NASA had organized Second Annual Lunabotics Mining Competition on May 23-28, 2011. It was a university-level competition designed to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). NASA directly benefited from the competition by encouraging the development of innovative lunar excavation concepts from universities, which may result in clever ideas, and solutions, which applied, to an actual lunar excavation device or payload. The challenge was to design remote controlled or autonomous excavators, or lunabots that have to collect and deposit lunar stimulant with some dimension and weight limitation. Initially 72 teams applied and around 48 teams from five countries, namely, the United States, Canada, India, Bangladesh and Columbia, participated for the 2011 competition. BRAC University team attended the competition for the first time from Bangladesh. The team members were Shiblee Imtiaz Hasan, Mohammad Jonayet Hossain, Kazi Mohammad Razin, Mahmudul Hasan Oyon and Md. Asifur Rahman, from the School of Engineering and Computer Science (SECS). Dr. Md. Khalilur Rahman, Dr. Mohammed Belal Hossain Bhuian and Dr. Md. Mosaddeque Rahman were the faculty advisors of this team. Eftakhar Karim Rahat, Imran Bin Jafar and Nirjhor Tahmidur Rouf were the volunteer participant of this project. BRAC University team named their robot as "BRACU_CHONDROBOT" which became a brand name with in a very short time.

They were in NASA without having any major problems. Their CHONDROBOT worked almost perfectly, even after traveling the half of the world. There were minor problems with some sensors but they could fix them in time. After having weight, dimension and communication inspection of course they got the opportunity to participate in final session. However, the power of motor was not enough for Lunar regolith simulate. In Bangladesh, they experimented in normal dust surface but the surface they found in lunarena was totally different. Anyway, they could grab a huge attention of NASA and their Medias because of their simple and cleaver design. Other Universities were surprised to know that they don’t have any mechanical student and carried the whole robot as their luggage.

After the competition, they had a good realization that the design and implementation was good enough for that event. So, if they can use this experience for future implementation, they will be able to get reasonable success. McGill, Harvard University could not even participate in final session; most of the universities attended for the first time in this year, could not get good result (except the champion team). 48 teams got invitation to go to NASA, 25 teams got opportunity to participate in final session and 13 teams only could collect reasonable lunar regolith.

The ChondroBot team is wishing to attend again in the next year. So yes, ChondroBot does not end its journey here. For BRAC University, It was the end of the beginning in robotic world.

GDLN World Conference

Air Cdre (Retd) Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury, Registrar, BRAC University participated in GDLN World Confernce held in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania on 28-30 May 2011. Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) is an initiative by World Bank to help spread new knowledge across the developing world by using e-learning. There are hundreds of GDLN Centres across the globe exploring new frontiers of knowledge and making it easy for the participants located in different parts of the world to be connected through Video Conference facilities. BRAC University is the only GDLN Centre in Bangladesh, established in 2003.

The Global Conference saw nearly a hundred delegates from more than 50 countries who participated in a wide ranging discussion and workshops to explore new ways and means to bring e-learning to even wider audience around the world. Air Cdre Choudhury participated in all the sessions and chaired one of the main session. BRAC University, for the first time, got to design and run two courses for world-wide audience led by BDI and IED. In another course, JPGSPH will be partner with Chulalongkorn University School of Public Health. Our e-learning proposals were widely acclaimed and would draw participants from across the globe.

ARC Updates

Student Achievements: 2nd and 3rd in OPEN DESIGN CHARRETTE

Sumaiya Rufida Islam of Junior I and Sonia Kamal of Junior II, from the Department of Architecture won the 2nd and 3rd prize respectively, in an Open Student Design Charrette. The day-long competition was open for the students of architecture and interior design, and arranged by the Department of Architecture, Shanto-Mariam University of Creative Technology on 12 May, 2011. It should be mentioned that Sonia Kamal was third in North South University Design Charrette last year as well, where six students of the Department of Architecture, BRAC University won all the prizes.

BRAC University faculty attends Three DelPHE Workshops at Bindura University, Zimbabwe

Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) held three workshops on disaster risk reduction from the 23 to 27 of May 2011. These workshops were funded by the British Council through the DelPHE Project to the Department of Geography. The facilitators had been Dr Andrew Collins, the Director of the Disaster and Development Centre at Northumbria University (UK), Dr Bernard Manyena, a lecturer and Research Associate at Northumbria University (UK) and Mr Md. Hafizul Hasan, Lecturer from BRAC University, Bangladesh. Both Northumbria and BRAC University are partners in the DelPHE Project of the Bindura University. Other facilitators were from National University of Science and Technology (NUST), NGOs and the Bindura University. It was a hive of activities at the University during the whole week when the workshops were being held. The first workshop was on capacity building the BUSE staff and the Muzarabani District Disaster Practitioners on disaster risk reduction. The second one centred on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into the BUSE curriculum. The last workshop was on developing a new programme. The programme is Disaster and Development Studies.

