IT Skilled Workforce To Be Developed For A Prosperous Bangladesh: Sajeeb Wazed Joy

"We have a dream to build a prosperous Bangladesh ..... That is why we are implementing ICT-oriented programmes to develop IT efficient people towards making a technologically advanced country" he told a laptop distribution function among poor and meritorious students at the auditorium of Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) here.

State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Atiur Rahman, ICT Secretary Shayam Sundar Sikdar, Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University AAMS Arefin Siddique, Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Prof Khaleda Ekram, Acting Vice Chancellor of Shahjalal Science and Technology University Prof Dr Elias Uddin Biswas and Chairman of Exim Bank Nazrul Islam, among others, addressed the function.

Senior officials of different government organizations, teachers, bankers, IT experts and students, among others, were present.

Joy said, "I see huge potential in our young generation ..... We should give them proper education and ICT knowledge for flourishing their talents."

Referring to Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook innovation, he said, "I believe that members of our young generation posses similar talents. If adequate facilities are available, you (young generation) will be able to invent such popular innovation in the field of ICT."

As part its massive digitization efforts, Joy said, the government has set up nearly 5,500 digital centres, significant number of multimedia classrooms and IT labs at educational institutions to supplement the endeavors to build "Digital Bangladesh" by 2021.

Highlighting various remarkable progresses of the Awami League government, he said, "The Awami League government deserves appreciation as it has ensured access of common people to internet facilities as well as it is implementing many ICT-based programmes to expedite the journey of building Digital Bangladesh."

"We have a plan to set up WiFi zone on all campuses of universities and some educational institutions have already brought under Wifi zones," the ICT advisor said adding the government wants to provide ICT facilities to the young learners to acquire knowledge to build themselves as good citizens in the country.

"We just start to provide laptops to students under the One Student One laptop project .... The Initiatives of giving laptop among the students will continue in future to build a digitized country," he added.

In line with its plan to build Digital Bangladesh as chartered out in the 'Vision-2021', the government put thrust on the use of ICT for improving productivity, governance, service delivery and on the development of IT industry, Palak said.

He said Bangladesh is already enjoying the advantage of demographic dividend and it has huge potentiality to get benefit from demographic dividend as youths make up significant number of the total population.

"We are implementing a number of ICT-based programnmes to educate youngsters in both urban and rural areas to maximize the benefit of ICT to gain economic prosperity of the country," he added.

Under the One student One Laptop Project, 500 laptops financed by Exim Bank will be given among the poor and meritorious students of different universities. Of the total, 250 laptops were distributed among students today.

Photo: Saiful Islam Kallol