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News Room

America week observed in Rajshahi

Mamun Abdul Kaioum

A three-day 'America Week' was organised from 8-10 December in Rajshahi city highlighting the important ties between the people of the United States and Bangladesh. Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation GM Qader inaugurated the festival as the chief guest along with the US Ambassador to Bangladesh James F Moriarty at Rajshahi Parjatan Motel. The week featured presentations and site visits showcasing US Government-funded ongoing programmes in Rajshahi.

The Embassy of the United States (US) in Bangladesh organised a seminar on 'higher education in USA' at Rajshahi University (RU) senate Bhaban on 8 December as part of the America Week. James F Moriarty spoke at the seminar. Rajshahi University Vice-Chancellor Prof. M Abdus Sobhan was present as chief guest. RU Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof. M Nurullah, Treasurer Prof. M Abdur Rahman and Registrar Prof. M A Bari also spoke at the seminar as guests. Sandra Ingram, chief of the consular section of the US embassy, described the process application in US colleges and universities while American Centre director Laurence Lovelance spoke on the visa processing procedure. Student councilor of the embassy Arefin Jahan also spoke in the seminar. About 300 students and teachers of 48 departments of the university participated in the seminar.

Workshop on Drama at BRAC University

BRAC University Drama and Theatre Forum (BUDTF) in collaboration with the Department of English of BU organized a workshop on Drama on 10 December with a view to imparting practical training to the BU students about Drama. Noted drama personalities Abdul Mannan Hira, Azad Abul Kalam and Tropa Majumdar delivered lectures on different aspects of drama.

Abdul Mannan Hira said that theater is a mode of entertainment that engages the artistes of the drama as well as the audience in equal measure. Azad Abul Kalam conducted a practical session on drama acting, where he discussed fundamental strategies and tactics of acting in a drama. He talked at length about the different aspects of the famous Shakespearean drama 'Hamlet.' Tropa Majumdar gave an enthralling lecture on 'Miraj Fakirer Ma,' written by late dramatist Abdullah Al Mamun. Obaidullah Al Zakir, adviser of the BUDTF, gave special thanks to the guests for their continuous support. The drama club of BU is going to stage 'Miraj Fakirer Ma' as its annual production.

International Seminar at Southern University Bangladesh

An international seminar on “Knowledge Engineering” was held recently at Southern University Bangladesh. SUB Vice-Chancellor Prof. A.J.M. Nuruddin Chowdhury presided over the seminar while Sarwar Jahan, Founder and Treasurer of SUB welcomed the participants. Anitha Narayana Jayaprakash, Alumni, University of Wales, UK and Education Director, SG Group, Singapore was present as keynote speaker. SUB Vice-Chancellor Prof. A.J.M. Nuruddin Chowdhury emphasized on the absorption of new technology with the passage of time in order to cope with the rapidly changing world. An open discussion and questionnaire session were also held at the end of the presentation. Ishrat Jahan, Head, General Education, was present as the moderator.

Workshop on 'Operations and Connectivity
of Optical Fibers' at NSU

IEEE Student Branch, NSU organised a workshop on “Operations and Connectivity of Optical Fibers” on November 24, 2009. Prof. SAM Khairul Bashar, Pro- Vice Chancellor, North South University, was the Chief Guest. Current Chairman of IEEE Bangladesh section Dr. Md. Aynal Haque, and Counselor of IEEE Student Branch, NSU, Dr. M. A. Matin were also present on the occasion.

The four and a half hour long workshop was divided into successive tutorial and industrial sessions. The opening session of motivational speeches was followed by the tutorial session, conducted by Dr. Saiful Islam, Associate Professor, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). The highly informative theoretical session left an impression of “A Short Course on Fiber Optics Communication”. With an interactive Q&A segment the tutorial part ended. Then, the 'industrial session' started amidst great enthusiasm. Hamida Traders assisted this stimulating segment of the workshop. Participants witnessed all their theoretical knowledge on fiber optics being materialized in real world. The current technology used in fiber optics was demonstrated during this session. Dr. Abul L Haque, Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, NSU, gave an encouraging end-note, which was followed by a certificate-giving ceremony.