BBS Updates

Focus Group Discussion on "Entrepreneurship Development" at BRAC Business School

A Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was arranged on Entrepreneurship Development which was held on Sunday, May 15 2011 at 3:30 pm at BRAC Business School, 66 Mohakhali C/A, Dhaka. Professor Mamun Rashid, Director, CED was the moderator of the discussion. Among many distinguished individuals- Professor Ainun Nishat, Vice Chancellor, BRAC University, Dr. Md. Golam Samdani Fakir, Pro-VC, BRAC University, Maj. Gen. Amjad Khan Choudhury, Managing Director & CEO, PRAN Group, Mr. Syed Nasim Manzur, Managing Director, Apex Adelchi Footwear Ltd., Mr. Mahbub Hosaain, Executive Director, BRAC, Mr. Zahid Ibne Hai, DGM & Head of SME Division, IDLC graced the FGD with their presence. It was a very enlightening and informative exchange of conversation. During the discussion everyone shared personal experiences as an entrepreneur and the obstacles they dealt with during the initial days. They also suggested how CED can coordinate with other business schools and form a strong foundation. BRAC Business School cordially appreciates all of them for sharing their invaluable thoughts and views in such a short time. The business school would like to acquire their wisdom and experience with hopes of making the dreams come true and establish Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) with great success. 

BRAC Health Programme Director's presentation to the faculty members of BRAC Business School

Mr. Faruque Ahmed, Director, BRAC Health Programme, was invited to the faculty meeting of BRAC Business School on 26-May-11 to share the activities of the programme. Mr. Ahmed's deliberation focused on the various health care problems of poor people dwelling in the rural and urban areas of Bangladesh and how the committed efforts of BRAC health programme brought successes in controlling high fertility and mortality rates, increasing neonatal child survival, improving mothers' health care. The faculty members of the business school discussed with him on various avenues where they could help the BRAC Health Programme in building its efficiency toward achieving its goals and objectives.

EMBA orientation Program: Summer-2011

The orientation Program for the EMBA students joining in Summer 2011 semester was held on 11 May 2011 at the BBS Conference room. It was attended by almost all the students who took admission. The session was chaired by Professor Golam Samdani Fakir, Pro-VC, BRAC University. Professor Mamun Rashid also attended the session. The session was an interactive one where the participants shared their views and expectations of the EMBA program. Mr. Shawkat Kamal, the EMBA Coordinator, presented a brief overview of the structure of the program for the participating students. The overall coordination of the program was done by Mr. Jabed Rasel, DCO, EMBA.

Internship Presentation of BBS Students: Spring 2011

The internship presentation for Spring 2011 of BRAC Business School (BBS) was held on 19 May, 2011. To fulfill the requirement for the Degree of Bachelor of Business Administration in BRAC University, 27 students from BRAC Business School made their presentation in front of two different faculty members from BBS.

CfL Updates

Seminar on Etiquettes to Enrich

As a part of regular activities Centre for Languages (CfL) arranged a seminar on grooming and etiquette at SAVAR Residential campus of BRAC University on May 28, 2011. Ms. Farrah Jabeen, lecturer of CfL facilitated the session where the following areas were highlighted - personal hygiene and cleanliness, proper dress code, living and interaction with others (focusing on the dorm life), desired behaviors in public places, demeanor for buffet lunch or dinner, manner of using 'lift'/'elevator', conduct in a conference and the etiquettes that make the employers happy. The objective of this seminar was to make the students aware about the need of expected etiquettes in life and encourage them to practice in order to become a better human being with knowledge, manners and morals. The session was very interactive while approximately 280 students were present. The seminar ended with Question /Answer session and feedback from the learners.

CfL at BELTA International Conference 

Ten faculty members of the Centre for Languages (CfL), BRAC University presented a number of papers at 5th BELTA International Conference held at the BIAM Foundation Dhaka on May 20-22, 2011. The objective of the conference was to be a professional forum for teachers, trainers, policy makers, administrators, textbooks/materials writers, researchers, educationists related to English Language Teaching/ Learning/ Testing/ Administration. The following are the presented topics: Preparing Students for University Success, Using Error Analysis as Feedback in Teaching Writing, Panel Debate on Classroom-based Innovation in ELT-how do we do it?, Affective Factors in English language teaching for Professionals, Challenges and Opportunities of Developing Newspaper-based Teaching Materials, Critical Thinking for Academic Success, and Exploring 'fun' in 'Language Play' for Adult Learners. The aforementioned papers were respectively presented by Mahmuda Yasmin and BethTrudell, Mahfujul Alom Masum, Ivan Shafaat Bari, Syeda Farzana, Mohammad Aminul Islam, Quazi Mosiur Rahman, Edward Leffew, Golam Jamil and Roxana Ahmad Chowdhury. 

David Graddol's Lecture at BRAC University

Centre for Languages (CfL) with the cooperation of British Council, Dhaka arranged a lecture on Future of English on 23 May 2011 at BRAC University auditorium. David Graddol, a world eminent scholar, writer, broadcaster and lecturer delivered his lecture on the occasion for the faculty members and students. The aim of the lecture was to refine the global trends of English language teaching in order to communicate with native speakers and encourage understanding of other cultures. He also discussed the issues how English is fitted in the new world. However, the program started with the welcome speech by Lady Syeda Sarwat Abed, Director, CfL. Professor Ainun Nishat, Vice Chancellor, BRAC University and Charles Nutall OBE, Director, British Council Bangladesh also spoke on the event.

