Quality growth is essential for universities (Says SUB VC )

http://thedailystar.net/campus/2009/08/03/feature_quality.htm

WITH a vision to emerge as a leading university in the South Asian region by providing need-based education to meet the ever-increasing demand for quality professionals at home and abroad, the State University of Bangladesh (SUB) started its journey in mid 2002. The people behind it wanted to build skilled professionals in different fields ready to join the industry. Starting small with undergraduate and graduate majors in the field of Business Administration and Computer Science, the university has today grown to be home to more than 2000 students in its own building in the prime location of Dhanmondi, Dhaka. In an exclusive interview with Star Campus, Professor Iftekhar Ghani Chowdhury, Vice Chancellor of the university, has shared the university’s story of growth, its key achievements and its future plans.

Prof. Chowdhury mentioned that the university is an outcome of the passion of two entrepreneurs, Dr A.M Shamim and Dr M Mahbubur Rahman, for expanding into the tertiary sector of education as they faced shortage of qualified professionals in running their health enterprises. They took expert help and had discussions with the academics and the professionals, at home and abroad, to decide on an ideal enterprise they could venture. The outcome was the State University of Bangladesh. The formal permission to launch the university under the Private University Act (Act 34) 1992 of the Government was received in June 2002.

BIMDT, a sister concern of LABAID GROUP, paved the way to what is today known as SUB. The organization had been working in the field of education since 1996 with a vision to develop skilled professionals in the field of Medical Technology and Science. Initially BIMDT Ltd. offered three-year Diploma courses in Health Technology. With its success and growing reputation in imparting custom designed education, BIMDT ventured into the university to promote innovative approaches in nurturing academic and professional skills in people with potential.

Starting with Business Administration and Computer Science, different departments were later added to the repertoire of the university with the target of making a full-fledged institution of higher studies. Health Sciences Department was started in January 2003 with both undergraduate and graduate programs. More departments were added as the university grew over the years. Currently there are 10 departments spread under 3 faculties including Business and Social Science, Health and Computer Science & Engineering.

With the rapid expansion of the university, the stakeholders understood the need for good infrastructure and soon enough, construction of the SUB campus in Dhanmondi started. Dr Chowdhury said that SUB is the first private university to have its own independent campus; the building is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as digital and computer labs and on-line surveillance.

Dr Choudhury mentions that the mission of SUB has always been to create human human resources that the market will eagerly embrace once they graduate from the university. This, he explains, is done through the creation of a teaching and learning environment that encourages students to stretch their abilities, both intellectual and physical. A blend of national and international curriculum adapted to the local needs prepares students for the most challenging professions in a cross-cultural environment, he adds.

When asked to name the things that he feels proud of, the VC mentioned the library, which has a rich collection of books and online journals, state of the art laboratory facilities, the modern surveillance system to ensure security and a whole range of different scholarship schemes for meritorious students.

Professor Chowdhury hates to term the different forms of student activities as extra-curricular activities; he says that an ideal university curriculum includes what we commonly term as extra-curricular activities. In order for a student to have complete university education, he must participate in activities like sports, debate, quiz competitions, cultural programmes and things of the sort.

The Vice Chancellor informed that the university encourages the faculty to engage in research and publish their findings in scholastic writings. Two journals are regularly published by the university; the Journal of SUB and SUB Journal of Public Health, Both of which are available in hardcopy and in e-version.

In order to provide education of the highest quality, the university has set up collaborations with world renowned universities including Mahidol University, Bangkok, McMaster University, Canada, Kyrgyz Republic Chui University, Kyrgyztan, ORBIS International Wah Medical College, Pakistan

Tribhuban University, Purbanchal University & Katmandu University, Nepal and Masachussettes University, USA.

Prof. Chowdhury mentioned that he wanted to see the university grow not only in size but in the quality of education it renders. This would be measure in how fast the university’s graduates are employed in the industry, both inside and outside the country. This would also be reflected by the number of times the publications brought out by the teachers and students of the university are cited by other papers of the field.

The major achievements of the university, Prof Chowdhury believes has been its controlled growth over the years, in terms of the number of students that have been admitted and maintaining high standards of faculty members across all departments.

Interview of Zeinab Badawi of the BBC World Service Trust

http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2009/03/02/feature_interview.htm

THE BBC World Service Trust is the BBC’s international development agency. It uses media and communications to reduce poverty, promote human rights and improve people’s lives. It has worked in over 40 countries worldwide, implementing projects in health, education, environment, governance, human rights, livelihoods and emergency response. The BBC World Service Trust launched its first significant programme in this country through “Bangladesh Sanglap” in November 2005. Sanglap is a weekly political debate program produced by the BBC Bengali Service in conjunction with the BBC World Service Trust. In May 2008, the BBC World Service Trust launched its second major program in Bangladesh “English in Action,” using television, radio, mobile phones and the Internet to improve English language skills.

About Zeinab Badawi
ZEINAB Badawi is the presenter of World News Today, one of BBC World News’hour-long news and analysis programmes. The programme features reports and discussions with leading BBC correspondents, and interviews and debates with people who are making the news around the globe. Previously a presenter of BBC World News’ The World, Zeinab has worked in British broadcasting for two decades. She has worked on a range of programmes reporting from Europe, Asia and Africa, where she covered the famine in the mid-Eighties. After a stint in reporting and presenting programmes on British politics live from the BBC’s Westminster studios, Zeinab joined BBC World News where she has become a regular face, presenting debates on major issues as well as being a presenter of HARDtalk, interviewing personalities such as the Dalai Lama and US General Tommy Franks.

