Volume III, Issue VII
30th June, 2019
Summer XlX
British High Commissioner to Bangladesh visits BracU Israr Hasan Journalist Honourable Vice Chancellor of Brac University, Professor Vincent Chang, had a meeting with the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Robert Chatterton Dickson, and the British Council Deputy Director, Andrew Newton, on the 30th of April. Robert Chatterson Dickson had recently taken up the job of the British High Commissioner in March. The meeting took place at the Brac University premises when Mr. Dickson and Mr. Newton paid a visit to the Mohakhali campus. During the meeting, Professor Vincent once again reaffirmed his goal of setting an international standard for Brac University and its students. He said that BracU will be the first and top choice for institutions in the United Kingdom seeking to have fruitful collaboration here in Bangladesh, for they all share the same vision of creating open minded and driven students. The trio’s meeting lasted for almost two and a half hours where the Vice Chancellor gave an outline of the vision that Brac University holds and how it has advanced the development of tertiary education in Bangladesh since its establishment in the year 2001. An overview was presented to the guests during the BracU VC with the British envoy meeting as to what Brac University is and what its core values mean. Brac University is one of the leading private universities in the country and in this year’s QS Asian University rankings, it sealed its spot as one of the leading universities in Asia- being part of the top 300. On top of that, the university has made strides in ensuring that the best education is being provided to the students who come from remote areas as well, both local and international. Professor Vincent assured the guests that Brac University is willing to join hands and embark on new and effective partnerships since the university is constantly paving new roads to becoming a globally acknowledged academic institution. The meeting also explored new possible and exciting areas of association that would be aided by both the British High Commission and British Council, two institutions that have played a major role in the development and advancement of education here in Bangladesh. All three parties agreed that there were ample opportunities for coordination and collaboration that would be fruitful for the country and its burgeoning educational system at large.
Introducing OBE curriculum
Share the Story
Jahin Kaiissar Journalist Traditional classroom settings are mostly teacher-centered. It is common that the teacher stands front and center, gives lectures, and feeds information to the students while the students passively receive the information and regurgitate it back on tests. The problem with these settings is that students often find themselves struggling to truly digest and understand the information. This is why, starting summer 2019, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) of Brac University has adapted Outcome-Based Education (OBE) curriculum in order to make learning more student-centered with more emphasis given on the outcomes of the courses or lessons taught. On May 9th, the CSE Department held a hands-on faculty workshop that focused on OBE based CSE/CS course outline design and learning activities. More than 60 faculty members participated in the workshop which was conducted by OBE coordinator Dr. Md. Motaharul Islam, Associate Professor, CSE. Starting with an introduction from the Chairperson of the CSE Department, Professor Dr. M. A. Mottalib, and concluding with a speech by the Pro-Vice Chancellor of BRACU, Professor Dr. Mohammad Tamim, the workshop managed to successfully introduce OBE and establish a common course outline format that reflects a refined instructional system. OBE is a model of education that organizes instruction, assessment, and the curriculum in general around what is essential for all students to be able to achieve successfully at the end of their learning experiences. This is done by framing specific Program Outcomes (PO) which are short term outcomes (at the point of graduation) describing what students are expected to know and be able to perform and clearly stated Course Outcomes (CO) which address the abilities to be attained by students upon the completion of a subject or course. In their course outlines, teachers must make sure that every CO complies with one or more PO of the program. In addition, they must determine assessment measures that will enable students to achieve the desired outcomes. These outcomes help to fulfill the objective of completion of a degree. Furthermore, OBE is conducive in equipping students with the knowledge, skills, and Pro VC along with CSE faculty members at qualities needed to tackle challenges beyond the OBE workshop the university setting.
Maisha Farzana Journalist “Share the Story,” a book donation program, was initiated by BRAC University Natural Sciences Club (BUNSC) between 19 and 29 May. Donation boxes were set up at the 15th floor of building 2 and the lobby of building 6 as club members collected books from 9 am to 3 pm. Encouraging people to give away old and unnecessary books, BUNSC plans to contribute the donated books to help grow, diversify and enrich the library at a school by Its Humanity Foundation (IHF) for underprivileged children. Although the program mainly focused on story books and rhymes for grades 1 to 6, books for all ages and all genres were received. Receiving over 60 books on the very first day, the club has been amazed with the response of the students, teachers and staff members. As a token of gratitude, all donors were appreciated and thanked with a coupon for the store Cream & Fudge Bangladesh. With a total of 575 books accumulated over 10 days, a group of BUNSC members will visit the school at Tongi to help distribute the books among the students, scheduled after Eid-ul-Fitr.