Roundtable discussion on the future of English at higher education in Bangladesh

On May 23, 2011 BRAC University Centre for Languages (CfL) and British Council jointly hosted an important discussion on the future of English at Higher education in Bangladesh at the conference room of the university building. Representatives from UGC (University Grant Commission), EiA (English in Action), and different public and private universities expressed their valued opinions in the discussion. 
David Graddol, an expert on global issues in English, provided a foundation for the discussion. He presented data on English language level needed in the work world, and data on country results for the IELTS examination. With this information in mind, the educators broke into groups to discuss English language needs for employment, study and international collaboration. The discussions were lively, and the groups decided that they were not sure if Bangladesh is graduating the type of English speakers needed for these three areas, and the participants also wondered if there were adequately trained teachers to support the English language needs of the country. In the study group, CfL was proud to share the works it undertook and accomplished successfully, and everyone in the group felt that CfL might be a model for other universities. Following that discussion, many educators are now making plans for research projects, to make sure students in all areas of the country have their English language needs met.

Dr. Elizabeth Platt at CfL

Elizabeth Platt, Professor Emeritus from the University of Florida and Senior Fulbright English Language Specialist, worked with CfL during two separate visits in February and May of this year.
The CfL instructors collaborated with Elizabeth on their objectives for their courses and their course syllabus. They all reported that they shared a lot with her and learned so much; simultaneously they also enjoyed themselves while they were learning. The end product of Elizabeth's work is a brochure that includes all the course objectives and illustrates the progression of the skills throughout the courses that CfL offers.

IED Updates

Research and Development 

The 'School Efficiency Team' has been working to develop modules to provide training to the Head Teachers (HTs) of the Registered Non Government Primary Schools (RNGPSs). Six issues have been identified for the training to HTs titled 'Classroom organization, Management and School Readiness'. The content that will be covered are: classroom discipline, positive learning environment, small group, large group formation and activity, fast and slow learners development, child friendly learning and school readiness followed by process - oriented approaches. In May 201, the piloting was done with 20 HTs and 10 Field Researchers (FRs - field level staff) for two days at Savar BRACU Campus. It is to be mentioned that from this group of 30 participants, 23 (13 HTs and 10 FRs) have been selected as Masters Trainers who will later disseminate the training to the rest HTs of the 100 RNGPSs. 

One of the major components for social mobilizations under the Women Leadership in Education is to increase awareness regarding importance of education, improve mothers' relationship with RNGPS, identify and solve problems in the community. In May a piloting was done in a village of Purbadhola thana with the women leaders and mothers on a reflective and interactive module on 3 key ECD issues namely child development, nutrition and how children learn through play that has been developed for the women leaders. 

Two case studies on two RNGPSs, led by a male and a female HTs were carried out by IED with the objective of documenting HTs contribution in school development. The studies were shared in the training session on 'Classroom Management and School Readiness' as a 'motivation' strategy. As one of the key objectives of this training session was to select HTs as trainers' pool, at the training pre and post-test were administered to measure immediate influence of training on participants' existing knowledge and believes. Additionally interview and observation tools were developed for a baseline study on six RNGPSs to see the effectiveness of the training 

MEd. in Educational Leadership, Planning and Management

Two national faculties, one graduate of the 1st batch, and three international faculties attended the conference in different capacities for representing IED and its MEd program at the 55th Annual Conference of the comparative and International Education Society (CIES) on 'Education is that which liberates' in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1 - 5 May, 2011. The title of the paper was 'Empowering Educational Practitioners: Government and BRAC University collaboration in a unique MEd Program in Bangladesh'.

Dr. M. Monica Gomes, Associate Professor (MEd), IED-BRACU presented a paper titled Underpinnings of the MEd. program: education with a difference, for a difference'; Mohammad Mahboob Morshed, Lecturer (MEd.), IED-BRACU presented a paper titled 'The MEd. Curriculum and approach: inspiring leaders to be learners' and Md. Abdullah al Mamun, Ex MEd. student, recipient of Vice Chancellor's award and Upazila Education Officer, Directorate of Primary Education, Bangladesh presented a paper titled 'Partnership between Government and Academia: a timely effort to bring meaningful change in education. 

Early Childhood Development and Resource Centre

In May 2011, the second module, the Ecology of Childhood was piloted at IED-BRAC University. The 10 day long course had 18 participants from various international and national development organizations. Ms. Zeenat Janmohammad, Executive Director, Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development at the University of Toronto, Canada along with IED faculties facilitated the ecology of childhood course. 

IGS Updates

The Affiliated Network for Social Accountability - South Asia Region (ANSA-SAR) conducted a day-long consultation on ANSA SAR's future activities and network building on May 22, 2011 at the BRAC Centre Inn, Dhaka. The key objectives of this consultation were to share emerging experiences from different context that may inform and influence future work on social accountability, and identify approaches/ strategies to sustain, widen and deepen the network. The consultation involved the heads/ senior representatives of the 22 partner organisations, invited representatives from the Programme for Accountability Nepal (PRAN), Integrity Watch Afghanistan, representatives from BRAC University/ Institute of Governance Studies, World Bank Institute and ANSA SAR team.

ANSA organised a workshop on "Building Negotiation and Advocacy Skills" from May 23- May 25, 2011 at the BRAC Centre Inn, Dhaka. Representatives from selected organisations from the South Asia Region and all the 22 partner organisations of ANSA- SAR participated in the workshop.