_____________________________________________________

BBC World News, in association with The BBC World Service Trust, is producing a special edition of The World Debate from Bangladesh. Presented by Zeinab Badawi, the debate will ask ‘Are there too many people in the world?’ The debate has been recorded at Dhaka’s Lalbagh Fort on the 25th of February and it will be broadcast in April on BBC World News.

Experts from different sectors were included in the panel and they have considered a range of issues including:

* Is rising global population sustainable?
* Can technological advances and economic growth provide for all?
* Might migration help address population imbalances around the globe?
* Should population numbers be controlled and if so how?
* Should we worry about population shrinking?

______________________________________________________________________________

The following interview was taken a day prior to the Debate (on 24th February 2009).

Star Campus (SC): What is the main purpose and functionalities of the BBC World Service Trust?

Zeinab Badawi (ZB): The BBC World Service Trust is a charitable arm of the BBC and it uses the expertise of the BBC in terms of journalism and information dissemination. The fundamentals are based on Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (freedom of expression, freedom of opinion). We were always struck by the fact that the Indian Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen said that ‘there has never been famine in a country where there is freedom of expression and freedom of information’. We always try to ensure that local people can disseminate information through whatever media, whatever form, to the people of that country. Mediums that can be used include the radio, or perhaps for a wider audience, sending a message through a dramatized program. It’s the power of the media to inform the public about different issues including public health and so on. Also, there are issues of governance, which is a very important issue here in Bangladesh and it is just not enough to say somebody has the right to vote. They have to understand about the candidate’s ability. But the organization is not only concerned with political issues, but rather it acts as a facilitator of local people.

We have many different programs, including the Active Literacy program in Somalia, Promotion of the English Language program, it doesn’t have a one-side fixed approach. It takes into consideration what the locally engaged people say about the needs of their country, for instance in Darfur, people were helped to find out where they could get help or humanitarian aid, since an emergency situation is in existence there. And in Khartoum, the Trust has helped train local journalists in order to give them a media framework and make them understand how to present important news in a balanced fashion. The main objective is to help people help themselves. It doesn’t really do or build things like build a hospital but makes people aware that they need one. We have different programs about the prevention of malaria and HIV-AIDS. In Bangladesh, we have a program called Bangladesh Shonglap. We are a new organization and we have had discussions about whether we should keep the word ‘BBC’ with the name of the trust or not. But keeping in mind that we have the same values as that of BBC, we finally decided to keep it.

SC: The topic for the debate at Lalbagh is about different issues related to population. What made you choose Bangladesh as the country where this will be discussed?

ZB: The question that we are going to ask is, is there an impending global population crisis? I don’t want to give anybody the impression that we are asking if there are too many people in the world? And that there are too many people in Bangladesh! We came to Bangladesh to discuss if there is a thing as population crisis globally and for some countries it could mean a shrinking population as well as ones which are expanding too rapidly for their governments to cope up with. Australia, Japan and some countries in Europe are facing severe problems because of their steadily aging population. In Bangladesh, the population growth has long been a problem specially because of global warming, floods and other problems which is claiming your land. So Bangladesh was a good place to discuss the issue.

SC: Is there any reason behind choosing the Lalbagh fort for the debate tomorrow?

ZB: The only reason is it’s a beautiful fort and it’s going to look even better when it gets floodlit. The weather too is very good at this time of the year and it sure is going to portray a positive image of Bangladesh. Enclosed auditoriums and conference rooms are present everywhere; this is what is going to make the country look different.

SC: How important do you think debate is as an extra curricular activity in schools, colleges and universities? Students of today will become future Presidents and Prime Ministers. Does it help in their grooming up?

ZB: The format of debate is a very good discipline to make young people aware of what’s happening around them at a very early age. Sometimes in the media it is said that you are trying to oversimplify issues by saying that something is for and against, the world is not black and white, it’s grey. I have sympathy with that point of view, however I believe that a debate, in the true sense of the word, helps to clarify your thoughts when you have to take a stance for or against an opinion. It is not just a superficial exercise. It forces people to think hard.

SC: You’ve been very successful in terms of journalism, news presentation and conducting the debates and also in the World Service Trust. What would be your advice for young girls, budding journalists who are coming into this profession these days in Bangladesh?

ZB: There is no step-by-step guide to do this. I have been in this profession for a while now. The key thing I’d say is to be interested. Be interested in people around you. You must have that curiosity which you never ever lose. Freedom of expression is very important and many people in the world do not have that. So one has to ask if there is something more than just showing my face on TV!

[StarTech] TechSpotlight – The power of Bangla

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=78544

CRBLP of BRAC University unveils two revolutionary software

The image left shows how a scanned image has been converted to editable Bangla unicode text with the OCR application, right, a screen shot of the ‘Katha’ application that reads aloud any Bangla text when typed.

Imagine a blind person being able to use a computer almost as efficiently as someone with eyes! All he does is take the mouse cursor to a certain position in the screen and the computer reads him aloud whatever button there is. That too in Bangla!

