Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) recognised the academic excellence of its brightest students at the Academic Awards Ceremony on November 12. The program was held at the IUB Auditorium. Prof. Mustafizur Rahman, PhD Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), attended the program as the Chief Guest. Abdul Hai Sarker, Chairman, BoT, IUB attended as the Special Guest.

Prof. Mustafizur Rahman said, "If we look back five decades, we have reasons to be proud of. What you [students] are today is what Bangladesh has achieved in the last 50 years. But going forward, it will be challenging. With development comes the next generation of challenges and we are already seeing them. So, it's important for us to look back and analyse what we have done well and what we have not. As future leaders and professionals, you [students] have the responsibility to achieve the Vision 2041 which has set the roadmap for an economically and socially developed, inclusive and environmentally sustainable Bangladesh."

IUB BoT Chair Abdul Hai Sarker said, "The development of a student begins at home. At the university, that development reaches its prime when they get the reward for academic excellence. So, it is important that they keep pursuing excellence in whatever field they choose."

IUB VC Tanweer Hasan, PhD said, "About 49 percent of the country's population is women. Development will be inclusive only if we can ensure equal participation of our women. At the higher secondary level, women are performing better than men. That's why we made a concerted effort to increase the number of female students at IUB. It is serving a dual purpose: helping an underrepresented group and improving the overall quality of students. Today, 42 percent of IUB students are female. Even in the Vice Chancellor's Honors List in this Academic Awards, a whopping 68 percent is female."

This year's academic awards were given to five different groups from the Spring, Summer and Autumn semesters of 2021 in five categories: Dean's List, Dean's Merit List, Dean's Honour List, Vice Chancellor's List, and Vice Chancellor's Honour List. Winners on the Dean's Honour List and Vice Chancellor's Honour List received vouchers of different amounts.