Syed Saad Andaleeb

Research is like the cygnet: it grows and transforms with power and beauty. It represents endurance, elegance, promise and joy! (Adapted from a quote on a consumer product)

Is it possible for Bangladesh to create research-capable institutions similar to ones that are already playing a key role in other Asian countries, driving rapid economic development in the knowledge-intensive era of the fourth industrial revolution?

In a futuristic convocation speech, Sir Philip Joseph Hartog, the first vice-chancellor of Dhaka University (DU), stated: “A man may be an excellent teacher of elementary subjects without the power to add to knowledge.

Uncountable numbers of people in India are suffering the painful and deadly consequences of a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

Since Henry Kissinger famously branded Bangladesh as a “basket case,” (a remark for which he still owes an apology), the country has come a long way. From its fledgling footsteps, it has become a bold, confident, and creative nation as it continues to ascend its learning curve and improve overall well-being.

The present government has correctly emphasised the need to develop and expand technical education in the country.

Being in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), let’s consider two scenarios: In one, consortiums of universities no longer offer terminal degrees.

For the HSC students in Bangladesh, when it comes to choosing a field of study, business and engineering have generally been the top picks for a long time.

BUET students still remember Sabequn Nahar Sony who was killed in June 2002 during a fight between two rival political groups. Tragically, she died at the hands of a few wayward “students” at the very campus where she went to fulfil her dreams.

It is 8.30 in the morning. Suman, a fourth-year student of one of the well-reputed universities of Bangladesh, walks towards the central library of his university.

The Academic Experience Project is a faculty-student collaborative work aimed to glean insights about the experiences of tertiary-level students. Each Friday, The Daily Star publishes an op-ed highlighting its findings. This is the eleventh article of the series.

The Academic Experience Project is a faculty-student collaborative work aimed to glean insights about the experiences of tertiary-level students. Each Friday, The Daily Star publishes an op-ed highlighting its findings. This is the tenth article of the series.

The Academic Experience Project is a faculty-student collaborative work aimed to glean insights about the experiences of tertiary-level students. Each Friday, The Daily Star publishes an op-ed highlighting its findings. This is the ninth article of the series.

The Academic Experience Project is a faculty-student collaborative work aimed to glean insights about the experiences of tertiary-level students. Each Friday, The Daily Star publishes an op-ed highlighting its findings. This is the eighth article of the series.

The Academic Experience Project has already highlighted several significant and strategic themes that deserve greater attention of the policymakers and administrators in higher education.

Do any of our universities, public and private, ever ask their students: “Have you thought of leaving your institution for another?”

The Academic Experience Project is a faculty-student collaborative work aimed to glean insights about the experiences of tertiary-level students. Each Friday, The Daily Star will publish an op-ed highlighting the findings of the project. This is the fifth article of the series.

John Denver felt at home in West Virginia. Similarly, students want to feel at home in their academic institutions. At least that’s what a recent survey by The Academic Experience Project, conducted on university students of Bangladesh, has shown.

University life is going to be the best time of your life! We often hear this growing up, and yet when we do reach that level, we find that it is not at all what we expected it to be. So, what exactly did we expect and why are we not satisfied?

The unemployment rate among university graduates in Bangladesh has risen sharply. A study conducted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue indicated that about 46 percent of the total unemployed youth are university graduates.