This, and a few more marvels would now be available for free to all the people who want to use Bangla for many different reasons in their everyday lives thanks to two newly released products by CRBLP (Center for Research for Bangla Language Processing) of BRAC University.

On February 19, CRBLP announced the first official release of its Bangla language processing software packages ‘Katha’ (text-to-speech) and BanglaOCR (optical character recognition). In the event, the audience (which included experts in the field and several blind people) was shown how the computer could create Bangla unicode text from scanned images and then read out the text.

The TTS and OCR run on Linux, Windows and Mac OSX. There is also a web-enabled front-end for the TTS (and under development for the OCR), making these tools available at anytime and from anywhere. Currently, the group is working on better integration with screen readers in collaboration with the vision impaired community.

The Bangla language processing tools developed at CRBLP are free and open source software, released under GNU Public License v2, and supported in part by funding from Canadian IDRC and BRAC University.

“We have come a long way, but we have even a longer way to go” says Dr. Mumit Khan, professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the university and the head of CRBLP. “We are trying to develop capacity for Bangla Language Processing in Bangladesh. These days we are talking about ICT and Digital Bangladesh. If you talk about ICT for a country, you have to localise. And localisation means not only translation, you also need to incorporate local culture for widespread use.”

“We start from very basic spelling checkers and Optical Character recognition. Speech synthesis would enable us not to type but dictate. That would make not only a recording, but also turn it into editable text, where you can check for spellings and grammatical errors. These things are present for the English Language through various softwares. For all this to happen in Bangla, you need a lot of linguistic research at first. And in Bangla we are a bit behind in all this. So for us, the first step was capacity building. It took us a year and a half to find out what we needed to know. So our target was to do something simple yet concrete – make applications that people can use,” he added.

A Corpus (list of words in usage in Bangla, something not found in the dictionary), efficient spell checkers, OCR, machine translation, syntax checking all these are required to make full-scale Bangla computing possible.

So the purpose of the research is to:

1) Build linguistic resource using Corpus

2) Create new applications

3) Develop capacity

These applications will help in different forms of academic research because there is a huge literacy problem in this country.

The target of TTS includes three kinds of people:

1) The illiterate

2) The Visually impaired

3) People who can’t read Bangla

OCR has infinite applications including fast digitalising of old and rare Bangla books, which would save a lot of time compared to manually typing all the words in those books.

When asked about the inspirations behind developing these applications, Dr Khan mentioned Sightsavers International and the JPUF (Jatiyo Protbondhhi Unnoyon Foundation). Through the usage of these applications, blind people too, can become citizens of the ‘net world’. The sponsors for these projects are the IDRC, Canada (International Development Research Corporation) under its PAN Localisation Project and BRAC University itself.

“At this stage, the text to speech software sounds a bit wooden but we hope to improve on it within the next six months or so. For example, Amar Nam Sanjida sounds like Amar Nam Sa-no-ji-da right now. The good news is that this is just the beginning to even better applications. Future developments would include the female voice, which is an even more difficult thing to do, and intonation inclusive of mood variations, whether the person is angry or in a good mood. Right now we are working on the ‘Broadcast dialect’. Incorporating dialect is an altogether new issue,” he mentioned

At CRBLP, there are 6 researchers in the core group and many other people are affiliated with the research projects including students and teachers from the Dhaka University Linguistics Department (with whom the centre has a MoU) and researchers from 14 other countries.

When asked about the state of research in the field of computer Science in Bangladesh, Dr. Khan said that their sure is room for improvement but research in his field is not totally inexistent as many people would think. Other than CRBLP, he mentioned Prof Saidur Rahman’s (Buet) research on graph theory which is being internationally acclimated.

For more information on the research centre and its activities may visit CRBLP’s website http://www.bracu.ac.bd/research/crblp/.

Short Notes:
1) TTS: The TTS (Text to Speech) application generates speech from Bangla text. This can help tackle illiteracy problem, empower the visually impaired and increase the possibilities of improved machine-interaction. This project has developed a TTS system for Bangla using diphone and unit selection concatenation techniques based on the Festival speech synthesis technology. The developers in this project are Firoj Alam, S.M. Murtoza Habib and Kamrul Hayder.

2) OCR: Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is the process of converting printed text images to editable text. This project has developed a Bangla OCR that takes the scanned image of a printed page or document as input and converts it into editable Unicode text. The developers in this project are Md. Abul Hasnat and Souro Chowdhury.

Spotlight : Brandwitz 2008 – IBA Unveils a New World of Branding

http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2008/08/05/camspotlight.htm

An Exclusive Interview with Syed Munir Khasru
The Architect of BrandWitz 2008

After the overwhelming success of 1st Inter Business School Marketing and Branding Competition BrandWitz 2008, many of us were pondering upon the genesis of such a ground-breaking concept. Here, Syed Munir Khasru, a Professor at IBA and the Moderator of the IBA Communication Club (IBACC) and the man behind Brandwitz speaks with Mahdin Mahboob from Star Campus about the different aspects of Brandwitz 2008.