NeoSTAR Alliance organises seminar on green technology

NeoSTAR Alliance (NSA) a forum of creative minds and next generation leaders organised a seminar on green technology titled "Necessity of Green Technology to Reduce Environmental Degradation" on 18 November at American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB). The prime objective of this seminar was to introduce cutting-edge environment-friendly innovations to youngsters and at the same time sensitize them to adopt green technologies.

Chief guest of the seminar Munir Hasan, Consultant, Access to Information (A2I), Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in his speech said that because Bangladesh largely depends on agro-based activities, introduction of green technology such as solar energy to power irrigation system would save significant amount of electricity. Keynote speaker of the seminar Mubin Sadruddin, Managing Director, Axis Technologies in his presentation stated the necessity of adopting technologies that have optimum level of power efficiency.

Faculty delegation from USA visits IUB

Hasan Saimum Wahab

A delegation of four faculty members of Concordia College of USA visited Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) from 13 December to 15 December 2009. The delegation comprised of Dr. Mark Krejci, Dr. Per Anderson, Dr. Greg Cant, and Dr. Jennifer Bath. They made a courtesy call on Prof. Bazlul Mobin Chowdhury, Vice Chancellor of IUB on 14th December. The team accompanied by the Pro VC of IUB Prof. Omar Rahman and Asst Professor Rita Yusuf also visited Manikganj Field Site of Open Source Data Project on 15th December. The objective of the visit is to explore opportunities of collaborations between IUB and Concordia College.

Primeasia University Celebrates Pharmacy Freshers' Reception

Primeasia University arranged a reception programme on 8 December to welcome the Pharmacy students of the Fall Semester 2009 in a splendid fashion. The programme was graced with the presence of Vice Chancellor Prof Gias Uddin Ahmad as the Chief Guest and Registrar Abul Kashem Molla as the Guest of Honour. Many of the heads and faculty members of the different departments of the university and about 300 students of the department of Pharmacy attended the reception. Prof. Sk. Feroz Uddin Ahmed chaired the programme.

The slogan of the event was 'Graduate Pharmacists Ensure Rational Use of Drugs in Healthcare System.' The speakers stated that appointment of graduate and post-graduate pharmacists in the hospitals would significantly contribute to ensuring appropriate utilisation of drugs for the healthcare of patients in our hospitals. The chief guest acknowledged that graduate pharmacists are the key professionals for the provision of proper pharmaceutical care to patients. The chairman expressed that proper healthcare services require combined and concerted efforts of competent doctors, pharmacists and nurses.

EDU holds Dialogue between Academia and Corporate world

East Delta University (EDU), Chittagong organized a dialogue, a first of its kind in Chittagong, on November 21, 2009 at the EDU campus, Agrabad. between academia and corporate to update the curriculum and teaching methodologies of the School of Business to keep pace with the changes of 21st century. Professor Muhammad Sekandar Khan, renowned economist and Vice Chancellor of EDU chaired the dialogue where Professor Anwarul Azim Arif, former Vice Chancellor, Premier University and Professor Tahlil Azim graced the event as the chief guest and special guest respectively. A. Qauyum Chowdhury, Associate Professor & Coordinator, School of Business, EDU, conducted the programme. Professor Dr. Abul Hossain, Sajal Kanti Barua, Registrar (In-charge), and Nurul Absar Nahid, Assistant Professor, EDU were also present in the programme. In the colorful event, the corporate world was represented by a large number of senior officials from Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), Unilever, KAFCO, Standard Chartered Bank, Southeast Bank, Grameen Phone, Coats Bangladesh, One Bank, Mobil, Summit Alliance Port, PDB, Glaxo Smithkline, CEPZ, CCCI, Eastern Refinery, RSRM, BGIC, Sanoara Group, Pacific Motors, Hotel St. Martin, BGMEA, Bank Al-Falah, BFFEA, Shawallace, Fortuna, and other companies.

Speakers from both the fields - Academia and corporate emphasized on the modernization of the curriculums of the business schools on the basis of problems and prospects of the economy of Bangladesh. They urged to highlight the contemporary issues such as communication skills in different languages, adaptability, time management, supply chain management, change management, and stress management in the curriculum of the business schools to face the challenges of globalization.