Education
BD PhD Student wins Int. Thesis Competition
Atia Binte Amin from Mymensingh, Bangladesh, has recently been crowned as the winner of the 3MT (Three Minutes Thesis) Competition held in California, USA.
Although originally from Bangladesh, Atia participated in the competition on behalf of Canada, where she is currently a Ph.D. student in human genetics at McGill University in Montreal. The university has appreciated Atia in the online edition of their newsletter as she is the first person from McGill University to win the competition.
In the 3MT competition, participants present their research topics within three minutes in a comprehensible way to the average person. Atia’s topic was black fever. Atia has also become the first Bangladeshi to win this prestigious award.
Atia, for the competition, won the inter-university, regional, and national levels in Canada and subsequently became eligible for the international level. Atia has won a prize worth USD 2,000, equivalent to about Tk 2 lakh.
“This year, the competition was tough. It was a lot of pressure for me. However, I received the highest number of votes from the audience in the competition,” said Atia.
Atia spent her childhood in Mymensingh, where she was a student at the Mymensingh Agricultural University high school and college. She later got into the Department of Microbiology at the University of Dhaka. She later moved to the United States to get her Master’s degree on scholarship.
Atia started her Ph.D. at McGill University in 2019. She is also a recipient of the ‘Vanier Scholarship,’ which was bestowed on her due to her achievements in education, research, and cultural activities. She is one of the 50 people to receive the scholarship this year, the first female student from Bangladesh, and the second Bangladeshi overall to receive the scholarship.
Atia aced the final round of the 3MT competition by talking about the remedy and the medicines that should be developed to tackle black fever, as most of the existing medicines have lost their effectiveness against the disease. She also presented her own research. The disease is also mostly unknown to the people of Canada, which made Atia’s feat even more impressive.
Dhaka University authorities have suspended eight students for their alleged involvement in the brutal killing of Tofazzal Hossain, who was lynched two days ago at a university dormitory. The announcement was made public today, September 21, through a press release.
Among the suspended students are three former leaders of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL). These include Jalal Ahmed, former deputy secretary of science and technology affairs; Ahsan Ullah, former secretary of mass communication and development affairs; and Al Hossain Sajjad, BCL’s office secretary and a student of the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
The other suspended students are Mohammad Sumon from the Department of Soil, Water, and Environment; Muttakin Sakin from the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science; Md Firoz Kabir from the Department of Botany; and Md Abdus Samad and Wazibul Alam from the Department of Physics.
Authorities revealed that six of the eight accused — Jalal Mia, Mohammad Suman, Ahsan Ullah, Muttakin Sakin, Al Hossain Sajjad, and Wazibul Alam — have already been apprehended by law enforcement.
In addition, the university administration announced the removal of the provost of Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall, with a new provost appointed to take over the position.
Jahangirnagar University (JU) has appointed two new pro vice-chancellors and a treasurer, as announced today (September 18) by the Ministry of Education. The appointments, made on the order of the President, will last for the next four years.
The information was confirmed through three separate notifications, signed by Shahinur Islam, deputy secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Department under the Ministry of Education.
According to the announcements, Professor Sohel Ahmed from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Professor M Mahfuzur Rahman from the Department of Botany have been appointed as pro vice-chancellors. Professor Md Abdur Rab from the Department of Mathematics has been appointed as the university’s treasurer.
Despite their four-year tenure, the notifications specify that the President, in his capacity as Chancellor, retains the authority to cancel these appointments at any time. Additionally, their salaries will remain the same as their current pay structure.
The role of the pro vice-chancellors includes performing duties assigned by the vice-chancellor, and they are also required to reside on campus.
These new appointments follow aVice-Chancellor recent leadership change at the university. After the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, the vice-chancellor of Jahangirnagar University resigned on August 7, followed by the resignation of the pro vice-chancellors on August 13 and 19.
Md Ziaul Haque Bhuiyan, a prominent businessman and young professional, has been elected as the new President of the IUT Alumni Association (IUTAA). His election to this leadership position follows his term as Vice President of the organization from 2022 to 2024.
Bhuiyan’s professional journey began after earning his engineering degree in electrical engineering from the Islamic University of Technology (IUT). Throughout his academic and professional career, he has been actively involved in various social initiatives. He has held senior roles in several renowned multinational corporations and local business groups, including Grameenphone, Huawei, and Onno Rokom Group.
Currently, he serves as the Chief of Staff at ShopUp, Bangladesh’s largest startup, and is the co-founder of an AI-focused startup, Oleyn.ai. In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, Bhuiyan leads multiple businesses and social organizations, with a strong emphasis on youth development.
He also previously served as President of Junior Chamber International Bangladesh (JCI), a well-known global organization. Furthermore, Bhuiyan holds the position of Director at Chandpur Model Hospital in Haziganj, Chandpur, actively contributing to the healthcare sector.