ANSA co-organised a write-shop with the South Asian Right to Information Advocates Network (SARITAN), Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and World Bank Institute on "How to Make RTI the Story: communicating RTI experiences and their impact" at the Institute of Governance Studies, BRAC University, Dhaka on May 25, 2011. The write shop aims to strengthen the capacity of CSO's in Bangladesh focusing on RTI, to effectively communicate stories about the impact of their RTI work, while laying the ground for a joint publication between SARITAN, CHRI, ANSA and WBI showcasing concrete experiences on the use of the RTI Act at grassroots level by CSOs. The representatives from Manusher Jonno Foundation, Nijera Kori, Research Initiatives Bangladesh, D-Net, Transparency International Bangladesh, Intercooperation, Nagorik Uddog, MRDI ,BRAC Advocacy Unit, Common Wealth Human Rights Initiatives, the Daily Star, Channel I and World Bank Institute were present in the event.

The Chief Operating Officer of ANSA-SAR delivered a lecture on Social Accountability: Concept, Practices & Challenges on May 18, 2011 at the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre. The lecture was part of the Foundation Course of the Centre, attended by 300 civil servants.

The Journalism Training & Research Initiative (JATRI) of IGS organized a training on 'Planning & Research for Investigative journalism' at the JATRI Training Room from 30 April to 5 May 2011. Twenty participants took part in this training. The purpose of the training was to enhance the knowledge of the participants about planning & research for investigative journalism. This six day long training started with the discussion of Dr. Md. Golam Rahman, Professor of Mass Communication & Journalism of Dhaka University. Dr. Rahman discussed the concept, criteria, and types of investigative journalism. He also discussed about the differences between interpretative reporting and investigative reporting. Mr. Dulal Chandra Biswas , Director General, Press Institute of Bangladesh, discussed about the methodologies of investigative reporting. Mr. Mir Mashrurzzaman, Editor of Channel I, focused on the theoretical and practical sides of investigative journalism, collecting and verifying information for investigative journalism, camera operation. The training ended with the presentations on different topics by the participants. Ms. Farhana Islam (Training Manager, JATRI), and Zahidul Islam (Training Specialist, JATRI) facilitated the training.

JATRI organised a discussion event on its publication "State of Press Freedom in Bangladesh 2010" on 5 May, 2011. Columnist Mr. Sayed Abul Moksud, Mr. Abed Khan, Editor, the Daily Kaler Kantha, Professor Dr. Sadeka Halim, Information Commissioner, Mr. Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury, Senior Journalist and Adviser of JATRI discussed in the event. Besides, journalists from different print and electronic media attended the event. Mr. Rabiul Alam, Research Manager of JATRI, presented the media monitoring report. The research was conducted by JATRI during January to December 2010 based on 12 newspapers scanning, 51 issues and 3714 clippings. These newspapers are Daily Star, New Age, Prothom Alo, Kaler Kantha, Ittefaq, Jai Jai Din, Amar Desh, Amader Shomoy, Naya Diganta, Samokal, Jugantor, and Janakantha.

Mohammad Sirajul Islam, Research Associate of IGS participated in the First Global Conference on Transparency Research from May 18 - 20, 2011 organised by the School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA. He presented a paper titled "Improving Transparency in Public Procurement in Bangladesh: Use of Right to Information and Whistleblowers' Protection laws at sub national levels". The paper is posted on the Conference website. The link is: http://spaa.newark.rutgers.edu 

ENH Updates

Participation in Conferences and Workshops

- On 11th May 2011, Dr. Firdous Azim the Chairperson of ENH has participated as one of the panalists in the seminar titled Postcolonialism Now organised by the Department of English, University of Dhaka.

- The 2nd International Conference: Thinking 'other-wise' with/in English Studies was hosted by the Department of English, Jahangirnagar University was held from 13th - 14th May 2011. Dr. Firdous Azim, Chairperson of ENH has chaired a session plenary session of the conference. The following ENH members presented their papers in this conference:

Name of the presenter | Title of the paper 
Mushira Habib, Teaching Assistant | Culture and Imperialism in The Adventures of Tintin.
S.M. Mohibul Hasan, Jr. Lecturer | The Empowerment of Ethnic Minorities, Lower Class and Women in Bharadwaj's Omkara.
Fatima Tuz Zahra, Lecturer jointly with Shakil Sarforaz Rabbi, Lecturer, East West University | English Language Instruction in Madrasah Classrooms in Bangladesh

- MA students Anika Mahin and Fatema Johera Ahmed along with Mushira Habib, Teaching Assistant and Rukhsana Rahim Chowdhury, Sr. Lecturer of ENH attended a two day workshop entitled "Postcolonized" on 15th May and 16th May 2011 which was organised by Department of English, Jahangirnagar University. This workshop conducted by Dr. Sharmila Sen of Harvard University was a part of the 2nd international conference: Thinking 'other-wise' with/in English Studies.

- Sabreena Ahmed , Lecturer of ENH presented her paper Same old, same old: from boring to creative presentation in the 5th International BELTA Conference 2011 organised by Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association (BELTA) and English in Action and Funded by UK Aid. The conference was held from 20th -22nd May in BIAM foundation, Dhaka. 

