[🇧🇩] Bangladeshi Achievers

[Saif]

Rushanara Ali appointed as under-secretary of state for housing, communities and local govt

Rushanara Ali has been elected from the Bangladeshi-dominated Bethnal Green and Stepney constituency for the fifth time in the 4 July election.

en.prothomalo.com

Rushanara Ali appointed as under-secretary of state for housing, communities and local govt
Saidul IslamLondon
Updated: 10 Jul 2024, 12: 22

Rushanara AlIUK government website

Rushanara Ali has been appointed Britain's' Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, according to the list of minsters published on the UK government website on Tuesday.

She became the second Bangladeshi-origin member of the Labour government cabinet after Tulip Siddiq, who was appointed as the 'City Minster'.

Tulip Siddiq is the granddaughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and daughter of Bangabandhu's younger daughter Sheikh Rehana.

Rushanara Ali has been elected from the Bangladeshi-dominated Bethnal Green and Stepney constituency for the fifth time in the 4 July election.

Rushanara is the first MP of Bangladeshi origin in the UK parliament, first winning in the 2010 election from Tower Hamlets' Bethnal Green and Stepney constituency. Since them, she has been representing the constituency from 2010.

This time she won with 15,896 votes. Despite a drop in her votes compared to previous times, she managed to hold on to this Labour seat. Her close contender was also of Bangladeshi origin, Ajmal Masroor. He secured 14,207 votes.

Since 2010 Rushanara had been the shadow minister for international development. From October 2013 she was appointed shadow state minister for education.

Born in Sylhet, Rushanara came to the UK with her family when she was seven. She earned her Bachelor's degree in philosophy, politics and economy from St John's College in Oxford.​

 

[Saif]

MIST’s Saraf Nawer wins world's largest student architecture competition

MIST's Saraf Nawer wins Inspireli Awards 2024 in architecture.

www.thedailystar.net

MIST’s Saraf Nawer wins world's largest student architecture competition

Photo: Courtesy

Saraf Nawer, a recent graduate from the ARCH-4 batch of the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), has made Bangladesh proud by winning the prestigious 9th Annual Inspireli Awards 2024 in the Architecture category.

The Inspireli Awards is a global competition that celebrates architectural talent among students worldwide, promoting international collaboration across more than 160 countries. The competition provides a platform for young architects to showcase their creativity and vision in fields such as architecture, interior design, landscape, and urban planning.

Saraf's undergrad thesis project, "Tale of an Ocean: Oceanarium Complex at Sonadia", secured her this global recognition. Her project, centred on sustainable and energy-efficient solutions for the ecologically critical area (ECA) of Sonadia, also won two additional international accolades: the People's Choice Award at the International Architecture and Design Thesis Awards (UniATA'24) and an Honourable Mention at the Architectural Thesis Award 2024 by Mango Architecture. Competing against 1,174 projects from 87 countries, Saraf expressed her honour at being the Bangladeshi to wave the country's red and green flag in the world's largest student architecture competition.

"A Tale of an Ocean", envisions an oceanarium complex on Sonadia Island in Bangladesh. The site is home to a delicate ecosystem, featuring mangroves, tidal surges, and complex topographical challenges. Saraf's design includes a saltwater aquarium, freshwater aquarium, dolphinarium, and an ocean heritage museum, all set in harmony with the surrounding Bay of Bengal and mangrove forests.

Faced with environmental challenges like salinity, cyclones, and freshwater scarcity, Saraf introduced energy-efficient, lightweight modular construction methods using sustainable materials. Her design integrates a solar-powered desalination system and rainwater harvesting, aiming for a self-sustaining complex that complements the local ecosystem rather than disrupting it. Instead of isolating marine life, her conscious landscaping invites local species by mapping ideal habitats, creating a symbiotic relationship between architecture and nature.

"To design an aquatecture that addresses and survives the existing site conditions and is also aesthetically and volumetrically pleasing as an oceanarium complex was a challenge for me," recalls Saraf.

However, she tried to address the challenge by designing a structure that is environmentally sustainable and energy efficient in a way that the architecture and nature develop a symbiotic relationship. She also attributes much of her success to the guidance of her studio mentors at MIST – Associate Professor Sudipti Biswas, Assistant Professor Syeda Jafrina Nancy, and Assistant Professor Kazi Zayed Titumir, who played pivotal roles in shaping her architectural vision and execution.

Saraf entered the Inspireli Awards in September 2023, submitting her designs, 3D walkthroughs, and visualisations by July 2024. Finalists were announced in August 2024, and on September 14, 2024, Saraf was announced as the winner in the architecture category. Jury member Martin Dudaško praised her project as "an explosion of great ideas and wonderfully executed shapes", further commending her work for its flawless blending with the unique location and its stunning presentation. The jury described Saraf's submission as evidence of her immense talent and architectural vision.

Fatima Ashraf is a Campus Ambassador for The Daily Star from Military Institute of Science & Technology (MIST).​

 

[Saif]

Bangaldesh maestro Zainul Abedin's painting fetches Tk 8.27 crore at Sotheby’s auction

In a recent auction organised by renowned auction house Sotheby’s in London, United Kingdom, two paintings by the Bangladeshi art maestro ‘Shilpacharya’ Zainul Abedin fetched record prices, the highest for any Bangladeshi artist in history.

www.newagebd.net

Bangaldesh maestro Zainul Abedin's painting fetches Tk 8.27 crore at Sotheby’s auction
United News of Bangladesh . Dhaka 27 September, 2024, 22:04

UNB/ Collected photo

In a recent auction organised by renowned auction house Sotheby’s in London, United Kingdom, two paintings by the Bangladeshi art maestro ‘Shilpacharya’ Zainul Abedin fetched record prices, the highest for any Bangladeshi artist in history.

