinguished guests for their presence. He went on to thank AB Bank Limited, the title sponsor of the Event, Prize Money sponsor TechValley Networks Limited, T-Shirt sponsor R M Systems Ltd and the Media Partners Star Campus, Computer Jagat, Channel I, The Daily Jugantor and Radio Today for their sincere support and cooperation.
The presence of the distinguished guests and the smiling faces of the winners coupled with the festive looks provided a spectacular ending to the AB Bank-IUT 2nd National ICT Fest 2009.
(The writer is organizing committee member, media and publications, IUT Computer Society)
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