June, 2021
Volume V, Issue VI
Summer XXI
OSUN Senior Project Panels 2021 Rusafa Hussain Journalist The Open Society University Network (OSUN) , held a series of webinars in May 2021 where universities globally— including Brac University— had the prestigious opportunity to participate in a number of panel discussions. BracU emerged triumphant in two categories, “Arts and Society” and “Inequalities”, where our students were selected to deliver presentations on their projects in front of an international panel of moderators, guest speakers, viewers and students from across the OSUN campuses. The students who participated in this highly esteemed platform exhibited their projects with considerable talent, adeptness and exuberance— each project was unique, engaging and insightful in their relevant fields of inquiry. The moderator for the “Arts and Society” panel was BracU’s Dr Mahruba Mowtushi, a faculty of the English and Humanities Department who supervised two BracU selections, as well as other international projects for OSUN. Presenting in the “Arts and Society” panel was Puja Sarkar (Senior, ENH) with a project that could only be described as the artistic brainchild born through the creative collaboration of her group that included Halima Hasin ( Junior, ENH), Fabliha Nawar (Senior, ENH), and Islam Nashrif (Senior, ENH). Their work, titled “The Incongruities of Existence: An Exhibit,” incorporated painting, collage, and fiction to critically investigate the topic of utopia/dystopia in arts and literature. The result of their effort was a brilliantly orchestrated collage that used works of fiction with original artwork (body art, painting, sketch) to provide an insightful commentary on the societal pressures to conform to ideologies and dictums. Also partaking in the webinar was Tarannum Mahmud (Senior, ARC), with her thesis “Of Spiritual and Natural: Revitalizing Natural and Religious Tourism through Architecture and Landscape” where she explained the elements of her structural designs that would aid pilgrimage, assimilating the cultures
BRACU Mongol-Tori excels at the University Rover Challenge 2021 Sudipta Nandi Journalist BRACU Mongol-Tori, a rover team from Brac University, finished fourth in the University Rover Challenge 2021, an international competition organised by the Mars Society. The yearly competition, which takes place in the United States, pushes students to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers. As the pandemic prevailed, the organisers cancelled the finals and devised an alternate virtual competition which enabled the participants to compete remotely and build courses in their own campuses as per the rules. The contest consisted of three missions, where each had subtasks and all the teams had two competition days to demonstrate the performance of their rovers. Since the competition needed on-field experiments under controlled circumstances, BracU authority assisted team Mongol-Tori by accommodating them in the Savar RS campus for 9 days. Despite all sorts of hindrances, Mongol-Tori got the highest point for a mission and fourth highest point for the other two thereby securing them fourth place. The numerous facilities provided by the BracU authority along with the guidance of Dr Md. Khalilur Rahman (Associate Professor, CSE) helped the team massively. “From financial support to campus facilities in this pandemic situation, BracU helped us in every possible way”, says the leader of the team, Md. Firoz Wadud (Senior, CSE). He further added that a strong teamwork enabled this group of aspiring roboticists to make a name for themselves in the sphere of robotics globally.
OSUN Senior Projects Panel Picture
of Shaivism and existing heritage of the hillsides into her architectural study. Lastly, under the “Inequalities” panel, Jahin Kaiissar (Senior, ENH), delivered her presentation on “The Intersection of Trauma and Queerness in Pajtim Statovci’s Crossing”. She analysed Statovci’s queer figures by providing a detailed analysis of their sense of selfhood in relation to past trauma and the resulting experiences of disorientation. We are fortunate to have amidst us such brilliant scholars in the making whose achievements are a source of pride.
