Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (July 6, 2022) inaugurated country's first university campus-based IT business incubator at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (Cuet).

The premier opened it, named after Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's eldest son Sheikh Kamal, at a ceremony at Cuet campus this morning.

She joined the function virtually from her Gono Bhaban residence.

Faculty members and students of the university expressed their enthusiasm hoping that this incubator will create a bridge between industry and academia.

The incubator aims to develop IT entrepreneurs and expand the knowledge-based economy for developing a "Smart Bangladesh" by 2041 as the country has already materialised the "Digital Bangladesh" campaign.

The business incubator, which has a complete innovative eco-system for start-ups and businesses, will provide some 220 entrepreneurs, trainees, freelancers and potential startups with financial and logistical services, alongside mentorships.

Industry insiders said the IT Business Incubator will be one of the keys in implementing "Smart Bangladesh" as it will be a centre of materialising new ideas to be explored by the university students and graduates as well as an evolution hub of talents, intellects and knowledge of the next generations towards building the "Sonar Bangla" as dreamt by Bangabandhu.

The incubator also focuses on assisting university graduates to develop themselves as entrepreneurs, establish effective links between universities and the IT industry, as well as create opportunities for research and innovation activities for the faculty and students of the university.

The incubator is constructed on 4.7 acres on the Cuet campus involving Tk 113 crore.

In the incubator, there is a high speed internet connection through BTCL.

This unique project, implemented from July 2017 to June 2022, includes an oval incubation building up to 10-storey with 50,000 square feet space.

Besides, the prime minister also opened two separate four-storey dormitories for males and females named after Sheikh Jamal and Rosie Jamal respectively. The total area of the two buildings is 40,000 sqft and each dormitory has 40 rooms.

In addition, there is a six-storey multipurpose training building with a total floor area of 36,000 sft and each floor has 6,000 sft.

The incubation building has a startup zone, innovation zone, industry-academic zone, brainstorming zone, an exhibition centre, an e-library zone, a data centre, research lab, video conferencing room and a conference room.

There will also be separate corners for banks and IT firms, cyber cafes, food courts, cafeterias, recreation zones, display zones and media rooms.

Additionally, the multipurpose training building houses a state-of-the-art auditorium with a capacity of 250 people and four computer/seminar rooms with a capacity of 50 people.

An Artificial Intelligence (AI) lab, a machine learning lab, an optical fibre backbone, a substation and a solar panel are also being set up.