Star Campus (SC): BrandWitz Competition was the first of its kind in Bangladesh. How did the concept of organizing such a competition evolve and what were its key objectives?
Syed Munir Khasru (SMK): In recent times there has been an increased awareness to promote Bangladesh as a brand to the outside world. Our country has had its share of negative stints involving rampant corruption, poor law and order situation, and confrontational politics. Yet, as a nation we have shown insurmountable promise. We have pioneered the micro-credit system, empowered women, fought back natural calamities with resiliency second to none and so on and so forth. We have not yet done a good job in positively portraying the country to the outside world. Therefore, if a positive image of Bangladesh has to be established, it has to come from the younger generation. To do so, it is essential to equip them with modern tools and techniques of branding.

From branding commercial products and services to branding Bangladesh, business school graduates are well positioned to do both. From this conviction came the urge to organize the 1st ever Inter Business School Marketing and Branding Competition BrandWitz. The main objective was to create a platform for the brightest of all business school students to interlock in the war of wits and thoughts as they solve business cases and develop social campaigns promoting causes and issues that affect us all. In Unilever Bangladesh we found a natural partner and sponsor as they have the richest portfolio of global brands, which are successfully marketed in Bangladesh. Mr. Naushad Karim Chowdhury, Director, Brands of Unilever Bangladesh joined hands with us when we first explained the concept to him and sought active support of Unilever.

SC: Now that the competition is over, how far do you think has the objectives been achieved or fulfilled?
SMK: Since, BrandWitz was held for the 1st time, we are quite satisfied with the outcome. Apart from solving business cases and branding problems within limited spans of time, the participants also had the opportunity to learn how to develop a branded social campaign. As you know, in the finals the participants had to prepare a Social Awareness Campaign for the following, “Branding Democracy: Defining and Promoting Fair Candidates for the Electorates in the upcoming Elections.”

The very fact that such a complex campaign was designed in less than a week and presented within 10 minutes, speak of the sheer passion and talent these youngsters have. All the participants of BrandWitz are first time voters who are expected to have significant impact on the outcome of the next elections. Hence, it was an opportune moment to hear their views and expectations from the next elections. It was quite inspiring to see the talented young unleash their patriotic feelings in a professional format whereby creativity had to be balanced by reality, ideas had to be supported by facts, and solutions had to be realistic to appeal to the panel of judges. The Grand Finale of BrandWitz mesmerized for hours the audiences which comprised a cross section of people students, academicians, government officials, diplomats, senior corporate managers, and journalists. Hence, we have every reason to believe that BrandWitz 2008 was more successful than anticipated.

SC: How big was BrandWitz 2008? Please tell us about the number of teams and institutions who have participated?
SMK: Leading Business Schools from both the private and the public sectors participated in BrandWitz. 24 teams from 15 different institutions initially participated in the contest. There were three contestants in each team.

Therefore, 72 of the most talented minds were involved in brand-building exercises. BrandWitz was indeed “The Branded Fight of The Branded Minds.”

SC: Have you found the overall performance of the different teams satisfactory enough?
SMK: Yes and of course there is always room for improvement. The knowledge, enthusiasm, intelligence, and analytical ability of the contestants were really impressive. Their ability to formulate creative solutions to complex problems and to make professional presentations of the same within tight time schedule demonstrated not only their efficiency but also the agility of mind. BrandWitz indeed achieved what the slogan of the competition had aspired for, “Unlocking the Talent, Branding the Future.” We have set the stage for unleashing the talent of the youth in pursuit of not only having a branded future for themselves but also for Bangladesh.

SC: What are the future plans of BrandWitz? When is the next competition due and how big will that be?
SMK: Given the overwhelming response from all the stakeholders, we intend to add more value and make the next BrandWitz even more interesting. Together with Unilever, we will be working closely to find ways to increase the depth and the breadth of the competition. Our aim is to organize the next BrandWitz by the next early summer and there might be major surprises which we will disclose in time.

As we began to leave after such an awe-inspiring session of interview, a question kept nabbing at us. In the end we could not help but ask.

SC: Sir. You are a Professor at IBA, an entrepreneur, involved in the media, write articles in newspapers, and a participant in policy dialogues and initiatives. Under such a busy schedule how do you find time to consummate your role as the Moderator of IBACC and design contests as brilliant as BrandWitz?
Mr. Syed Munir Khasru gave a modest smile and replied: God has given every individual an infinite ability to perform and excel. Mental stamina ultimately drives physical stamina. The magic is in each of us if we know how to see it. Of course, there are certain elements which always help, at least they have helped me prayers, certain discipline, time management, professionalism etc. In the end of the day, if your thoughts and acts have impacted or influenced others’ life and made a positive difference it is worth the time and effort. What better opportunity to serve and have fun than to empower the younger generation who will hopefully spearhead the rise of Bangladesh in the global map. If things get too hectic there are always words of wise men to find peace and inspiration from, “What you are is God’s gift to you. What you become is your gift to God.”

Top US State Department Official Visits Dhaka

http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2008/08/05/feature_US.htm

KATHLEEN KISTING ALAM, the Regional Educational Advising Coordinator for South Central Asia of the US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs have recently made a short visit to Bangladesh. In a tête-à-tête interview with Mahdin Mahboob from Star Campus, she has talked about different issues relating to students going to US for their higher studies ranging from choosing the institution that would best suit you to the much talked about visa issues. The following are excerpts from that interview:

Star Campus (SC): What is the duration of your trip in Bangladesh and what are the key objectives that you plan to fulfil?

