A webinar titled “Research in Higher Education: Bangladesh Perspective” was arranged by the Department of English of Northern University Bangladesh NUB) on Sunday, July 05, 2020 at 08:00 pm.

Professor Dr. Anwar Hossain, vice-chancellor of NUB, graced the event as the chief guest.

A number of discussants took part in the online seminar and expressed their views on the contribution of research in the progress of higher education sector in Bangladesh. In addition, they discussed the present scenario of the higher education field in Bangladesh, along with the importance of undertaking empirical research for sustainable development of the nation. 

The moderator of the webinar, Mohammad Jashim Uddin, assistant professor & head, Department of English, NUB, started the webinar by questioning the scopes and limitations of research in the higher education sector of Bangladesh.

The keynote speaker of the webinar, Mohammad Kamal Hossain, PhD, ACCA, chairman, Department of Accounting & Information Systems, Jashore University of Science and Technology, started his speech stating the importance of research at the tertiary level of education. He then pointed out the absence of research-based education (at both degree colleges and universities) in Bangladesh. After that he mentioned some London-based colleges like London School of Economics and Political Science, Imperial College London, King's College London and University College London to reveal how research has assisted these institutions to ascend in the world university rankings. He then emphasized on the importance of undertaking research works both by the university teachers and students. At that point, he added that the teachers should engage and assist their senior students in diverse research projects.

While asked by the moderator about the limited scope of research at the Bangladeshi universities, the honourable chief guest of the session, Professor Dr. Anwar Hossain, vice-chancellor of NUB, replied that the ethical responsibilities of the university teachers do not end in giving lectures and doing research for themselves. They should also include the students in their work and guide them as mentors. He then added that the developed countries focus on project-based education from the primary level and the individual minds that get structured in such an outcome-based education system grow up with a critical mindset which inspires them to pursue further researches at the tertiary level of education. Taking into account of the current global pandemic, he also said that people had now realized the importance of research more than ever and even the very existence of human civilization would depend on the outcomes of the ongoing research works. Finally, he added that by establishing a firm union between the industries and the higher-educational institutions of a country, the limitations of funding could be curtailed by a significant margin.

Then the session came to its climax with the remarks of the moderator in which he said that the Department of English of Northern University Bangladesh (NUB), had already included the course ‘Research Methodology’ in its Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English Language & Literature (ELL) curriculum with a view to engaging students in research and the department was looking forward to arranging a workshop on research methods very soon.

The session ended with a concluding remark by the moderator in which he, on behalf of the NUB family, expressed his earnest gratitude to the respected guest speakers for sparing their valuable time with him.