Honda Foundation organises 'Honda Young Engineer & Scientist’s (Y-E-S) Award'

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Honda Foundation from Japan organised Honda Young Engineer & Scientist's (Y-E-S) Award 2024 in Bangladesh on June 28 for young university students who are studying in engineering & science fields in the BUET, CUET, KUET & RUET. 

The ceremony was graced by Naoki Takahashi, Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh, Dr. Ainun Nishat, Chief Evaluator of Honda Y-E-S award program in Bangladesh, Masaki Tsunoda, Managing Director of Honda Foundation, Susumu Morisawa, Managing Director & CEO of Bangladesh Honda Private Limited, Shah Muhammad Ashequr Rahman, Chief Marketing Officer of Bangladesh Honda Private Limited, Kazuiki Kataoka, JETRO Country Representative of Bangladesh, Ashir Uddin Ahmed, Associate Professor of Kyushu University- Japan and representatives of respective universities.  

The winners of this year's Honda 'Young Engineer and Scientist's (Y-E-S) Award 2024' are- Anik Saha, Fairuz Mubashwera, Taslima Hossain Sanjana and Sadman Sakib Himel from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET).

The objective of this award is to "foster future leaders of science and technology fields to spearhead the growth of Asian countries in the future". The Y-E-S Award program aims to discover and encourage students who would become the future leaders to develop and implement innovative technologies that help to realize truly humane civilization, maintaining the harmony of human being and its surrounding environment. The program initially kicked off in Vietnam in 2006 and it has been also implemented in India 2007, Laos and Cambodia in 2008, Myanmar in 2014, it was introduced in Bangladesh in 2019 to support the development and promotion of young leaders to spearhead the growth of these countries in the future. Specifications of the program vary country by country to attain optimal results.

In Bangladesh, Honda Foundation (HOF) intended to arrange Y-E-S (Young Engineer & Scientist's) Award with four public Engineering universities: Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET); Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET); Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) and Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET).

The program is annually selecting up to 4 undergraduate students of its designated universities in Bangladesh to award a USD 3,000 each student. Furthermore, the awardees can receive as additional award / grant up to USD 10,000 under Honda Y-E-S Award Plus program, if they continue their study and training within 4 years after the receipt of the Honda Y-E-S Award either via masters, doctoral or study abroad programs in Japanese universities at Japan, or via internship programs in Japanese research organizations or private companies in Japan as approved by the Honda Foundation.

The evaluation panel included Professor Dr. Ainun Nishat, Chief Evaluator and Emeritus Professor at the Center for Climate Change and Environmental Research, BRAC University, and former Vice Chancellor of BRAC University. Prof. Tateo Arimoto served as an Evaluator and is a Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies as well as the Executive Director of the Honda Foundation. Another Evaluator, S. A. Abul Hayat, is a noted actor in television and film, a writer, and a civil engineer. Shah Muhammad Ashequr Rahman, FCA, also an Evaluator, is a Chartered Accountant and the Chief Marketing Officer of Bangladesh Honda Private Limited.

The program hopes to promote dissemination of ecotechnology among the young generations and at the same time to strengthen interaction and exchange between Japanese youths and young people expect to lead science, technology and industry in their respective countries. We aim to use the results to promote human welfare and happiness and "to contribute towards the creation of a truly humane civilization" based on the recognition of the need to strive to create a higher level of humane society to make people happy with technology.