NSU Pharmaceutical Club organises "Pharma Fest" 

On March 23, 2017, North South University (NSU) hosted Pharma Fest 2017, a daylong festival that celebrates pharmacy education, and brings together students, notable academics, and professionals from renowned pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare providers. NSU Pharmaceutical Club has been organising this annual event each year since 2010. 

The theme of the 7th season of this event was "Caring Beyond Prescription" to shed light on the widespread role of pharmacists in the healthcare sector. The chief guest at the inauguration was Major General Md. Mustafizur Rahman, Director General, Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), and the special guest was Prof. Atiqul Islam, VC, NSU. The session was chaired by Prof. Dr. G. U. Ahsan, Pro-VC (Designate) and Dean, School of Health and Life Sciences. 

The event featured project presentations by students in the form of stall exhibitions, participated also by pharmaceutical companies. A "Pharma Olympiad" with 40 participants from 18 different universities and scientific poster presentation by students were also arranged. Inauguration of the department's annual publication also took place in the morning.

According to Dr. Hasan Mahmud Reza, Chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutical Science, the theme of this year's Pharma Fest would play a significant role in establishing model pharmacy concept in Bangladesh. 

In the closing ceremony, Azim Uddin Ahmed, Chairman, BOT, NSU, delivered his speech as the chief guest and thanked every participating pharmaceutical company and the students of the department and those of other universities. The event concluded with a cultural programme that consisted of music, dance, drama, a fashion show titled "The Pharma Walk" and performance by Warfaze.

UIU holds CSE Festival

Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) of United International University (UIU) organised the UIU CSE Festival 2017 on the university premises from March 24-25, 2017, on university premises. 

The programme schedule included programming contests (individual and team), Project Showcasing, UX Design Contest, and ICT Olympiad. A good number of quality projects and software ideas were at display in exhibition of projects and UX design for the visitors. Participants came from different higher secondary institutions of Dhaka city and students of UIU. Throughout the programme of two days a number of workshops, seminars and panel discussions were held. These included seminars on programming, software development in Java, presentation skills, readiness for industry and a panel discussion with the alumni. The pool of invited speakers and alumni were among the leaders and successful IT personnel. The programme concluded with a closing ceremony followed by a cultural event organised by the students of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Md. Enamul Kabir, Director, Bangladesh Computer Council, Prof. Dr. M. Rezwan Khan, VC, UIU and Prof. Dr. Chowdhury Mofizur Rahman, Pro-Vice Chancellor, UIU were among the distinguished guests present at the ceremony. 

Daraz conducts campus recruitment and presentations at IUB

The Office of Career Guidance and Placement (CGP) of Independent University Bangladesh (IUB) arranged an event titled "Campus Recruitment and Presentation on Future Leadership Programme" on March 21, 2017 at the university in Bashundhara. 

Daraz, a leading international e-commerce platform conducted the programme. A team from Daraz consisting Phani Kiran, Head of Commercial and Marketing, Aflatun Kaisar, Manager, Human Resources and Munawwar M Chowdhury, Senior Associate Manager, Marketing gave presentations on the "Future Leadership Programmes" that Daraz has designed to help graduates to become acquainted market expert in e-commerce sector.

Through active interactions, the team gave students tips and shared tactics on how to prepare themselves for making career in e-commerce. CVs were also collected from the interested students and ten selected students took part on spot interview. 

Md. Abdullah Iqbal, Deputy Director, CGP, Sharmeen Islam, Assistant Director, CGP, Farjana Hafiz, Career Counselor, CGP, senior members of the management and a large number of IUB students attended the programme.

BRACU holds faculty member vs student chess tournament 

A rapid chess match between the faculty members and the students was held at BRAC University Auditorium on March 23, 2017. The match served as a symbolic representation of the friendly teacher-student relationship at BRAC University. 

VC of BRACU, Prof. Syed Saad Andaleeb, Ph.D., inaugurated the event and graced the occasion as the chief guest. Director of BRAC Institute of Languages, Lady Syeda Sarwat Abed and Grandmaster Reefat Bin Sattar were present as special guests. BRACU VC appreciated the initiative and congratulated the organisers of the event. He emphasised on having a vision and expected to see Bangladeshi chess players to bring success in world championships in near future.

Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Prof. Ansar Ahmed, Ph.D. led the faculty team. The other team members of the faculty team were the coordinator of MA in TESOL Programme Prof. Sayeedur Rahman, Ph.D, Instructor of Chess Activity of Savar Residential Semester Almasur Rahman, Ph.D, and Lecturer of BRAC Institute of Languages Md. Shams Ud Duha. 

Shihab Shariar from BRAC Business School led the student team. The other team members of the student team were Bukenya Henry from Electrical and Communication Engineering (ECE), Mohammad Shakil from Electrical and Electronic Engineering and (EEE) and Galib Ashraf from 

Computer Science & Engineering (CSE). 

The game ended in a draw.

Open dialogue on women's empowerment at AIUB

On March 15, 2017, the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) at American International University Bangladesh (AIUB), organised an "Open Dialogue on Women Empowerment", where around 200 students gathered in the AIUB Auditorium to talk with their Vice Chancellor about the hurdles she had to overcome, along with the opportunities as well as the ways they could in turn empower and be empowered in their everyday lives. 

Being the first female Vice Chancellor in Bangladesh, Dr. Carmen Z. Lamagna has not only advocated women empowerment, but faced the challenges that came with the territory. She shared her experience with the students, both male and female, to further the empowerment of women. The students opened up with questions on how she transitioned from a relatively developed Philippines to an under-developed Bangladesh back in the 1990s. Following her career path, she shared the changes her life underwent as she worked towards establishing an academic institution, encouraging female students to apply, and engaging them in carrying the baton of women empowerment forward.

The session closed with a rough roadmap of how the youth of Bangladesh, regardless of gender, can contribute to the development of not just women, but of the nation. The VC left the students with the belief of pursuing dreams, making their marks, and never letting anyone tell them otherwise. This Open Dialogue is said to be one of many more to come, and AIUB is constantly working towards realising such initiatives in the future.