Sotheby’s, which was founded in London close to 300 years ago but is now headquartered in New York, recently organised an auction in London on Thursday titled ‘Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art’, where these two paintings were auctioned at record prices.

According to Sotheby’s website, one of the two paintings, ‘Untitled,’ was sold for 516,000 GBP, or $692,048, equivalent to Tk 8.27 crore.

This is a work from Zainul’s ‘Monpura 70’ series, which the artist painted in southern Char Monpura after the disastrous cyclone of 1970. Millions of people lost their lives in that cyclone.

The other painting, another of the Shilpacharya’s ‘Untitled (Group of Figures)’ series was sold for US $643,690, which is approximately Tk 7.69 crore.

Both of these original artworks were gifted by Shilpacharya to Cedomil Plazek, a hydrogeologist and representative of Geotehnika Yugoslavia for the United Nations.

He lived in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and for many years worked on the United Nations’ groundwater resources development project, as per the description written on the Sotheby’s website.

During his tenure in Bangladesh, Plazek befriended Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, who gifted him these two paintings, according to the description of these two auctioned paintings.

As per the description, the first painting is an ‘ink and wash on paper’ based work, measured as 54.5 x 74.6 cm (21 3/8 x 29 3/8 in.), signed and dated ‘Zainul / 1970’ and stamped lower right, and executed in 1970. The second painting is an ‘oil on canvas’ artwork, measured as 68 x 153.8 cm (26 ¾ x 60 ½ in.), signed and dated ‘Zainul. 71’ lower right, and painted in 1971.

Besides these two record-setting paintings, a third painting by the art maestro titled ‘Untitled (Figures)’, sold for $289,663, or Tk 3.46 crore.

Back in March this year, Sotheby’s auctioned two record-setting paintings of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin in New York, USA.

One of them was his famous painting ‘Untitled’ (Santal Couple), painted in 1951, and was sold for $381,000. Another painting ‘Untitled,’ created between 1956 and 1963 depicting a woman at rest, was sold for $279,400.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh’s Ifty becomes 1st runner-up at IEEE R10-HTC 2024 Innovation Challenge

Project AgriSage Tech by Rashedul Arefin Ifty from Bangladesh secured the 1st runner-up position at the 12th IEEE Region 10 (Asia-Pacific Region) - Humanitarian Technology Conference 2024 Innovation Challenge held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 1.

www.thedailystar.net

Bangladesh’s Ifty becomes 1st runner-up at IEEE R10-HTC 2024 Innovation Challenge

Rashedul Arefin Ifty, a student of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC), was the sole participant from Bangladesh who advanced through the finals as one of the top three finalists.

Rashedul Arefin Ifty, a student of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC).

Project AgriSage Tech by Rashedul Arefin Ifty from Bangladesh secured the 1st runner-up position at the 12th IEEE Region 10 (Asia-Pacific Region) - Humanitarian Technology Conference 2024 Innovation Challenge held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 1. This innovation challenge is a project-based competition designed for IEEE – Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – students all over the Asia-Pacific region to share their ideas empowering humans with sustainable growth and development.

Rashedul Arefin Ifty, a student of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC), was the sole participant from Bangladesh who advanced through the finals as one of the top three finalists from more than 500 applicants and over 75 accepted projects from all over the ten IEEE Asia-Pacific regions. His AgriSage Tech empowers farmers with weather prediction capabilities, assists in determining proper land use for crop cultivation, and helps predict appropriate harvest periods through a mobile app.

The app combines machine learning algorithms to predict weather and is one of the first of its kind to use machine learning technology in agriculture. The project is still a prototype and when completed, it will provide farmers with technology to plan their crop cultivation according to the weather. Drastic changes in weather can also be easily predicted and preventive measures can be taken accordingly before natural calamities.

Suborno Barua is the Campus Ambassador for The Daily Star from International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC).​

 

[Saif]

Two Bangladeshis become Regional Winners at Global Undergraduate Awards 2024

Shafaet Alam Abir from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and Hasan Shaikh from Northern University of Business and Technology Khulna became the Regional Winners at the 2024 Global Undergraduate Awards (GUA).

www.thedailystar.net

Two Bangladeshis become Regional Winners at Global Undergraduate Awards 2024

The Global Undergraduate Awards logo

Shafaet Alam Abir from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and Hasan Shaikh from Northern University of Business and Technology Khulna became the Regional Winners at the 2024 Global Undergraduate Awards (GUA). Shafaet won the regional award in the "Architecture & Design" category while Hasan won the award in the "Linguistics" category.

Six other Bangladeshi students also received recognition at the GUA 2024 as "Highly Commended Entrants". They include A Myat, Sakib Nasir Khan, and Razin Sachi, all from BUET, in the "Architecture and Design" category; Amreeta Lethe Chowdhury from University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh (ULAB) and Md Tasnim Islam Patwary from Dhaka University (DU) in the "Social Sciences: Anthropology & Cultural Studies" category; and Mehrin Morshed from DU in the "Social Sciences: Sociology & Social Policy" category.

The highest performing "Highly Commended Entrant" in each region is declared a Regional Winner of their respective category. On the other hand, entrants whose paper or project ranked in the top 10 percent of submissions in their respective category, are listed as "Highly Commended Entrants".

The Global Undergraduate Awards is the world's leading undergraduate award programme which recognises top undergraduate work, shares this work with a global audience, and connects students across cultures and disciplines. Every year GUA coordinates an awards programme for penultimate and final year undergraduate students, as well as students who have graduated within the programme year. Entrants can submit their work to one of 25 categories, which represent a broad range of academic disciplines. Their submissions are then anonymously assessed by a panel of international academics and industry leaders.​