Building a Better Future

The young Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEED) at North South University celebrated two successful academic years on October 27, 2015, by hosting "CIVILFEST" at the university's Bashundhara campus. The event was a celebration of eminent engineers and to-be engineers of the country.

"CIVILFEST" – a festival of civil engineering, took time in the making. Students of the department joined hand in hand with the faculty members to launch what proved to be one of the largest engineering festivals among universities.

The daylong programme consisted of various segments and sessions; each was related to engineering, environment and the sharing of knowledge for the betterment of the society. The day began with an inaugural ceremony graced by the presence of distinguished civil engineer, Professor Dr. Jamilur Reza Choudhury, VC, University of Asia Pacific, who was the chief guest. The other guests were Major General Abu Syeed M. Masud, Chief Coordinator of Padma Bridge Project; Professor Dr. Feroze Ahmed, VC, Stamford University; the guest of honour, Benajir Ahmed, Member, BOT, NSU. The session was chaired by Professor Dr. Gour Gobinda Goswami, VC (In-Charge), NSU and the welcome speech was delivered by Professor Dr. Javed Bari, Chair, CEED, NSU. 

A special address was delivered by the Dean, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Professor Dr. Md. Sirajul Islam, who was the founding chairman of CEED and played a pioneering role in its initiation and establishment in the summer of 2013.

The Technical Session followed till noon, where Rehana Rahman, Member, BOT, NSU was the chief guest. This session featured informational and inspirational presentations about civil engineering topics by the aforementioned guests.

The whole campus on that day was alive to the many different facades of the civil engineering field. The organisers set out to show the guests and prospective engineers the quality of education at CEED and its many facilities and the viewers were impressed with what they saw.

The most intriguing parts of the event began after a short lunch break with the Breakout Sessions, featuring a photo exhibition by university students, science Olympiad by school and college students, case study analysis by university students, and a poster and project presentation by students of all levels. The segments took place at different venues across the campus, so students and invited guests witnessing them were aplenty. Students from SFX Green Herald, South Breeze School, and teams from NSU, AUST, BUET and SUST presented innovative ideas on how to develop a sustainable infrastructure for Bangladesh. 

Minister for Housing and Public Works, Engineer Mosharraf Hossain was the chief guest and M.A. Kashem, Chairman, BOT, NSU was the guest of honour at the closing ceremony. Engineer Md. Kabir Ahmed Bhuiyan, President of IEB and Chief Engineer of PWD; Major General Md. Abdul Quadir, Commandant, Military Institute of Technology; Professor Dr. A.M.M. Safiullah, VC, AUST and Professor Dr. Ainun Nishat, Professor Emeritus of the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research & Ex-VC, BRAC University was also present.

The event concluded with a cultural performance by the students of CEED. The true joy of successfully hosting an auspicious event was clearly audible in the cheers of the crowd. In the end, Artcell rocked the campus and brought the curtains down on the programme.

"CIVILFEST" was sponsored by BSRM, PMG, Amin Jewellers and Adex Group. SHOUT was the English print media partner of the event.

Kazi Akib Bin Asad is a man of many talents most of which are publicly known but what you won't hear about is his career in ping pong activities. He has many awards in ping pong activities. Mail Kazi Akib Bin Asad your ping pong at akib.asad@gmail.com