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BD PhD Student wins Int. Thesis Competition

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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.

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Nearly 40% of Youth Not in Education, Employment, or Training: BBS Data

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The percentage of youth neither studying nor working or taking any kind of training has slightly decreased from 2022’s 40.67% to 39.88% in 2023.

The data was disclosed by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) while officially releasing the “Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics 2023: Key Findings” at BBS headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka today (24 March).

The statistics also revealed that the ratio of mobile phone users aged 5 and above stands at 59.9% in 2023. However, for 15+ year olds, the rate has slightly increased to 74.2% compared to 2022 (73.8%).

Also, 50.1% of all people aged 15 and above used the internet in 2023, the study found.

Meanwhile, the life expectancy of people in Bangladesh stood at 73.3 years in 2023, which was 73.4 in 2022.

At present., about 1,171 people live per square kilometre in Bangladesh.

State Minister for the Ministry of Planning Md Shahiduzzaman Sarkar was present as the chief guest at the publication event.

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Education

Australia tightens student visa rules as migration hits record high

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Australia will begin enforcing tougher visa rules for foreign students this week as official data showed migration hit another record high, which is likely to further exacerbate an already tight rental market.

From Saturday, English language requirements for student and graduate visas will be increased, while the government will get the power to suspend education providers from recruiting international students if they repeatedly break rules.

“The actions this weekend will continue to drive migration levels down while delivering on our commitments in the migration strategy to fix the broken system we inherited,” Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said in a statement.

A new “genuine student test” will be introduced to further crack down on international students who look to come to Australia primarily to work, while the imposition of “no further stay” conditions will be used on more visitor visas.

The moves follow a raft of actions last year to close off Covid-era concessions introduced by the former government, including unrestricted working hours for international students. The government at the time said rules would be tightened for students that could halve its migrant intake over two years.

Australia boosted its annual migration numbers in 2022 to help businesses recruit staff to fill shortages after the Covid-19 pandemic brought strict border controls and kept foreign students and workers out for nearly two years.

But the sudden influx of foreign workers and students has exacerbated pressure on an already tight rental market.

Date released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed net immigration rose 60% to a record 548,800 in the year to September 30, 2023, higher than the 518,000 people in the year ending June 2023.

Overall, Australia’s population rose 2.5% – the fastest pace on record – to 26.8 million people in the year to last September.

The record migration – driven by students from India, China and Philippines – has expanded labour supply and restrained wage pressures, but it exacerbated an already tight housing market where rental vacancies hovered at record lows and elevated construction costs restricted new supply.

O’Neil said the government’s actions since September have led to a decline in migration levels, with recent international student visa grants down by 35% on the previous year.

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PM Sheikh Hasina Advocates Balanced Education Approach for Children

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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged guardians and teachers not to burden students excessively but to encourage learning through sports and cultural activities.

“Education is crucial. Let’s not overwhelm children in the name of education. We want them to learn through sports and cultural activities, fostering their latent talents,” she emphasized during an event marking the 104th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and National Children’s Day-2024.

Hasina highlighted the government’s efforts to develop a curriculum promoting learning through sports and cultural activities. She emphasized the importance of visual learning in the digital age, stating, “Children can now learn not only through books but also by visualizing in class.”

The Prime Minister emphasized the role of parents in maintaining a friendly relationship with children to prevent them from engaging in negative social behaviors such as terrorism, militancy, drugs, and corruption.

Children, she suggested, should engage in extracurricular activities like sports, painting, music, and religious education alongside academics.

The event, organized by the district administration of Gopalganj in Tungipara, was attended by Bangabandhu’s younger daughter Sheikh Rehana. State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Simeen Hussain (Rimi) was also present.

Hasina called on parents, teachers, and authorities to educate children about traffic laws, cleanliness, empathy towards special children, and national days.

She criticized the double standards of human rights bodies, citing their silence on attacks on Palestinian children in Gaza while advocating for children’s rights globally. She reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to providing refuge to persecuted people, including Rohingya children, on humanitarian grounds.

The Prime Minister expressed bewilderment at the lack of global outrage over the plight of children in Gaza and urged for a collective pursuit of peace over conflict.

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