Kathleen Kisting Alam (KKA): It is exactly one working week and the office here has made a packed schedule for me during this time. This includes meeting principals and faculty members of the top schools, colleges and universities in Bangladesh, conducting seminars specially designed for students applying for undergraduate and graduate levels in US, assessing and helping the student counselling activities of the American Centre here and other related things.

My primary objective is to work with the educational advisors. I am here to listen, to look, to watch what challenges they are facing and how we can help them in some way — with more necessary equipments, more books, more training and anything like that.

SC: What are the secondary and other objectives of the trip?

KKA: The secondary objective of course is to meet the educationists in the country to get a clear idea of the challenges students themselves face — with the application process, and it is a complicated application process to the American higher education system. If we have a clear idea about the challenges students are facing, we can understand the resources we need to provide for the Student Advising Center.

SC: What other programs have you been conducting in South and Central Asia?

KKA: Central Asia is fairly new to me so there we are trying to understand the challenges students are facing in terms of the regional perspectives. But I have been working with South Asia since 1995 and here, the challenges students are facing are more country specific.

Right now, we are facing huge problems with private recruiters and private agents for admission into different institutions, and they aren’t always ethical and are taking advantages of the challenges the students are facing. But in some other places we are trying to work with them to yield better results.

SC: Although Visas are not part of your responsibilities, I cannot help asking you one question. Students in Bangladesh tend to believe that after 9/11, students’ visa applications are turned down by the American Embassy only because they are Muslims. Is this fact or fiction? Myth or reality?

KKA: It’s completely a myth. Strangely enough, this myth is only popular in Bangladesh and Pakistan, not even in the gulf (which has a vast Muslim majority in almost all the countries)! I don’t hear this story in the Middle East or even Afghanistan for that matter.

In the recent years, I have observed that a higher number of Bangladeshi students are now applying for higher studies in US and the good news is, the number of student visas being issued has also increased sharply over the last couple of years.

SC: How dependable are the ranking websites?

KKA: They are not quite dependable and students must do a good amount of research before choosing their institution. This is very different for grad and undergrad studies. For Grad school, you have to have a clear idea of what you are going to specialize and hence choose your institution accordingly. In Undergrad level, it is a transition from High School Education to the university level, a much more matured level.

SC: How does the American Centre exactly help the students planning to go the US for higher studies?

At this point of the interview, we also spoke with Arefin Jahan(AJ), the Student Advisor at the American Center, Dhaka.

AJ: We provide accurate and unbiased info about different institutions and the admission process for students planning to go to US for higher studies. We offer one-to-one advising — which includes information on financial aid, on universities and the application process in general. Here, members can sit for free mock tests of the GRE, GMAT, SAT and TOEFL exams. The library and computers are also open to members and we have daily, monthly and annual membership opportunities.

We regularly hold seminars on the various aspects of higher study in US in our Dhaka office and also in different educational institutions in and outside Dhaka.

Going Off-track : Naveed Mahbub and his stand-up comedy

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=26426

Engineer-turned-stand-up comedian Naveed Mahbub is rapidly making his mark on the US stand-up comedy scene. A popular host of various shows on TV and radio, recognition has come his way with the award of the Best Male Comedian in the ‘2007 Las Vegas Comedy Festival.’

In an interview with The Daily Star, Naveed touched on a variety of subjects such as his sudden career switch, facets of his “not so popular” profession in Bangladesh and his future plans. Excerpts from the interview:
What is your background?
I am a student of electrical engineering. I graduated from BUET and went on to do my Master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Later, I worked for 13 years as an engineer with the Ford Motor Company, Kyocera-Wireless and Qualcomm. Three years ago I embarked on stand-up comedy.

So you are a relatively new entrant to stand-up comedy?
Three years is regarded as quite substantial in this medium. I took an intensive course in California, under Sandy Shores, a renowned comedy instructor from California. The Sandy Shore Comedy Workshop is quite well known in the US.

I began my career there while I was still doing my engineering job and then went on to do my MBA at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2007, I went to the Las Vegas Comedy Festival where the judges were from Hollywood. I consider myself fortunate to have bagged the award as Best Male Comedian That gave me a lot of exposure and I began performing four to five times a week. Slowly I started shifting away from my engineering job. Now I do a lot of corporate shows, various programmes on TV and radio. I have even done a very small part in a film called, You don’t mess with Zohan, featuring Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider.

Are you active while in Dhaka?
Yes, I have explored the opportunities here. My feeling is that there isn’t any real stand-up comedy scene here in comparison with the West. My stay here has been great but I am of the opinion that it’s tougher to make the Bangladeshis laugh than the Americans because the former are less expressive.

Are you into Bengali comedy?
Yes, I began that seven months ago in the US and got a gig to perform for a Bangladeshi audience. I’ve performed at Kozmo Lounge, Deja Vu, Dhaka Club and at Hotel Sheraton during the NRB conference.

What are your future plans about generating public interest here in stand-up comedy?
I have several plans. The media can play a big role and quite a few TV and radio channels have displayed interest. However, if I have to go into it on a regular basis I have to come here more frequently. In my view the humour has to be topical, so recorded versions from the US may not work that well. For example you can talk about the traffic jams here. I am also thinking of setting up a comedy club here where people can learn to appreciate stand-up comedy. In a nutshell, I would say there is immense potential for this genre in Bangladesh.