- On 21st and 22nd May 2011, the Department of Anthropology, Jahangirnagar University held a conference Anthropology in the 21st Century and 25 years of Anthropology in Bangladesh to commemorate the 23rd founding anniversary of the department. A session titled "Gender and Anthropological Studies" in this conference was chaired by Dr. Firdous Azim, Chairperson of ENH. 

Finals of International Public Speaking Competition 2011

Ms.Rukhsana Rahim Chowdhury, Sr. Lecturer of ENH, accompanied the two winners of the national final of the International Public Speaking Competition 2011 to London. The participants Ratib Mortuza and Abedin Kader of ESS , BRACU performed well at this event which was organized by the English Speaking Union and held from 23rd -28th May 2011 at their headquarters Darthmouth House, London.

ESS Updates

Seminars/Workshop/Conferences attended by ESS Faculty

Dr. Seuty Sabur, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, attended two conferences consequently titled "Tying Knots and Transcending Boundaries: Bangladeshi 'Middle Class', Transmigrant Networks, and Mobility" at 'Florida Consortium on Women's Studies', Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Florida Atlantic University on 2nd April 2011 and "Home away from Home: British Bangladeshi Professionals and their Social Networks" at 'Story of Bangladesh and Bangladeshi People, at home and in the Diaspora' in East London on 23 & 24 April 2011.

Mahbuba Naznin Sani, Lecturer, ESS, attended the "2011 Endeavour Awards Professional Development Workshop" on 11th of May at Rugby Quay, Brisbane. This event was only for award holders and alumni. The workshop covered topics such as leadership, communication and managing change. A major benefit of this workshop was the networking with award holders and alumni, across the Endeavour Awards community.

Mahbuba Naznin Sani was invited by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade at the inaugural alumni and networking event, held at Customs House, Brisbane on 13th May, 2011. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Hon Kevin Rudd MP addressed the event. The objectives of this program are to meet Australia Awards Holder, alumni and representatives of tertiary institutions and government as well as to promote knowledge, education links and enduring ties between Australia, its neighbours and the global community. 

SECS Updates

Workshop on "Biomedical Instrumentation and Renewable Energy" at BRAC University

On the 23rd of May, 2011 BRAC University in collaboration with BATTCO Engineering, Bangladesh organized workshop on "Biomedical Instrumentation and Renewable Energy". The workshop on this burning topic included Mr. Giorgio Guglielmino, Ambassador of Italy in Dhaka, as the chief guest; and Professor Ainun Nishat, Vice Chancellor of BRAC University as a special guest. Other distinguished speakers included Professor Khondkar Siddique-e-Rabbani, Chairperson of department of Biomedical Physics and Technology, Dhaka University; Professor Subrata Kumar Aditya from Dhaka University; and Engr. Enrico Selva Bonino, Export area manager from DeLorenzo group.

The workshop was organized by the Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) Department of BRAC University. This three hour workshop session started with a welcome note by Dr. Sayeed Salam, Chairperson of the department of EEE, BRAC University; followed by an inauguration speech by Professor Ainun Nishat, VC of BRAC University. Then the Ambassador of Italy in Dhaka, Mr. Guglielmino addressed the audience and expressed his views about Bangladesh as a rapidly developing country and its advancement in the engineering research sectors, and encouraged all to view Italy not just for its cultural aspects, but more. 

After the inauguration of the workshop, Professor Khondkar Siddique-e-Rabbani presented a power point presentation on the various aspects of Biomedical Instrumentations, naming a few instruments developed in this country and signifying their functions and importance. This session was followed by another presentation by Mr. Enrico Selva Bonino who represented his company in Italy, DeLorenzo group. He spoke of the history of this well known and highly established company and encouraged faculty members of universities in Bangladesh to provide the students with better quality laboratory equipment, and also spoke of providing training support to teaching staffs, for a better, more educated youth.

The 'Renewable Energy' session was conducted by Prof Subrata Kumar Aditya. He talked about various renewable energy that are in use, and presented a lecture on PV system, Hybrid Energy System and a case study on St.Martin Island. This was followed by another brief presentation by Mr. Enrico from the DeLorenzo group who spoke some more about products and services his company has to offer. 

After this session a concluding speech was presented by Dr. AKM Azad from the EEE department of BRAC University, who was also the chief organizer of this entire workshop. This was followed by refreshments for all the audience, guests and lecturers along with a poster presentation on some of the thesis work done by BRAC University students on "Biomedical Instrumentation and Renewable Energy". The poster presentation was sponsored by IEEE Bangladesh BRAC University Student Branch.

The poster presentation session included a total of eight presentations, they were: "Design and Implementation of Automatic Controller for an Uninterruptible Solar Hot Water System", "Design and Development of Microcontroller based ECG Simulator", "Output Power Improvement of PV Cell using Automatic Sun Tracking System", "Development of an audio evoked response system to facilitate anesthesia monitoring", "Performance analysis of BRAC Solar Home Systems (SHS) in Bangladesh", "Acquisition and Monitoring of Multichannel ECG", "Design and development of a cost effective home solar PV system for BRAC University", and lastly, "Anesthesia Monitoring device development". This was quite a successful session and the distinguished guests viewed many of the presentations by the BRAC University students and appreciated their work.