HSBC Business Case Competition Tanzila Kaokab Journalist HSBC, a renowned multinational bank, has collaborated with Brac Business School to organise a virtual HSBC-BRAC Business School Business Case Competition 2021. This year, the top teams of thirty universities competed against each other. A total of sixty teams were formed and each team consisted of four students. The participants had to go through intensive rounds of competition dealing with local and global cases. Team Voyager, from Brac University, comprising of Sajid Bin Hasnat (Senior, ESS), Shadman Shakid Rummat (Senior, BBS), Ariful Islam Himel (Senior, BBS) and Anisul Islam (Senior, BBS), emerged as the finalists and performed with great diligence. Throughout the competition of three rounds, the students were given cases such as, promoting banking products for international students, making RMG companies affected by COVID-19 profitable again, and implementing AD Net Zero for the UK advertising industry. There were three winners in the Grand Finale. Among them, team Hatti Ma Tim Tim secured the ultimate Gold Award of the competition, while team Barely Managing and team Hardly Knows have won the Silver and Bronze Award respectively, getting awarded with team development funds. Team Hatti Ma Tim Tim will now be representing Bangladesh at the HSBC/HKU Asia Pacific Business Case Competition 2021. The honourable judges for the national round competition were Derek Griffiths, Head of Trade and Investment for International Trade of the British High Commission in Dhaka; Asif Saleh, Executive Director Of Brac; Simeen Rahman, Group CEO of Transcom Group; and Kevin Green, Country Head of Wholesale Banking at HSBC Bangladesh. The competition concluded with a quick quiz challenge among the audience. The fastest three scorers were awarded with attractive gift hampers. Team Voyagers_HSBC-BBS Case Competition Finalist
2 | BRACU Express
BRIEFS Aspiring to nurture selves: Conversing with Dr Selim Jahan
Tahsin Farjana BRAC University Economics Club held the second episode of the Bytes series titled ”আমার কথা আমার জ ীবন” on June 8th, having Dr Selim Jahan, former director of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office as the guest speaker. Through nostalgic tales from life, Dr Jahan stressed the importance of surrounding oneself with good people and enjoying the moment while pursuing life.
Webinar on justice for survivors of domestic violence
Shomapty Khandaker The ‘Justice for survivors of domestic violence during COVID-19’ research was represented in a webinar on May 29th. It was organised by Brac University, the Rule of Law Programme of GIZ Bangladesh and BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD). The webinar was supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) with German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Dr. Imran Matin of BIGD initiated it, followed by Promita Sengupta of Rule of Law, GIZ. The aim of the webinar was to discuss the drastic increase in domestic violence cases against women in Bangladesh due to lockdownconstraints.
June, 2021
CAMPUS NEWS
BRACU team reaches Dacoit of Excellence final Imrul Chowdhury Journalist Dacoit of Excellence (DoE) is one of the well-known Inter University business competitions organised by Jagannath University. Dacoit of Excellence started its journey in 2019 with a huge success and has currently spread across 23 universities with more than 300+ teams participating in the latest edition of the competition - Dacoit of Excellence 2.0. Team Imperial March from Brac University, consisting of Nahida Sultana (Senior, BBS), Md. Muhtasim Al Morsalin (Senior, BBS) and MD. Hasib Ul Alam Naheen (Senior, BBS), successfully reached the final of this prestigious competition. “Competing with the best teams from all over Bangladesh has been a privilege for us as that has pushed us as a team to come up with the best solutions by mixing our theoretical and practical knowledge every time from the very first round to the grand finale,” spoke Nahida when asked about her experience. “Starting from shooting for 3 days to the tremendous support that we got from our friends, seniors and juniors from Brac University and other places, it was the one we actually enjoyed the most,” she added. BracU has been witness to major achievements in both national and international competitions since its inception. Naheen, speaking for the future participants
Team Imperial March
said, “I would like to encourage fellow BracU students to participate in DoE in upcoming years and sharpen their skills by competing with such great teams from all around the country.” The achievement of Team Imperial March will surely set an example for the future business competition enthusiasts.
