Bridging the gap between academia and businesses

Clockwise from top: Latest PCs on display at the SoftFair 2006 while a remote control vehicle seen in the picture; students check out some of the products on display and the Microcomputer Operations Demo Kit

Several top technical universities, institutions, local software and telecommunications companies and hardware vendors, among others participated in this year's SoftFair 2006 exposition.

There is a huge gap between the local IT (information technology) professionals and students. IT Students often have little idea about the professional demands and what the IT companies want form them. On the other hand, the IT companies themselves aren't well aware about the actual potential and capabilities of the local graduates. This results in a difficult situation where the new graduates are facing problems and aren't able to contribute to the local IT scene and are often not getting the jobs and rewards they deserve.

The primary goal of this year's SoftFair is to narrow the gap and build a bond between the IT professionals and students. In the exhibition, students can see the professional world and the professionals themselves can learn about the local resources and talents.

Several companies exhibited their latest developments and technologies, some hardware vendors introduced new products and the students from the participation demonstrated their own projects.

BDCOM online showed off their Automatic Vehicle Location System (AVLS), a technology with a lot of potential. Using AVLS the users can know the exact location of their vehicle throughout the country, whether the vehicle is stationary or moving, how fast it is going and even the route the vehicle is travelling by. Detailed reports generated by the automated system will even let the user to immediately know if a driver is speeding or taking a different route. The technology is not exactly new in the country: a local endeavour, ZERZ already developed the system, but the lack of a proper digital map of the region is holding them back.

BDCOM claims that their device is the world's smallest and smartest automatic vehicle tracking system. For using with the automated system, BDCOM spent two years making a complete digital map of the country's roads and highways. The system can even be made to work outside the country. The technology has already been put to good use recently when an owner got back his hijacked car with the help of BDCOM's system. "Already several large local corporations are contacting us, interested for implementing the system in their vehicle fleet," said Mushfiqul Huq, a marketing executive of BDCOM. The company also presented TrueVideo, their video conferencing service at the fair.

Students from the various universities also showed their interesting projects at the fair. Some of the students from North South University (NSU) demonstrated an advanced version their bomb-diffuser robot "Shadeen," that can move a bomb away to a safer location for neutralisation.

Students from Dhaka University demonstrated a multiplayer version of the card game Hearts that four persons can play together over a network. They also showcased their website dedicated to the famous personalities of our country.

Students of the Eastern University showcased a very interesting hardware project that clearly demonstrates the operations that goes on inside a microprocessor. Using a network of carefully arranged LEDs and underlying hardware, the Microcomputer Operations Demo Kit demonstrates the interfacing between software and hardware. The developers claimed that the kit is extremely helpful in training students on how a microcomputer works.

In addition, many companies and students from several universities showcased their management systems. Several institutions were also offering their courses on a discounted rate.

On Friday, a console gaming contest was held as a part of the exhibition. 64 gamers competed against each other on Playstation 2 consoles playing Fifa 2006 and Need for Speed Underground. The winners were awarded prizes of mobile handsets.

Dr. Hafiz G A Siddiqi, vice chancellor of NSU inaugurated the fair as chief guest on August 03, while Dr. SAM Khairul Bashar, pro-vice chancellor of the university was present as special guest. The fair was sponsored by Bashundhara Group and BDCOM Online was the official ISP.

The fair is open for visitors and is free for all. Today is the last day of the fair.