IEEE BRACU SB Civil Aviation Tour

IEEE BRAC University Student Branch organized a technical tour for the IEEE student members on the 26th of May. The destination was Hazrat ShahJalal International Airport's Civil Aviation Authority Complex. The students were accompanied by Marzia Alam and Supriyo Shafkat Ahmed; faculty members of BRAC University, EEE Department. This trip was organized by the Executive Body members of IEEE BRACU SB, Rumman Huq (Chairperson) and Syedur Rahman Sakir (Treasurer) under the helpful guidance of Fig: Inside the plane under maintenance Councilor Dr. AKM Azad, of IEEE BRACU. 

This technical tour to the Civil Aviation Complex focused on informing the students about the various technicalities that are required during air traffic control. The students were given an entire tour into the restricted zones of air craft maintenance and repair, spare parts building, radar station, control tower and more. The IEEE BRACU SB would sincerely like to thank the Civil Aviation Authority for their support, encouragement and primarily the permission to visit these places.

Accompanied by an official the students were given a demonstration of how the signal processing is done using transmitters and receivers in the radar station. This segment of the tour focused on how the controllers on base can communicate with native as well as foreign air crafts to know about their locations, destinations, etc. The later part of this tour was a breathtaking visit to the control tower, from where the students were able to see an entire communication between the controllers from the Bangladesh Air Force and an airbus. They got to witness the take-off, which really turned out to be an extremely exciting point for the students of BRAC, especially those who were students of Electrical & Communication Fig: IEEE members at the Biman Hangar with the airbus under maintenance Engineering (ECE).

Another segment of the tour consisted of a visit to the Plane Hangar of Biman Bangladesh, where an airbus was entirely dismantled for maintenance and repair. Excitement of the BRACU students was contagious and even the engineers working on board shared their thoughts and ideas, and briefed the students about the construction of an airplane. The students got a demonstration and up-close look at the cockpit, and got to know tit-bits of how to pilot a plane, they got to visit the stations where the engineers were working on other spare part building like the tyre shop, seat cover unit, etc. This encouraged most of the students doing their major in electronics and power, and it gave them an insight of real life application of the theoretical knowledge.

This was an extraordinary opportunity for the IEEE members where they got to view the real life applications of all theories learnt. This indeed was a magnificently organized tour and an immense learning opportunity for all the students who could go to this event. 

IEEE BRACU SB Sponsored Poster presentation

Finally, when the inspiring and motivating Workshop almost came to an end, some of the promising thesis projects on "Biomedical Instrumentation and Renewable Energy" were exhibited through a poster presentation. 
These were prepared by BRAC University students and the whole event was sponsored by IEEE BRAC University Student branch. The fresh ideas from these presentations were appreciated by everyone. 
When the session ended successfully, the sparkling and dreamy eyes of each and every student present in the conference were announcing the promising future of "Biomedical

MNS Updates

South Asia Conference on Current Approaches to Environmental Risk Assessment of Genetically Engineered Crops, Hotel Taj Ambassador, New Delhi, India

The South Asia Conference on Current Approaches to Environmental Risk Assessment of genetically engineered crops, jointly organized by the South Asia Biosafety Programme (SABP) and the Biotechnology Corporation of India Limited (BCIL) was held in New Delhi, India from May 16-18, 2011. Professor Naiyyum Choudhury, Coordinator, Biotechnology Programme participated in the Conference at the invitation of the South Asia Biosafety Programme, Washington, USA. The Conference brought together scientists and professionals from India and abroad to share their experiences and knowledge of the science and practice of environmental risk assessment (ERA) as well as closely related scientific issues. The Conference focused on the accumulated international experience in ERA, development and use of organized and rational methods for determining information needs related to ERA, standards and best practices for collecting and interpreting data for use in ERA as well as scientific issues related to the oversight of GE plants following risk assessment. International Experience in Environmental Risk Assessment of GE Plants and harmonization ERA of GE plant covering the OECD work in this regard for the period 1980-2009 and the individual country experiences of Australia, the Philippines and India were highlighted in the scientific sessions.The Conference provided a good platform for the scientists in the region to be in touch with world class experts on biosafety, biodiversity, risk assessment and risk communication and the participants were exposed to more recent approaches to the ERA of GM technology like Problem Formulation (PF) approach for risk assessment of the GM crops. It is hoped that the experience gained through the exchange of ideas and interactions among scientists of the developed and the developing countries will be effectively utilized by the participants in respective countries in their risk assessment strategies for GM crops. 

Science Article in the Daily Star by MNS Faculty

Two scientific articles written by Md. Riajul Hossain, Lecturer in Biotechnology were published in "Tuesday's Science and Life Section" of the Daily Star. The article titled "Genes not still, they move" was published on 24 May, 2011. This described the positioning of genes inside the nucleus of a cell according to their level of activity. The article entitled "Radical shift in stem cell research" was published on 31 May where the writer explained the recent research trends in stem cell research which was focusing on drug discovery rather than using the stem cells for mere cell therapy.

SPH Updates

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
MPH PROGRAMME

Quantitative Research Methods (MPH 520) was held during April 26 - May 5, 2011. The course was taught by Dr. Qumrun Nahar, Mizanur Shuvra Rashid, and Dr. Enam Hasib. 

