‘Student to Start-Up’ competition begins

‘Student to Start-Up’ competition for university students began on Friday to find out young entrepreneurs having innovative ideas as they can contribute to the country’s development.

Leading youth platform ‘Young Bangla’ and Innovation Design and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA) project under ICT Division arranged the competition with starting it at Daffodil International University (DIU) as the contest will be held at different dates at 40 universities, reports BSS.

Students of all public and private universities across the country can contest the competition by registering their names under 40 selective university categories visiting startupbangladesh.gov.bd/student-to- startup/ till May 3 while the registration process was introduced on March 8 last.

With the slogan of ‘My innovation, My Dream’, the Young Bangla, under the auspices of Centre for Research and Information (CRI) is supervising the competition.

“Students of any university can apply to contest the competition as they have to register their names under 40 university categories,” CRI Associate Coordinator Engineer Tonmoy Ahmed said on Friday.

He said students of several universities already registered their names as every team will be formed consisting of three members, adding single student can also participate in the competition.

Ahmed said from the participants, three teams will be chosen from each university and some 120 teams will be qualified from 40 universities in the process. Later a national start-up camp will be held at Savar with those teams.

He said from those, audience and judge will select 30 teams which will take part in final competition of the ‘Student to Startup: Chapter 1’.

In final competition, 10 start-up teams will be selected as winners and each team will get money, advice and all kind of support to implement their innovative ideas and rest of 20 teams will be selected for being groomed, he added.

Project director of IDEA Syed Mojibul Haque said Startup Bangladesh Limited will invest Taka one crore for potential start-up teams which will have product value.

“We are working to find out entrepreneurs to help them implement their potential initiatives. We are preparing next generation for the future,” he said.

On March 15 in 2018, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between country’s biggest youth network ‘Young Bangla’ and IDEA project of ICT Division.

In 2009, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the Vision 2021 to build a digital Bangladesh.

The competition will be held at different dates at various universities. Those are Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology (AUST) (Schedule is yet to be confirmed), American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) (March 20 & 21), Asian University for Women (AUW) (April 12 & 13), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University(BSMRSTU) (March 20 & 21), Bangladesh Agricultural University(BAU) (April 21 & 22), Bangladesh Army University of Engineering and Technology(BAUET) (March 24 & 25), Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT)(April 15 & 16), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology(BUET)(May 2 & 3), Bangladesh University of Professionals(BUP) (April 17 & 18), Bangladesh University of Textiles(BUTex) (April 25 & 26).

Barisal University (BU) (March 29 & 30), Begum Rokeya University (BRU) (April 8 & 9), BRAC University (BRACU) (March 27 & 28), Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET) (April 10 & 11), Comilla University (April 2 & 3), DAFFODIL International University (DIU) (March 15 & 16), Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology (April 4 & 5), East West University(EWU) (March 18 & 19), Feni University(FU) (April 4 & 5), Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science & Technology University(HSTU) (April 10 & 11), Independent University, Bangladesh(IUB) (March 18 & 19), Islamic University of Technology(IUT) (April 23 & 24) and Jahangirnagar University(JU) (April 28 & 29).

Jessore University of Science and Technology(JUST) (March 27 and 28), Khulna University of Engineering & Technology(KUET) (April 19 & 20) Khulna University(KU) (March 24 & 25), Leading University(LU) (April 26 & 27), Military Institute of Science and Technology(MIST) (April 21 & 22), Mymensingh Medical College(MMC) (April 19 & 20), North South University(NSU) (April 1 & 2), Pabna University of Science and Technology(PUST) (April 13 & 15), Patuakhali Science and Technology University(PSTU) (March 31 & April 1) and Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology(RUET) (April 16 & 17).

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology(SUST) (April 23 & 24), Sher-E-Bangla Agriculture university(SAU) (April 30 & May 2), University of Asia Pacific(UAP) (April 29 & 30), University of Chittagong(CU) (April 8 & 9) , University of Dhaka(DU) (March 30 & 31), University of Rajshahi (RU) (March 22 & 23), University of Science and Technology Chittagong(USTC) (April 6 & 7).