Exploring the role of private univerisities in higher education

In its 46th anniversary issue of November 12th, 2010, "Holiday"
newspaper published an article acknowledging the "Role of private
universities in higher education." The article was written by Prof.
Dr. M. Alimullah Miyan, Vice-Chancellor of IUBAT - International
University of Business Agriculture and Technology, as well as
Secretary General of the Association of Private Universities of
Bangladesh.

The article focuses on the significant contribution of non-government universities (NGUs) to the higher education system of Bangladesh. The role of NGUs is completely multidimensional. With their commitment to ensure the relevance of higher education in Bangladesh, they have also created new educational programs, expanded the realm of opportunities for students and graduates, and managed to build political consensus and community engagement in higher education.

The ideas of reversing Bangladesh's "brain drain" through the development of knowledge and culture, creating a generation of employment, as well as relieving the government's financial burden of education are also explored in this article. The entire article is available online at http://www.weeklyholiday.net/2010/121110/anniv10/15.html.

Eid Extravaganza!

On Thursday, November 18^th, two of our volunteers, Deidre Evans and Sally Sando, organized an Eid party for the boys and girls at the Families for Children orphanage in Sector 6, Uttara, Dhaka. Deidre and Sally had been planning this party for weeks – arranging food, activities, and Eid gifts for all the children. This was one of the few parties the kids have ever had, and it was a huge success. Some of the boys and girls put together dance performances to entertain the crowd, which were lots of fun and must have taken lots of time and effort to organize. The room was filled with excitement and laughter, and the amount of positive energy was incredible! Overall, the children's endless smiles and 'thank you's really made our volunteers' hard work worth the while. Hopefully we will find ourselves another cause for celebration in the near future!

New lab and teaching facilities for College of Nursing

Due to the demand for high quality education, IUBAT is coping with increased enrolment by expanding teaching space. The new teaching wing, completed summer 2010 provides three floors of faculty offices and classrooms, all equipped with digital projectors. The large, bright classrooms are well-suited for lectures and in-class group work. Already work has begun for a fourth floor of academic space. To the right of the main campus building, new lab facilities are under construction for agriculture, computer science, engineering, hospitality and tourism management, as well as a 400 square foot lab for the College of Nursing. The new space, simulating a hospital patient room, will provide a more realistic setting for student practice.