National Debate Championship 2018 at SEU comes to a close

The closing ceremony of National Debate Championship organised by Southeast University Debate Club (SEUDC) was held on December 1, 2018 at SEU Permanent Campus in Tejgaon, Dhaka. Prof. Dr. ANM Meshquat Uddin, VC of SEU chaired the ceremony while Prof. Dr. Wahiduddin Mahmud, former Adviser to the Caretaker Government & Former Professor, Dept. of Economics, University of Dhaka was the chief guest.

Nasir Ahmed, Poet and Director of News, BTV;and Syed Ishtiaque Reza, Editor-in-Chief, GTV attended as special guests. Among others, M. Kamaluddin Chowdhury, Member of BOT, SEU Trust; Prof. Dr. AFM Mafizul Islam, Advisor, BOT & Head of BOT Office, SEU Trust; Maj. Gen. Kazi Fakruddin Ahmed (Retd.), Registrar; Prof. Dr. Abul Lais M.S. Haque, Dean, School of Science & Engineering; chairmen, faculty members and students also attended the programme.

Over 50 teams from different colleges and universities across the country participated in the competition where Rajuk Uttara Model College and BAF Shaheen College Dhaka won the champion and runner-up trophies in the college level, and Rajshahi University Moot Court Society and Bangladesh University of Textiles Debate Club won the champion and runner-up trophies in the university level respectively.

NSU arranges seminar on prevention of drug abuse and terrorism

A seminar titled "Prevention of Drug Abuse and Terrorism" was held at North South University (NSU)on November 28, 2018, at NSU Auditorium. This event was organised to raise awareness among students about the consequences of drug addiction and the adversities of terrorism.

Prof. GU Ahsan, Pro-VC (Designate),NSU delivered the welcome address and facilitated an interactive dialogue with students. TV personality and Chairman of MANAS, Prof. Dr.  Arup Ratan Chowdhury, was the keynote speaker. Dr. AFM MasumRabbani, Additional DIG (Special Crime), Bangladesh Police was also present as a guest speaker.

Jamal Uddin Ahmed, Director General of the Department of Narcotics Control was present as the chief guest. In his address, Ahmed shared his personal and professional experiences about preventing drugs at different levels of the society. He also thanked NSU management for making the campus smoking and drug-free.

At the end, Chair of the session and VCof NSU, Prof. Dr. Atiqul Islam thanked all relevant stakeholders, Department of narcotics Control, students, faculty members and all other staff members for attending the seminar.

ULAB observes bicentenary of Marx's birth

The Department of English and Humanities at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh celebrated the bicentenary of Karl Marx's birth with a two-day international conference titled "Language, Literature, Culture and Politics: Marx's Bicentenary Conference", from November 30 to December 1, 2018.

On the first day, there were two plenary sessions: the first by ULAB Pro-VC Prof. Shamsad Mortuza on "The Specter of Naxalgia in Meghnadbodh Rohoshyo"; the second session was by East West University Pro-VC Prof. Fakrul Alam on "Karl Marx on India: A Postcolonial Perspective".

The second day's programme included a panel discussion on "Marxism and Social Movements in Bangladesh" organised by Center for Bangladesh Studies. Moderated by Arup Rahee, the discussants were Hiya Islam, Firoz Ahmed, and Samina Lutfa.

The conference also had a concluding discussion on "Bangladesh in the New Century" chaired by The New Age Editor Nurul Kabir and with Dhaka University Economics Professor M. M. Akash, Ganasanghati Andolon Chief Coordinator Zonayed Saki, and Communist Party of Bangladesh President Mujahidul Islam Selim as discussants.

The conference ended with a cultural performance by Arup Rahee, titled "Imagining Liberation: Karl Marx and Lalon Fakir".

UIU hosts "The Excelist 2018"

The grand finale of The Excelist 2018 was held on December 1, 2018 at United International University (UIU), organised by UIU Finance Forum. Md. Risalat Huda of North South University became the champion, while first runner-up and second runner-up were Rubayet Hossain of University of Dhaka and Munira Ahmed of Bangladesh University of Professionals respectively. The champion was awarded BDT 50000 as prize money; the runner-ups received BDT 30000 and 20000 respectively.

Prof. Dr. Chowdhury Mofizur Rahman, VC of UIU presided over the programme while Rizwan Dawood Shams, Deputy Managing Director of IPDC Finance Ltd.; Muhammad Zahangir Alam ACA, ACMA, Director, Accounts & Finance of Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd.; Md. Abu Aslam, Chief General Manager of Nitol Motors Ltd.; Abdul Matin Patwary FCMA, Chief Financial Officer of Dhaka Stock Exchange Ltd.; Md. Abdul Kader Joaddar FCA, Chief Financial Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh; Mohammed Tajul Islam, Chief Rating Officer of Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh (CRAB); and HM MainuddinAhammed FCMA, Group Finance Controller of Viyellatex Group were present as guests of honour.

IUBAT holds "Civil Festival 2018"

A day-long civil engineering event titled "Civil Festival 2018" was organised at the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT). The Civil Engineering Department of the university organised the festival.

The day started with the arrival of students from different polytechnic institutes and colleges around Bangladesh. The students participated in mechanics and math Olympiad. Syed Azizul Haq, P. Engg., Additional Chief Engineer, Public Works Department gave a seminar on "Rainwater Harvesting"; Prof. Nadim Khandaker from the Department of Civil Engineering, North South University gave a seminar on the topic of "Appropriate Technology and Right Engineering Application"; and Md. Nur-Alam Nahid, MD, Trigger Corporation and Alumni of Civil Engineering Department of IUBAT delivered a workshop on "Challenges in Fire Fighting". VC of IUBAT, Prof. Dr. Abdur Rab, presided over the ceremonial programme.

Md. Atahar Ali, Managing Director, Milk Vita Bangladesh was present; Prof. Dr. Md. Monirul Islam, Dean, College of Engineering and Technology and Chair, Department of Civil Engineering of IUBAT, was the chief patron of the programme.