The month of March is an auspicious one; it marks the coming of Spring and renewal, it celebrates International Women’s Day, and in Bangladesh, it marks Independence Day, catalyzed by a speech by visionary and statesman Sheik Mujib, in which he stated, “We cannot afford to lose our momentum. Keep the movement and the struggle alive.” With these words, he inspired his countrymen to continue the march of progress.
To be sure, Spring brings about hope and the promise of new things, and this Spring has proven to be fertile ground for GCFIL’s ethos of innovation, change, and foreword motion, giving way to a few seminal ‘firsts.’ Over a period of two days, The First Higher Education Conference (HEC) in Bangladesh, “Envisioning the Future of Higher Education,” convened scholars from around the globe to discuss challenges and opportunities for the future of higher education in Bangladesh. The first of its kind, the HEC was organized by GCFIL in partnership with Michigan State University (MSU), and the Bangladesh Ministry of Education’s Department of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), and a group of 11 bright and dedicated GCFIL volunteers from the Dhaka University Research Society (DURS).
On March 1, 2023, another important ‘first’ took place. Co-sponsored by GCFIL (Global Center for Innovation and Learning, USA) and E-learning Platform Educentric in collaboration with the Bangladesh Research Society (BDRS), the DURS held its First Ever Undergraduate Research Summit at TSC Auditorium (Teacher Student Center), Dhaka University campus in Bangladesh . Founded in 2016, DURS consists of almost 2000 students from all faculties, institutions and colleges of Dhaka University, and was started as a way to cultivate undergraduate students’ ability to generate knowledge through research, and provide them with opportunities to do so. On the morning of March 1st, the inaugural session of the Undergraduate Research Summit was followed by the Research Proposal Presentation in which student teams—individuals and teams of two to three—participated in the competition by presenting their proposals to an audience of peers, faculty, and distinguished guests.
Selected from an initial 120 submissions, 26 research proposals were presented by teams from diverse faculties including the Department of Botany, Criminology, Economics, English, and World Religion & Culture, and included a wide range of topics such as “A critical analysis of the use of Capital punishment in Bangladesh;” “Investigating Strategies to improve tax Revenue collection in Bangladesh;” “The influence of religious beliefs on Environmental Awareness;” “Impacts of flood on young girls in Gabura Union, Satkhira;” and “The effectiveness of volunteering programmes to promote civic engagement in social responsibility among youth in Bangladesh.”
Proposals were rated by judges on criteria including clarity, presentation, and potential for impact. Of the 26 research proposal presentations, four student teams were awarded with certificates and cash prizes, the first prize being presented to Jawata Afrin Sharara, a 3rd year student of North South University in the Department of Biochemistry & Microbiology, for her proposal “Exploring Bacillus strains from Sundarbans Forest for microplastic degradation: A potential solution to mitigate antimicrobial resistance in waterways.” First runners-up were first-year students of Dhaka University Department of Computer Science & Engineering Sadek Hossain Asif, Muhaiminul Islam Ninad, and Papry Rahman for their proposal “Synthetic Medical data generation with machine learning;” and joint second runners-up were students of Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University Sumon Sheikh, and 3rd year student of Dhaka University Ragib Anjum with the proposal “The impact of document verification system on Audit Quality and Audit fees: An empirical study in Bangladesh.”
The First Ever DURS Undergraduate Research Summit demonstrated unequivocally that these students have the acuity and mental flexibility to approach old problems from new angles, and approach new problems as only they could understand them, having matured in an environment which has necessitated a new way of thinking and a problem-solving paradigm that includes innovation, risk-taking, and a willingness to challenge taboos and the status quo. Therefore, it seems wholly appropriate for young people to be given a platform to explore and voice their ideas for solutions to 21st century challenges as early as possible. Indeed, the DURS motto “Research for a Better World” proves this to be necessary.
GCFIL recognizes the brilliance of these young researchers and continues to support and collaborate with them to cultivate a new generation of leaders within whom the spirit of innovation and learning is alive. Remembering the words of Sheik Mujib, “We cannot afford to lose our momentum.” The soil for further discussions on higher education in Bangladesh is fertile, the young people contributing to the dialogue are bright and capable, and GCFIL is leading the charge to keep the movement alive.
Feature Writer:
Katya Verkhovsky (GCFIL, USA)