International Conference on Energy and Power Engineering (ICEPE) 2019 , which was jointly organized by the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) of Brac University, IEEE Brac UniversityStudent Branch and IEEE Brac University Power and Energy Society with Technical Co-sponsor IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) , was a three day long conference which started on 14th March 2019 and ended on 16th March 2019.The conference took place at Brac CDM, Savar, Dhaka.

Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Energy Advisor to the Prime Minister, inaugurated the conference as a chief guest.His said in his speech that Bangladesh has developed immensely since the percentage of people having access to electricity has doubled in the past ten years.He also looks forward to more collaborations with IEEE Power And Energy Society (PES) and all the others present at the conference for a better future for Bangladesh in the power and energy sector.

Professor Saifur Rahman, President of IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES), talked about the importance and the demand of research papers in this sector which is increasing by the day.He also added that IEEE Power and Energy Society has helped the government of Bangladesh to set up an Energy, Power and Research center and also expects the government to expand and prosper by using the economy growth.

Professor Vincent Chang, Vice Chancellor of Brac University, highlighted the increasing importance of power and energy in a developing country like Bangladesh and also expects the capital city to progress more in the near future.

Professor Shahidul Islam Khan, Chairperson of Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering(EEE) of Brac University and Founder of IEEE Bangladesh Section, gave an opening speech where he emphasised on the importance of bringing researchers , engineers and pioneers in the field of Power and Energy together through conferences like ICEPE.

The conference consisted of four panel sessions, two keynote sessions and six technical sessions.Renowned professors,experts and engineers form USA, UK, China, Australia, India and Bangladesh were present as panelists and moderators at these sessions.

The Panel Session topics were: “Cross-border Power Exchange: Vision, Examples and Technical Issues” and the moderator for this session was Professor Saifur Rahman (President of IEEE Power and Energy Society, PES), “Challenges and Opportunities of Renewable Energy in Developing Countries” and the moderator for this session was Professor Tapan Kumar Saha (University of Queensland,Australia) , “Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Resources” and the moderator for this session was Mr. Siddique Zobair (Member SREDA, MPEMR, GOB) and “Power Engineering Education in Bangladesh” and the moderator for this session was Professor Muhammad Fayyaz Khan (Pro-VC, Green University, Bangladesh).

The Keynote Talks were on “Energy Transition and SGCC’s Practice” by Dr.Yu Jun (State Grid Corporation of China) and “The Evolution of Control Centers For the Electric Power Grid” by Professor Anjan Bose (Washington State University, USA).

The Technical Session was divided into six segments naming: “Photovoltaic I” , “Conventional and Non-Conventional Energy Systems” , “The Photovoltaic II” , “Renewable Energy” , “Smart Grid” and “Power System”. A total of 32 papers were selected from national and international researchers for the Technical Sessions where the authors presented their paper in front of the session chairs and the audience.

In addition, there was a Tutorial Session on Peer-to-Peer energy trading in Bangladesh which was conducted by Mr. Hannes Kirchhoff from MME SOLshare.Here, the students and participants learned about how electricity is accessed by low-income rural people.There was also a session on heavy lifting and engineered transport by the representative of Sarens Bangladesh.

There was also a project showcasing by the students on the third day of the conference.

Three best papers from the technical sessions and two projects from the project showcasing were awarded.The authors and students won prizes and were presented with certificates.A cultural show was organised at the end to represent the beauty and culture of Bangladesh through traditional and folk songs and dances.

Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus, Senior Secretary Power Division, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, GoB joined in the closing ceremony and talked about the research and work possibilities in the Power and Energy sector of Bangladesh.The three day long conference came to an end with group photographs and a vote of thanks by Mohammad Tamim, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Brac University.

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