Post Budget Dialogue FY 2021-22 Sadia Afrin Shayla Journalist
Up g r a d i n g re s e a rc h technologies: BracU appoints world-class professor
Neelmoni Lata Shankho Brac University recently welcomed Professor Manfred Max Bergman, Chairperson of Social Research and Methodology in the department of Sociology at the University of Basel, as a visiting professor at BracU. Professor Bergman strongly vouches for a shift in views on qualitative and quantitative research. As the visiting professor at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dr. Bergman hopes to provide unique knowledge on mixed methods to enhance competence in pedagogical and corporate sectors. He is currently recognised as one of the leaders in research methodology, because of his contribution into developing efficient methods pertaining to the field of research.
Post Budget Dialogue FY 2021-2022
The “Post Budget Dialogue FY 2021-22” was hosted by the BRAC University Business and Economics Forum (BUBeF) on June 5th. The honorable guest speakers included: Dr. ATM Nurul Amin, Professor of Economics from the Department of Economics and Social Sciences (ESS), Brac University; Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, a distinguished Professor of Graduate School of Management, BracU and the former Governor of Bangladesh Bank; Dr. Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director of Centre of Policy Dialogue; Mr. Mominul Islam, CEO of IPDC Finance Limited. The event was organised to look into the validity, and discuss the aspects of the budget for the FY 2021-22, while considering the ongoing pandemic. The speakers stated their valuable opinions regarding the second national budget following the pandemic, and suggested necessary steps to be taken in future. According to Dr. ATM Nurul Amin, the Government could learn from the ongoing situation and subsequently organise the budget. He also felt that the health and social-security sectors needed various reformations. Similar to Dr. Amin’s suggestions, Dr. Fahmida Khatun also reflected on ensuring social-security for the masses. Additionally, Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed termed this recent budget to be a “business-oriented” one which will only benefit the already privileged groups. He suggested looking into the quality of the projects rather than the quantity. The session concluded on a hopeful note as Mr. Mominul Islam shared several positive remarks on the economic condition of Bangladesh and its upward trajectory.
BRACU Express | 3
June, 2021
OPINIONS & ACADEMICS
Professor Mahbub Majumdar: an unsung hero
Maiesha Samiha Mahmood Journalist Brac University’s Dean of Data and Sciences, Mahbub Majumdar, is an acclaimed physicist, mathematician, and computer scientist. As a reputed alumnus of various distinguished institutions, he has garnered numerous prestigious accreditations throughout his career and is the sole reason behind many promising STEM talents opting to remain in the country. Being the national coach of the Bangladesh Mathematics Olympiad Team, he is the driving force behind various medals won in international competitions and has paved the way for the implementation of the country’s first and only integrated online learning platform, buX. The news of the sudden and inexplicable possibility of professor Mahbub’s suspension from deanship rightfully sparked a surge of outrage among students, alumni, and academicians alike. A staggering number of individuals took to expressing their indignation online through petitions and social media posts, a direct testament to the sphere of influence professor Mahbub accrued through his dedication and mentorship. The notion of such an invaluable asset, who has tirelessly and single-handedly inspired and moulded young talent into what they are today, having to face an alleged suspension is proof of the failure to honor our pioneers. Despite the vehement opposition, the mere unfolding of this distressing situation was inconceivable, unjust, and heartbreaking. As someone who has architected the careers and passions of countless youths, it should be needless to say that he deserves the utmost veneration. The slightest step towards the loss of such a treasure would inarguably cause irreparable damage to any institution and thus should be avoided at all costs.
Dr. Mahbubul Alam Majumdar, Dean of Data and Sciences, Brac University
District Bazaar: A convenient solution for the local retailers. Mushfique Ahmed Journalist
Can Some Milestones Ever Be Virtualized? Tasfia Ahmed Journalist The possibility of an online convocation has evoked strong sentiments among Brac University students graduating this year. One’s undergrad convocation is an extremely important milestone, especially if they do not plan to apply for masters. Virtualizing convocation steals their opportunity to truly celebrate and reflect on how far they have come.
