IEEE Student Branch at BRAC University organized a day long workshop on Electronics and Communication to commemorate the 125th anniversary of IEEE on Sunday, 14th of June, 2009. The workshop was held in the Indoor Games Room at the Mohakhali campus of BRACU.

Dr. A K M Abdul Malek Azad, Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at BRACU and also the counselor of IEEE Student Branch at BRACU delivered the welcome note.

The inauguration speech was given by Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, Pro Vice Chancellor of BRACU. In his speech, Dr. Ahmed thanked the Branch Counselor and student members of the student branch who volunteered and worked to organize this workshop at BRACU. Dr. Ahmed also requested engineers to work towards making technology cheap and affordable so that the lower income groups of society can benefit from the technological developments. Prof. Aynal Haque, Chairperson, IEEE Bangladesh Section gave a short speech thanking members at BRACU for taking up such an initiative.

The actual workshop was divided into three sessions. The first session, the Electronics session, started by a lecture on Laser Technology by Prof. Mohammad Rezwan Khan, Vice Chancellor, United International University. Prof. Khan talked about basics of laser technology and its applications in various sectors including surgery and communications. This was followed by a lecture by Dr. A. B. M. Harun ur-Rashid, a professor of EEE at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, titled “On-chip wireless interconnect – A new Interconnect approach for the ULSI system”. Dr. Harun talked about the need for innovative approaches towards interconnecting chips in face of increasing complexity of integrated circuits. He then demonstrated On-chip wireless interconnect as an alternative to conventional approaches in inter-communication between integrated circuits, and familiarized the audience with the design, circuit diagrams and possible process technology for wireless interconnects.

The second session was on Communication, which started by a lecture titled “Trends and Evolution in the Wireless Industry”, delivered by Mr. Mustafa Mahmud Hussain, Assistant Professor, East West University. Mr. Mustafa talked about trends in the world market, and discussed technologies like HSPA, WiMAX and LTE which are becoming increasingly popular in the world market. The communication session ended by a lecture on ICT Policy and Regulations, delivered by Mr. Muhammad Aslam Hayat who is a regulatory consultant at GrameenPhone. Mr. Hayat pointed out key issues that need consideration when making Policy and Regulatory decisions, and highlighted salient features of the ICT Policy 2009, which was approved by the Cabinet on 30th March, 2009.

The third and last session of the day, the Industry session began by a lecture on the Status of the Electronics Industry of Bangladesh, delivered by Mr. Nurul Aktar, CEO and Director, Enegrypac Electronics. Mr. Aktar presented the current status of the Electronics Industry in Bangladesh, and identified areas where further research and development could be carried out. He also highlighted the barriers and the competitive advantages of the industry in the world market. The last lecture of the day was on “Telecommunication Market Trends and Job Prospects”, delivered by Mr. Hitesh Mehta, Managing Director, Fiber Optika. The lecture was focused on the Indian Telecommunications market, but according to Mr. Mehta, the trends were applicable to Bangladesh also, due to similar social and political backgrounds of the two countries. Mr. Mehta identified key jobs and training facilities available in India and discussed some of the technologies involved. Mr. Mehta then demonstrated a fiber optic training kit, “Light-Runner”, developed by Fiber Optika for both educational and professional training purposes. Mr. Mehta informed the audience of the problems faced by students and professionals in the fast growing fiber optics industry due to zero prior practical experience in handling fiber optic equipment. Absence of proper equipment meant students and incoming professionals in the industry had no prior experience with handling fiber optic equipment and had to be trained from scratch. “Light-Runner” comes with several designed and documented experiments, while more could be developed at the discretion of the instructor.

After the demonstration, Dr. Azad, Branch Counselor, IEEE BRAC University Student Branch, formally declared the workshop closed.