“A growing number of people are showing interest in Astronomy”

http://thedailystar.net/campus/2008/01/04/camspotlight_astronomy.htm

Interview of Professor AAZ Ahmed, Professor of Physics, BRAC University

The infinite skies and the mysterious universe have sparked interest in men since time unknown. The innumerable stars, planets and many other celestial bodies have always remained a great wonder to us. According to historical records, the pioneers of Astronomy and its studies lived in Greece and hence the place is known as the cradle of Astronomy. Scientists and philosophers like Galileo Galilee, Johannes Kepler and Nicholas Copernicus introduced Astronomy to the general people. Recent advances in science and technology and the invention of the telescope has revolutionized this study to a great extent.

The Bangladesh Astronomical Association, initiated by a group of enthusiasts in 1988 has been working relentlessly for the last 20 years to increase the awareness and enthusiasm about Astronomy and to provide guidance and teaching to those interested in the form of seminars, workshops and various other activities. The Association also organizes regular star-gazing sessions and sightings of solar eclipses and other rare astronomical occurrences. In an exclusive Interview with Star Campus, Professor Ziauddin Ahmed, Member of the Executive Committee of Bangladesh Astronomical Association(BAA) and Chairman of the Bangladesh Astro-Olympiad, talks about the different aspects of the Association.

Star Campus (SC): How did the Astronomical Association start and what were its motives? How did you get involved with the organization?

Prof. AAZ Ahmed (AAZ): The Astronomical Association started to fulfill the desire of the young people who were interested to know about Astronomy, and not by professional astronomers. They took interest and they were amateur astronomers in the sense that it was just the observation of skies, looking at the planets and the stars. Then the formalization came and the Association was formed. I personally am associated with the Association since 1989 when I was the Chairman of SPARSO (Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization).

The BAA regularly holds workshops, once a year, sometimes twice every year and so they invited me to give a talk. I talked on satellites and that was my first interaction with the association and since then I have been giving speech on each of their workshops. Since 1988, BAA has arranged 15 workshops including two last year.

SC: Tell us about some activities of the BAA.

AAZ: Talking about the workshops, they usually last for three months and every week there are lectures on topics of Astronomy and Cosmology. Renowned professors including Prof. Dipen Bhattacharya (University of California) and Prof. Mofizuddin Ahmed (Head of MNS Department, BRAC University) also give speech in these workshops.

The workshop participants comprise of a very diverse population, school children to people over fifty years. So anyone interested is practically welcome to these workshops.

SC: What exactly is the Astro-Olympiad?

AAZ: In 2006 we arranged the first Astronomical Olympiad in Bangladesh and also organized it in 2007. The Olympiad was first held in the 6 divisional headquarters of the country participated by school children ranging from 14-17 years of age. It included quizzes, written exams with MCQs and other such events. In the national round, which was held in Dhaka, more than 200 students from different schools all across the country participated in the event.

We sent the top three students from this event to the International Astro-Olympiad held in Chiang Mai, Thailand last year where students from 21 countries in the world participated. We are also hopeful of sending students to the Olympiad in Indonesia this year.

SC: What other activities does the BAA have?

AAZ: We also regularly publish Mohakash Barta, the first national bi-monthly magazine on space science and astronomy and have organized Space Festivals in 1996, 1999 and 2000 in BUET. We had arranged for the observation of the Hell-bop comet in 15 districts of Bangladesh in 1997. And of course, we have regular star gazing sessions every Saturday in the Dhanmondi playground.

SC: What future plans does the BAA have?

AAZ: Our future plans include having our own building complete with a planetarium, library, auditorium and all other facilities needed to do scientific research in this field.

For those of you who are interested in two of these regular events of the BAA:
* Observing the night sky through telescope. In this regard the Association runs a sky observation camp from sunset to 8:30 pm at Dhanmondi Club Playground, Road-8, Dhanmondi R/A Dhaka-1215.
* People interested in registering for the workshop should contact : Moshurul Amin, General Secretary of

Bangladesh Astronomical Associ tion,
75, Science Laboratory Road.
Dhaka 1205.
Phone: 862-0112, 01711-187555.
Email : mohakash@bangla.net

Up close with Alex Dukalskis

http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2007/11/04/camspotlight.htm

Interview of Alex Dukalskis, Coordinator of IUT First Bangladesh Open 2007

Interviewed by Mahdin Mahboob and Feeda Hasan Shahed

SC(Star Campus): Please describe for our readers the event in brief the participating teams, the debate format and other such things?
AL(Alex) :I think there were around 24 teams, and the teams are two persons each and there was a mixture of high school students and university students some of the high school debaters looked very promising and one can only wonder what status they’ll reach once they are in the universities. There were participants from two countries, Malaysia and Bangladesh, although the students from Malaysia were from different countries, including Sudan and other Middle Eastern countries.

SC :This debate, unlike most of the other debates held in this country, was in World Debate Format. Tell us a bit about this format.
AL :Ya, there are different kinds of debate formats, usually debate formats are one team against one team..

SC :Like Parliamentary Debates?
AL :Ya, exactly… However, here the emphasis is on a bit more subtlety, where the final two teams need to bring something new to this debate, so they have to support their side of the house, but in a different way.