Health Economics & Healthcare Financing (MPH 531) was held during May 22 - June 2, 2011. The course was taught by Prea Gulati, Shafiun Nahin Shimul, and Nadia Ishrat Alamgir was the Teaching Fellow.

CENTRES AND RESEARCH INTIATIVES

MOVE -IT WORKSHOP

Together with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Planning, the James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University organized a two day (16-17th April 2011) workshop entitled "MOVE-IT Bangladesh - Accelerating Universal Registration of Mother and their Children" which was sponsored by the Health Metrics Network. The workshop was intended to bring all of the key stakeholders together in Bangladesh to discuss the MOVE-IT Bangladesh project with the objective of informing the further development and implementation of the project

MIDWIVERY WORKSHOP

In line with the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's announcement to create 3000 midwives by 2015 at the 65th General Assembly at the UN in order to attain Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, stakeholders from the public and private sectors have developed a strategy to scale up the midwifery workforce in Bangladesh under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The strategy paper entitled Three thousand midwives by 2015: a strategy to scale-up the midwifery workforce in Bangladesh was presented for discussion at a two day workshop on the 6th and 7th of May 2011. The workshop was attended by high level Ministry officials from MOH&FW with 100 other interested stakeholders.

FACULTY NEWS

Dr. Farah Mahjabeen Ahmed, Senior Lecturer & CEP Cordinator, was invited to a 5-day Training Course on 'NGO and Stakeholder Participation in HPN Sector' from 29 May-02 June 2011 for the officials of Ministry of Health and its departments. She conducted sessions on GO-NGO collaboration: Framework, scope, debates regarding advantages and disadvantages and on Bangladesh experience in GO-NGO collaboration: TB and HIV/AIDS. 

Dr. Taufique Joarder, Lecturer, was invited to present his paper 'Meaning of Death: Perception of the Elderly and its Impact on their Well-being' in the Annual Conference of Department of Anthropology, Jahangirnagar University. The conference was held during May 21-22, 2010, where prominent anthropologists from different institutions present to share their current works.

TLC Updates

4th TLC Workshop on Teaching and Learning at BRACU was held on 2-5 May, 2011 at BRACU Savar Campus. The workshop was designed for mostly new and several experienced faculty members of BRACU family. The total number of the participants' was 23. The facilitators were Prof. Md. Golam Samdani Fakir, Mr. Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury, Mr. Mahfuzul Bari Chowdhury, Prof. Fuad H. Mallick, Ms. Beth Trudell, Md. Shawkat Kamal, Md. Golam Jamil, Ms. Farida Akhter, and Ms. Samina Anzum. The workshop was resided at Savar campus and the participants were made present there by 01May, evening with an intention for formal welcoming and ice breaking session through Social Gathering Evening. The workshop started with creating the Social Capital: The Honor Code of the workshop on May 2 ; and continued with one after the sessions on Synergy between BRAC and BRACU, BRACU Professional Guidelines (code of conducts for teachers and students of BRACU), Why students behave the way they do, and the Residential Semester of BRACU. The sessions on Critical Thinking in Teaching, How to start the First Session and Microteaching had a very positive impact to the faculty especially to the new instructors who are new in their teaching careers and like to see themselves more confident and more 
Figure 1: 4th TLC Workshop, 02-05May 2011, Savar Campus
enthusiastic teachers being Performers at BRACU. The sessions on The Art of 
Questioning ,Students grading: The Teacher as an Evaluator of students' performance and How to manage Students' Disruptive Behavior were few more effective sessions, led them prepare to be more comfortable in fair grading and in managing the students' disruptive behavior in the class effectively. Finally the session on Personal Development: Habits of High Performing Teachers was a new-eye opening for the instructors exploring own habits and teaching competences. The meditation session on the Seventh habit: Sharpen the Saws was really an insightful learning for the participants. Organizing and participating in the Cultural Evening on day 3 by the participants added extra values to the workshop. The workshop was wrapped up with Cob-web method, where each one had the chance to share personal reflection about the whole workshop, wishing for the peer colleagues and giving certificates to the participants.

An Integrated session on Personal Development: Habits of Highly Successful Students was held on 19 May 2011 at BRACU Savar campus. This session was designed for 280 students, a total of nine sections who are now attending their residential semester at savar campus. The facilitation team was Prof. Md. Golam Samdani Fakir, Md. Mahfuzul Bari Chowdhury, Farid Ahmed, Dr. Anisuzzaman, Samina Anzum Chowdhury, Arifa Rahman, Ashik Sarwar, Asmat Ara Islam, and Mahbubur Rahman. 'Personal development is a hard work. It takes time, consistency and pertinence.' The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, written by Stephen R. Covey (1989) embody many of the fundamental principals of human effectiveness. This session focused on the learning those principals through practical ideas to make the important changes in the students lives, both big and small so that they can get their lives on track and start living up to the potential (Dr. F. G. Samdani). The session started with a seven habit song followed by the power point presentation and lecture on seven habits. There was a small role play on how Habit forms and a slideshow was shown on the story of Tortoise and Hare. The beginning part of the session was facilitated by Dr. Golam Samdani Fakir. After his presentation, the students were divided and sent into the nine sections with the respective faculty member and there was more discussion on seven habits carried on. The colloquim method was followed for the discussion part. The session was wrapped up by taking feedback from the students.

