A ten-day professional development training programme for senior faculty members from public and private universities commenced on Tuesday at the Rural Development Academy (RDA) in Bogura.
Organised under the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) Project of the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC), sixty Profs and associate Profs from various universities are participating in the first two batches of the programme.
UGC Member Prof Dr Masuma Habib inaugurated the programme as the chief guest, while HEAT Project Director Prof Dr Md Rakibul Hoque chaired the inaugural ceremony. Prof Dr Laila Noor Islam, Dean of the University Teachers Training Academy, attended the event as the special guest.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Guest Prof Dr Masuma Habib said that the professional connections formed during the training would generate broader opportunities for joint research and academic collaboration among universities.
She urged the participants to implement their learnings at their respective institutions and actively support the professional development of their junior colleagues.
In his presiding address, HEAT Project Director Prof Dr Md Rakibul Hoque described the launch as a milestone for higher education in Bangladesh, noting that it marks the first professional development training programme for senior university faculty initiated by the UGC under the HEAT Project.
He emphasised that the initiative would solidify collaboration between faculty members of public and private universities while enabling institutions to learn from one another’s good practices.
Citing an example of cross-disciplinary teamwork involving researchers from robotics, fine arts, and business, Prof Hoque noted that bringing a new technology to market requires complementary expertise in product design and marketing. He expressed hope that the networks built during the training would foster similar interdisciplinary research in the future.
Special Guest Prof Dr Laila Noor Islam highlighted that six training modules were developed jointly with the British Council in preparation for the faculty development programme. She informed the gathering that 15 master trainers and 21 national trainers had undergone training supported by international experts, and she invited participants to provide specific feedback to help improve the modules for senior faculty.
RDA Director and Course Director Dr Md Abid Hossain Mridha and RDA Director Md Delwar Hossain also addressed the ceremony. Officials and consultants from the HEAT Project and RDA, alongside trainers and participating faculty members, were present at the event.
