TEDxBUET recently for the second time organised an event that brought stories of people who are successful in life. The event chronicles the tales of those who made the impossible possible, those who turned the unthinkable into the quotidian.

Among others spoke at the event were Akram Khan, former Bangladesh cricket team captain, Nishat Mazumder, first Bangladeshi woman to scale Mount Everest, Major General Abu Sayeed Md. Masud, Chairman of Jolshiri Abashon, Atiqul Islam, Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation, and Dr. Celia Shahnaz, Chair of IEEE Bangladesh Section and Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, BUET.

The attendees were greeted by TEDxBUET Moderator Dr. MD Sabbir Mostafa Khan, Co-Moderator  Dr. Celia Shahnaz, Climate Change researchers and TEDxBUET Co-Moderator Sania Binte Mahtab, licensee Maftahul Islam and Co-Organiser Alif Al Arefin Prodhan.

Climate Change researchers and TEDxBUET Co-Moderator Sadia Binte Mahtab spoke about the glorious journey of TEDxBUET.

She said, ‘TEDxBUET covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. TEDxBUET deals with sharing stores of people successful in their respective fields. We are organising the event for the second time. This year we will listen to the stories of five successful Bangladeshi nationals.’   

Akram Khan receives crest from EDxBUET Co-Moderator Sania Binte Mahtab.

Akram Khan, one of the former Bangladesh cricket team captain and currently the chairman of Cricket Operations Committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board and one of the  the Board of Directors of the BCB, said: ‘18 years ago on a cold day in Northampton, England in ICC World Cup. One run-out caused a crazy crowd flooding the pitch- all roaring for the glory of Bangladesh, for the hard-earned victory against Pakistan. This is a memory that remains engraved in the minds of millions of Bangladeshis and will remain this way forever.’

And another name went up with that match in history, and it was Akram Khan’s, who scored the highest run (42) for Bangladesh. Just two years prior to the historic match, Bangladesh had defeated Kenya by 2 wickets in the final of Trophy in Kuala Lampur, a match that went down to the wire, securing the champions title. Akram Khan was the captain of the Bangladesh side then. At the time when winnings came rare, his aggressive performance ensured Bangladesh were triumphant over few other teams.

Nishat Mazumder, the first Bangladeshi woman to scale Mount Everest, said, ‘I reached there with the help of three Sherpas – Lakpa Sherpa, Pemba Dorje Sherpa, Mingma Sherpa. I reached the northern side of the mountain with the team on 19 May 2012. We all love to take challenges and explore new things. But what we need is to have a lot of courage and even more patience. It took me almost ten years of preparation before she attempted to climb the Everest. I joined the Bangladesh Mountaineering and Trekking Club (BMTC) and ever since then went on expeditions with the other members of the organization. I received official training from 2007 at the Darjeeling Mountaineering Club in India. I climbed the ‘Singu Chuli’ of the Himalayas in 2008, following which, I took part in a number of expeditions. I also took part in the Manaslu peak expedition in 2011.’

Nishat received Anannya Top Ten Awards in 2008.

Major General Abu Sayed Mohammad Masud is a BUET graduate who has been involved several different national engineering projects as well as those in the Bangladesh Army where he has served for as many as 35 years.

He said, ‘I’m the current chairman of Jolshiri Abashon and have been assigned the role of project director in several engineering projects, namely Mirpur-Airport Road Flyover Project, Padma Multipurpose pridge project, reconstruction of Pochoboti-Mukhterpur Road Link project in 2012, Mehgna-Gomti Bridge Rehabilitation Project between 2012 and 2013. Besides road and construction I worked for environment and civic amenities related project such as integrated development of Hatirjheel Area including Begunbari Khal Project.’

Atiqul Islam is a successful businessman and the current mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation. He also served as the president of BGMEA during 2013-14.

Atiqul Islam said: ‘I started the business in the garment sector of Bangladesh by establishing Islam Garments. During playing my role, as the president of BGMEA I played a part in banning child labor in the garments industry. I’m serving as the President of the Centre of Excellence for Bangladesh Apparel Industry, which is responsible for improving the labor situation and product quality of Bangladesh in garment sectors. I established several hospitals around the Dhaka city for better treatment of garments worker. I have received Commercial Important Person (CIP) award for three times. I was awarded eight times from Walmart as a most successful entrepreneur.’

Atiqul Islam has received the IEB award from the honourable Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, and also became a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE), London, UK, a feat he achieved for his numerous contributions in the field of engineering.

Another speaker at the event was Dr. Celia Shahnaz. She currently is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, BUET and is serving as the 2018-19 Chair of IEEE Bangladesh Section. She is the recipient of Bangladesh-Academy of Science gold model for her contribution in science and Engineering in Bangladesh. Recently, her papers have received best paper award of biomedical Engineering track at TENCON 2017.

She is also the founder and coordinator of FLASH, a special interest group on Humanitarian Technology (SIGHT) in IEEE Bangladesh Section. In 2018, in order to ensure clean water for Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh, she has conceptualized the project “Bringing Life Back to Rohingya” as a primary applicant. She has served as leader of several humanitarian technology-based projects for deaf, dumb, blind people and autistic children.

She is the Founding Chair of WIE Affinity Group, IEEE Bangladesh Section and is currently acting as an advisor and Chair. She has served as the Co-chair in IEEE WIE Global Summit 2016 at Bangalore as well as the program Chair. She is the founder and organizer of IEEE Signal Processing and IEEE Industrial Applications societies of Bangladesh Chapters.

The event was well attended by students, teachers, business personalities among others. 

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x means independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.