RS Updates

Semester Orientation

BRAC University residential semester orientation for summer 2011 was held on May 14, 2011 at the Markuli hall of Savar residential campus. A number of 274 undergraduate students from different departments of the university registered for this semester and all of them participated in different activities of the programme. Professor Md. Golam Samdani Fakir, Pro-Vice Chancellor of BRACU was the key speaker of the session and helped students to build the social capital. Mr. Mahfuzul Bari Chowdhury, Campus Superintendent, Residential Campus of BRACU was also present at the occasion with the faculty members, house tutors and all the staff of the residential campus. On that day-long programme, students were given the guidelines for making the RS semester a successful one. The summer 2011 has started their classes from May 15, 2011.

Seminar on Drug Abuse

A seminar on drug abuse was held on May 19, 2011 at Savar Campus. It was moderated by Brother Ronald Drahozal, CSC and director of APON (Ashokti Punarbashan Nibash). He explained how APON is working to provide treatment to the drug addicts and rehabilitation services. He also mentioned about the availability and accessibility to those services for the drug addicts. One of those persons who got recovery from addiction with the help of APON was also present at the seminar to share his experience All the students of RS as well as some of the staff and teachers were present at the seminar. The audience got a real picture of the practices of drug abuse in Bangladesh.

Public Health Seminar

The seminar on Public Health was held on May 21, 2011 at BRAC University Savar Campus which was organized by CfL and facilitated by faculty members from School of Public Health. The morning session titled 'Health and Well-being" was focused on general Health in terms of public health and individual health. This session also highlighted the common challenges and responsibilities of the age group "young adults".

After tea break boys had a movie session where two documentary films ("Hiroshima" and "A mother's lament") were shown. While the documentary session was going on, all the girls were attending another session on Sexual Reproductive Health "SRH" at Markuli Hall by Ms. Mashida Rashid amd Ms. Anuradha Hashmee. This SRH session was followed by question-answer session conducted by the gynecologist Dr. Jannatul Fewdous(Rimu). Written health queries made by the students (girls) were answered at this Q/A session.

After lunch girls went to watch the documentary while the boys attended the session on Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH). The SRH session and the following discussion and question answer session was conducted a Dr. Enumul Hasib, lecturer of the department JPGSPH, BRAC University.

The students enjoyed the sessions and both the sessions were highly participatory and informative. All the faculty members, staff were present and took part in managing the sessions. The counselors Anjuman ara Eva, Shami Suhrid and Farjana Abedin Were actively involved all through the sessions. 

Session on "Grooming and Etiquette"

A very enthusiastic session on "Grooming and Etiquette" was held for the "RS Summer 2011" students at the Markuli hall of Savar residential campus on May 28, 2011. Ms. Farrah Jabeen, Faculty member of CfL, conducted the session to let the young students understand about the proper social behaviour and norms. Campus superintendent Mr. Mahfuzul Bari Chowdhury was also present on the occasion with all the faculty members, house tutors and other staff was present.

BRAC Oriantation

An informative session on BRAC was held as "BRAC orientation" at the Markuli hall at Savar campus with the"RS Summer 2011" Students. The session was conducted by Mr. Abdur Rahman, In-charge, BRAC Training Division. All the faculty members, house tutors and other staff were presented on that occasion. Mr. Rahman told students about the history of BRAC. He also described different programmes of BRAC and also explained the process of BRAC activities. At the end there was a question answer session where Mr. Rahman answered student's questions.

Student Affairs Updates

Club Fair 2011, Organized by BIZBEE held on 25th May, 2011. A total of 27 clubs and forums took part in the event.

It was the second time for BIZBEE organizing the club fair. The last time it was arranged back in Summer 2009 under the banner 'SUMMER SAULT'. This time around, with new cohorts, 'SUMMERSAULT Reloaded' had high expectations to live up to. Internet Radio Partner 'Radio Circle' and Ice-cream Partner 'Igloo' joined hands with BIZ BEE and BRAC University for the first time along with Beverage Partner Nescaf�, Media Partner Boishakhi TV and Radio Partner Radio Today to make this event successful. This was the first BRACU occasion to be broadcasted live on Radio Today.

Besides BIZ BEE, BU Cultural Club and BU Film Club played crucial roles in organizing 'SUMMER SAULT Reloaded'. The attractive stalls of different clubs were set up mostly in the "Indoor Games Room" and some in the Cafeteria of BRACU premises. Colorful decorations on the walls and strings of white silk fabric spreading out from the center of the ceiling gave the room a majestic look. Threads of sparkling bulbs on top of it, all declared the glory of the occasion.
The honorable Pro-VC, Dr. Md. Golam Samdani Fakir and the Registrar of BRACU, Mr. Ishfaq Ilahi Chowdhuri cut the ribbon at 10 o'clock in the morning marking the opening of 'SUMMER SAULT Reloaded'. Then the general signup procedure began with 2-3 representatives behind each club's stall. Loud music and spontaneous dance moves from the students created a festive mood from the very beginning. The mood carried on throughout the day with the help of BU Cultural Club, who had arranged a cultural show and DJ party later on the evening. The cultural show began with a dance performance by 'Faceless'; then eight songs were performed by five melodious singers from the club. 'SUMMER SAULT Reloaded' also included an all day movie-show organized by BU Film Club on 29th May, 2011.