District Bazaar Team
District Bazaar is a B2B startup that provides local retailers with hassle free wholesale goods and resources. The founders formulated the idea with a view to solving a common problem of the rural retailers: a well laid out supply chain. Targeting the retail market worth billions, they developed an app that takes orders from retailers and procure and deliver the goods providing more options. Abir Khan, a senior from the BBS department of Brac University, also the co-founder, says, “A retailer in a district faces a lot of problems while gathering products for his business. Due to lack of a proper supply chain, plenty of middlemen are involved resulting in higher price of the products. We aim to provide a service that will get their desired products delivered from the wholesalers to their doorstep in a hassle-free and affordable manner. The operation is driven by a sophisticated supply chain and field agents, intertwined with the power of technology.”
Currently operational in Pabna, the startup is still in its development phase and has targeted the growing business hub surrounding the Ruppur nuclear power plant. They follow an agent-based business model, taking orders from various micro-retailers around the district by using their app. Abir says that while taking orders they show samples of products to clear any doubts regarding the quality. They also select agents who are familiar with the local businesses in a certain area to make the process much easier. During their journey, they faced obstacles like delivering the products in bulk amounts, which they solved by arranging proper transportations with the help of bus companies and the railway system. The founders plan on creating employment in the rural areas and add value to the community through a range of intrinsic developments. They also dream of expanding globally in the future.
As Shoaib Dipu, a recent CSE graduate put it, “It is not about the place, it is about the people. It will not be the same if I do not have those who helped me get through it all physically present with me, be it my friends or faculty.” Some believe that forgoing an in-person convocation would hit extra hard after all the delays regarding a permanent campus. Others have mentioned they fear missing convocation all together since many students lack stable internet connectivity in their area. Although most students would prefer delaying convocation, waiting till things are ‘normal’ could result in too many batches piling up, ultimately transgressing Brac University’s capacity limits. It also might get logistically difficult to make the convocation pandemic safe, or to split it into numerous segments. However, with all the losses many have experienced lately, it may be better to be safe than sorry.
4 | BRACU Express
June, 2021
SPECIAL FEATURE
June, 2021
SPECIAL FEATURE
BRACU Express | 5
6 | BRACU Express
June, 2021
OFF CAMPUS
Medal of excellence for Bamboo Playspace: Paraa wins UIA award Tahsin Farjana Journalist The project named “Bamboo Playspace” has won the prestigious award of International Union of Architects “Medal of Excellence” for “2020/2021 Friendly and Inclusive Space Award” under the category “Public and Open Space”. The jury described the project as a “spectacular structure” for children to use. “Paraa” is a design and architecture studio directed by co-founder Kazi Arefin, an alumnus of the Department of Architecture, Brac University. The studio has been supervising the project “Bamboo Playspace” as a part of the running project “Cycle of Care” at Bosilla, Dhaka. The Bamboo Playspace is designed and created for the children of a non-profit organisation named Local Education and Economic Development Organization (LEEDO). The intention however behind the design was to have it as an open space for any children to use. The common space is also designed for cultural or public events to be held. Additionally, the project Bamboo Playspace is a part of a course named Critical Architecture Design and Sustainable Environment (CADSE). Students from different universities collectively created the public play space as a part of the course. Bamboo Playspace set an inspiring example by taking the challenge of utilising limited land, materials and diverse surroundings to create play space for children, in a time of swirling upheaval of urbanisation.
Friendly and Inclusive Space Award Poster
Deen-Islamic App Umma Maimuna Alam Journalist
The Deen Islamic App
Deen-Islamic App, as its name suggests, is an all-in-one Islamic app that includes a prayer tracker, Al Quran and Hadith reader, prayer time reminders, and more. Mahedi Hasan Utshow (Senior, CSE) and Homaira Tasnim Maliha (Senior, CSE) are the two developers who created this app. During 2020 Ramadan, they had come up with the idea of an app that would be helpful for Muslims and aid their daily ibadat or religious practice. Utshow credits his late father, who deeply encouraged him to do something that can help fellow followers, as inspiration for taking on this project. Maliha also highlighted her father’s teachings of serving Islam within her capability as inspiration that drove her in the same direction. Although they faced difficulties in their journey, it was fruitful at the end. They used the programming language, Dart, which is still quite a new language, and they had to code the module from scratch. Amidst the pressure of studies and their thesis, they worked relentlessly and finally released the app in April 2021 in the google Play Store. They have received an ample amount of positive feedback and the app is currently running in 74 countries around the world seamlessly, with a Play Store rating of 4.88 at the time of writing this article. The great response from the public thrilled them and they aim to eventually publish the iOS version and expand even further.