SC :How is it different?
AL :In this format you are actually competing against people by arguing for the team points, but in a better way. You have to show that you are better by adding something new, which is like reaching the same end but in a different path. And it’s modeled after the real world, parliaments, where there are coalitions; two parties might have the same end but different means to get there.

SC :Do you think this will pave the way for more such world debates here with participation from more countries in the future?
AL :Well, its certainly a possibility all these things start very small, the first one is always a trial run even with the first national World University Debate in US, there were only four or five countries. So, these things start small, and grow gradually. The progress of the internet and communications things move quicker these days. So I wouldn’t be surprised if in a few years you see a really big, more diverse type of event.

SC :What is Bangladesh’s scenario in perspective of the World Debate?
AL :I saw a lot of potential in Bangladesh’s school kids and I won’t be surprised if I see Bangladeshi debaters doing very well in an international tournament. A guy from BBC is teaching the debating skills to younger ones, who one day will teach even younger ones, so its like a snowballing effect. I went to Aga Khan School this morning and saw 40 students who have not done debate before but are interested and tomorrow I am going to the BIT school and it’s the same situation there. Its very important because whenever we think of debate, we tend to think of it as an academic sport but it also includes critical thinking, the way young people look at the world, and the things they are interested in. The organization I work for encourages critical thinking and civic engagement this can lead to things like effective democracy and other benefits. These are important things, not only for developing countries, but also the developed world.

SC :What were the themes of the different debate sessions in this tournament?
AL :We had topics including environment, independence of Kurds in Iraq, space exploration, terrorism, multinational business and their responsibilities, human rights students are encouraged to be well versed in a variety of topics.

SC :I think that pretty much rounds up the discussion. Thanks a lot Alex.
AL :Thanks to you too.

Tasnim’s comments….
Tasnim…(Student of ‘Islamic International University, Malaysia, originally from Sudan ))

SC :How was the event did you like it?
TS :Tournaments like these are very good exposure for people. You learn a lot, you get a lot of new arguments coming from different perspectives. If you only debate within your own society, the same ideas are being passed around. But the moment you get to the international level, the moment you get to debate with Bangladeshi or Malaysian people, you get a lot of new perspectives and ideas.

SC :What do you think about Bangladesh?
TS :It’s nice – I’ve been here for about four days, and it’s so sad that our trip has to be so short, and most of our time is at the tournament. We couldn’t do much sightseeing but went to Jamalpur, where our trainer, Abdul Lateef, who’s from Bangladesh, took us to his home.

SC :Do you plan to come back to Bangladesh?
TS :Of course! I hope this will be an annual event so that we can come back here more often.

British Council Chief Executive visits Bangladesh

http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2007/09/04/feature_british.htm

Martin Davidson, the Chief Executive of British Council came to Bangladesh on a two-day visit on 14th September. His trip also consisted of visits to Nepal and Pakistan. Other than monitoring the current activities of the British Council in Bangladesh, Davidson also ventured on the future scopes of the organization. He has met different officials, academicians, students and teachers related to the British Council in this visit.

Martin has been working for the British Council for over 23 years now and took up the role as Chief Executive in April 2007, having been Deputy Director General since September 2005. He has worked in different parts of the world including Hong Kong and China. Martin’s commitment to international relationships has been a constant feature of his career, since as a young English graduate he went to Hong Kong as Administrative Officer, taking the high-level decisions on the running of a town of a million people. When he joined the British Council as Assistant Representative in Beijing in 1984, British Council China was an operation of 6 people working in a converted bicycle shed at the British Embassy. In those days it was illegal for a Chinese national to speak to a foreigner. Martin played a pivotal part in building this fledgling presence up to its present strength of more than 230 people in four state-of-the-art offices. He has also held various posts in the British Council’s Geographical Directorate with responsibilities that have included South East Europe, in a particularly troubled time in the region’s history, the Middle East, East Asia and the Americas.

Martin Davidson promises a British Council that will work quickly and effectively on its core business of building the relationships that are a critical component of UK foreign policy. Rebuilding damaged trust in the Middle East, assisting the international conversation on climate change and linking the creativity and innovation of the UK to the world are the three areas where Martin feels the contribution of the British Council is critical.

An Iftar Party was arranged in honour of Davidson in the residence of Dr. June Rollinson, the Director of British Council. Many dignitaries, including the High Commisioner of UK to Bangladesh, His Excellency Anwar Choudhury were present in the occasion. There, in an exclusive interview with Star Campus, Martin talked about the missions of his current trip and the future plans of the British Council.

Martin emphasized on the role the British Council is playing in strengthening the relationships between UK and Bangladesh. He thinks that the cultural dialogue is a very important aspect in determining the relationship between two countries and that is exactly what British Council is trying to strengthen.

He feels that the current involvement of the British Council, that of conducting the GCSE O’Level and A’Level Examinations from different English Medium schools reaches out to too small a number of people, so the British Council is planning to get associated with different programs of the mainstream public education system. The training programs for the English Language teachers is meant to standardize the English that everyone is learning.