BRACU Express | 7
June, 2021
SPORTS NEWS Fitness and Health during COVID
Lamia Dilshad Waziha Journalist The pandemic has thrown a huge challenge at our health and well-being, both in terms of protection of our lives and the healthy processes of living. Several survivors of COVID-19 have admitted to a prolonged effect of the infection. That is why, a holistic approach to well-being demands more attention now, beyond our natural reliance on our immune system. All forms of physical classes have turned into digital platforms and fitness training has gone through this shift as well. They can be accessed now through recorded classes, live classes, podcasts and digital seminars. On one hand, the experience of first-hand training is long forgotten. On the other hand, many arenas of fitness through virtual platforms have evolved and improved through institutionalisation of these said platforms. Such an example is set by the course ‘Online Karate and Fitness’ offered by the Office of Co-curricular Activities (OCA) of BRAC University. The live classes on issues of mental health and meditation sessions offered by BRAC University Counselling Unit are also a positive step towards fostering a culture of emphasising on the importance of maintaining one’s health. Introduction of these initiatives have the potential to create an optimistic mindset in the students and help them survive the harsh nature of this pandemic. These initiatives keep inspiring us to choose the path of betterment even in these hard times. Most importantly, they have made it possible for the choice of virtual fitness training to stand out as effective as physical training.
Intra University Chess Championship Spring 2021
Saniya Ahmed Journalist BRAC University Chess Club (BUCHC) hosted the Intra University Chess Championship for Spring 2021. The event took place on May 10th from 10 pm to 11.30 pm. The tournament was held through an online chess platform “lichess.org”. The president of BUCHC, Sabbir Hossain (Graduate, BBS), revealed how the tournament unfolded. The tournament adhered to the Swiss system, therefore, there were a total of 6 rounds for each player. The person who scored the highest points secured the first position. It followed the “blitz” format, meaning each round was quite fast-paced and took around 7 to 15 minutes to complete. This championship was open for everyone within the university - alumni and staff included. The organisers stated that their key objective was to lure out the talented chess players of BRAC University so that they can set up a strong team who can compete in the next Inter University Chess Championship and go for nationallevel competitions. They were successful in their mission as 23 participants showed up, some of whom are internationally recognised chess players. The trophy was taken home by Abdullah Al Muhit (Senior, BBS), who managed to score 5 points out of the 6 rounds. “During the tournament, I was only thinking about the positions on the board and my intention was to play my best and not think about the results. Only after the tournament finished the joy of winning kicked in.”, said the chess champion.
Intra University Chess Championship hosted by BUCHC
Odyssey to Istanbul: A Podcast by FCBU Syed Mohammed Mostaque Billah Journalist Clubs that involve physical activities have faced their share of difficulties amidst the pandemic, however, some clubs are reviving themselves with unconventional ideas. An example of this can be seen in “Odyssey to Istanbul” - a podcast series that was launched on April 27th by the Football Club of BRAC University (FCBU). “Odyssey to Istanbul” hosts a supporter from selected Football teams and analyses the merits and cons of the players, reviews various strategies, makes predictions on the match, and discusses other engrossing football issues encompassing the UEFA Champions League. This series could leverage the anticipation of the football fans, especially because the tournament was held after a long break owing to the pandemic. “Our new members ran the full series since I believe that this type of activity is what allows our new members to connect with the club these days.” says FCBU President, Fahim Muhammad Bakhtiar (Senior, CSE). This series also brought FCBU a big exposure. Bakhtiar says, “The number of social media engagement that we received from outside the club, even outside BracU was astonishing.” He also adds, “We are planning to work with our female team and possibly bring a female national team player to our future series”. Creative approaches such as this are necessary in order to engage our student body to the university and its extracurricular activities.
Final match day poster of Odyssey to Istanbul.
Header Designed By: Mayesha Fairuz Ridula
8 | BRACU Express
June, 2021
Comic Strip By: Asmita Roy
Castlevania Season 4: An epic finale to the medieval fantasy Khwaja Zohura Zanzabil Journalist
Castlevania Season 4
On May 13th, Netflix released the fourth and final installment of its hit animated series, Castlevania. Loosely based on the 1990s hit video game series “Castlevania” by Konami, this series is a dark medieval fantasy that follows the adventures of Trevor Belmont on his quest to fight against the vampire Vlad Dracula Tepes. Season 3 of the four-part saga had seen the birth of multiple arcs with each of its characters, setting a seemingly daunting task for its successor to bring about a satisfactory ending to all the storylines. While the beginning of the season serves mainly as a recap and feels somewhat oddly paced, the season nevertheless manages to successfully converge the different character arcs to end in a breathtaking finale - all the while taking its viewers through an emotionally charged ride filled with shock, suspense, and adrenaline. While the show has always boasted amazing visuals and art style, the final season takes the animation and character designs to new heights. Every frame is complete with rich, beautiful art and amazing fight scenes with fast, fluid animation and choreography. Accompanied by an equally alluring soundtrack, Castlevania season 4 has given a fitting farewell to its much-beloved characters.
SOUR: It’s brutal out here Fardin Alam Journalist Olivia Rodrigo’s highly anticipated debut album “SOUR” was released on May 21st. The album exquisitely portrays the anxiety, insecurity, trust issues, and romanticism of zoomers that were ripped away by the pandemic. The record comes together as a very cohesive break-up narrative which anyone might expect considering Rodrigo herself is a teenager. Nonetheless, Rodrigo’s voice and compelling lyrics added much more than teenage woe and made it relatable for the people out of other spheres as well. The whole album sounds as if the musical trend from the past decade has merged in with the touches of Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Miley Cyrus. Although Rodrigo’s success may seem like it came overnight, she is a trained singer who worked as a Disney actress in the High School Musical series. Rodrigo tried to portray the seven stages of grief throughout the entire album which averted most listeners’ credence about the LP only delivering break-up abstractions. SOUR may have some shortcomings - with a few songs sounding less polished - but Rodrigo left some room to emerge as a rising popstar for Generation Z and to warn teenage girls that it definitely is “brutal out Olivio Rodrigo here”.
Board Members
Executive Panel
fb.com/bracuexpress
Sheersho Zaman Editor-in-Chief
Aysha Zaheen News Editor
Nairita Ahsan Faruqui News Sub-Editor
Sadrina Afrin Mowna Managing Editor
Raidah Morshed Features Editor
Farhan Hasin Dipro Creative Director
Ashabul Islam Head Of Administration
Aryan Rahman Sports Editor
Noshin Tasnim Director Of Human Resources
Saad Ahmed Baset Head Of Creative
Chowdhury Nusaiba Binte Sayed Opinions and Academics Editor
Malihah Maqsud Director Of Photography
Shaniz Chowdhury Web Media Head
Zamima Islam Sabaa Off-Campus Editor
Farhan Ajmaine Web Content Manager
Ahsab Rahman Entertainment Editor
@bracuexpress
Advisory Panel Anika Saba Masnoon Khair Roohi Huda Seema Nusrat Amin Shehzad M. Arifeen Correction Policy BRACU Express will only accept corrections for any misquotes, misrepresentations, or factual errors for an article within the semester that it is printed.