‘We bring expertise in working internationally, a global presence and 70 years of reputation to bear, to help vital conversations to happen between UK arts and educational institutions and the rest of the world,’ says Martin. ‘Where we are delivering ourselves, we will be focusing on a smaller number of larger activities in areas of the world where we can make a real difference.

Later in the program, a survey report by DFID Bangladesh and the British Council ‘Through Bangladeshi Eyes’ was launched. It gave an idea of how young Bangladeshi students and professionals see the UK and how much they know about the country.

Cambridge International Education Conference

http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2007/09/03/feature_conference.htm

Mahdin Mahboob & Feeda Hasan Shahed

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
- Nelson Mandela

The University of Cambridge International Education Sytems has been providing quality and affordable education worldwide for a long time now. On Saturday, 8th September the University of Cambridge organized the first International Education Conference at Radisson Hotel, Dhaka. Participated by Principals, Head Teachers and other Senior Teachers of 35 different English Medium Schools of the country, the conference was titled ‘Global Best Practice with Cambridge ‘.

Speaking at the conference, H. E. Anwar Choudhury, the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, said that without English language skills, students in Bangladesh risk being ‘blind and deaf’ in the global knowledge base.

Although the cyber knowledge base would become increasingly multi-lingual, resources in Bangla or Chinese languages would never match that in English.

Identifying access to and quality of education as the big ‘issues’, he said that when teachers do not provide quality education, they cheat students out of their lives.

‘Quality education is very much needed to tackle terrorism,’ said Anwar. He also said that Bangladesh should emphasise the importance of English medium education to ensure its progress.

While answering a question after his formal speech, the High Commisioner said that ‘English is the passport to the global economy.’

Mahfuz Anam, the editor and publisher of The Daily Star spoke on the ‘Educational challenges in the 21st century’. He said that ethics are an essential component of education.

“A person devoid of ethics is devoid of education,” he said, adding that teachers should nurture intellect and vigour, not prejudice, to ensure that a student’s overall education is framed and upheld by ethics.

He added that it is the teachers’ job to motivate and inspire students with enthusiasm for education to promote
innovation and creativity.

Yasmeen Murshed, the Chairperson of Scholastica School, said Bangladeshi educators cannot be swayed by ‘only’ global trends but should stay attuned to, and engaged with, the social, moral and cultural values of Bangladesh.

She stressed the need for educators to inculcate students with the values necessary for a lifelong education by focusing on ethics of equity and inclusion, human security, environmental consciousness and poverty alleviation.

Yasmeen Murshed who is also a former adviser to the caretaker government, said teachers in Bangladesh should inform and engage students with knowledge of the region’s historical roots, uniqueness of the country, political dynamics across borders and economic history, especially about the conditions of economic development here.

After the Conference, we had an exclusive interview with Ann Putis, the Chief Executive of University of Cambridge International Examinations. Here are the excerpts.

Star Campus(SC) : How would you summarise the whole conference in a few words?

Ann Puntis(AP) : The main objective is to provide support to the teachers with upgraded curriculum and teaching techniques from renowned international experts.

Furthermore it was an excellent platform for delegates to build upon their expertise in the field of International Education. The conference covered three aspects, each demonstrating how CIE(Cambridge International Education) and its partners are playing a role in bringing Global Best Practice to education in Bangladesh.

SC: What exactly is ‘Global Best Practice’?

AP : The concept reflects our commitment to develop successful students by equipping teachers with the tools to provide the best educational experience. We hope the Principals and Head teachers will benefit from the conference and workshops.

SC : We have been hearing a lot about how this system will be benefitting the good students. What happens to the average students?

AP : Not everyone is necessarily a good student and posses the standard merit for education but we have different syllabi for them with adoptable teaching material.

SC : Is there any waiver in exam for poor but meritorious students?

AP : Our organization is a charitable foundation, so we offer lowest cost for the wider society. We work with seventeen governments where we are working on Skill Developmnent, different Government Contracts and projects and it is to be noted that some of those countries GDPs are quite less than Bangladesh. We work in order to increase the access to high quality education. In doing that we find professional satisfaction.

SC: Is the expense suitable in Bangladesh perspective?

AP : Like I said that we have been working with countries that have a lower GDP than Bangladesh, it is obviously cheaper and affordable.

SC: In many developing countries like ours, we have different education systems existing simultaneously. But all the students, from different backgrounds, end up in the same jobe market and environment. Doesn’t this create a problem for possible employers and the employees themselves?

AP : Well, to be specific, in job sectors, students with UK education system background and from other countries with different educational background are not evaluated separately. Being an employer myself, we find the right person for the job with the right attitude and with right problem solving abilities a person who can apply his or her knowledge.

SC : What will be the difference in the conference attendees before and after the conference?

AP : Cambridge is the largest provider of quality education, local culture and heritage. After attending the conference the teachers will be benefited to teach and learn practical science that would interest both the teachers and students. They would have up-to-date knowledge about teaching materials and ways of modern teaching in the classroom.

SC: Do Bangladeshi students also get to learn about their own country and culture?

AP: The thing is that we have a variety of syllabi and we ask the students to choose. We have Islamic Studies; it’s about promoting flexible system. In the elementary level, schools and parents will choose for them. I get a lot of complain for not having Bangladeshi History and Geography in our syllabi. But it isn’t true. We have Bangladesh Studies as a subject and we want to say that we are very committed to local culture.