Awami League's call for research papers on 4IR draws an overwhelming response

The call for submission of research, a first-of-its-kind initiative placed by Awami League's subcommittee on science and technology which is themed on the fourth industrial revolution drew an overwhelming response with papers submitted by globally and nationally acclaimed academics and experts.

As many as 578 authors have come up with their research papers encompassing different fields revolving 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) in Education Technology, mostly to complement the party's effort to build on the pledge of "Smart Bangladesh", the next phase of digital transformation the government seeks to implement to address future challenges.

Among them are researchers from Silicon Valley IT company, Texas Arlington University, USA, Boston, London Imperial College, Australia Monash University, Macmaster and Calgary University, Canada and Kyoto University, Japan.

Set to be held next month, the two-day international conference would see participation from the country's state minister for ICT Junaid Ahmed Palak and Engineer Md Abdus Sabur, AL's Science and Technology Secretary among other experts, and will take place at the capital's Engineers' Institution, Bangladesh (IEB).

The international conference provides a unique opportunity for professionals, scientists, engineers, educators, researchers and students to share their views and thoughts on both the innovative drives of the government to 4IR and exploring emerging technologies that can lead to accomplishing smart Bangladesh by 2041 and implementing a hundred-year Delta Plan.

Calling Bangladesh a role model for sustainable growth through digitization, the organizers believe the country is progressing rapidly and to address the course of future progress such initiatives stand as a pointer to the party's strive for chartering out timely ideas to shape its visions.

"For other political parties including the likes of BNP and other parties, arranging any event of such magnitude, has been completely absent and their sordid record of wholesale corruption in national projects during their reign in power put the credibility at stake already," the organizers added.

Even Begum Zia, who stands convicted of miss-appropriation of money meant for orphans, still BNP's chief, deprived Bangladesh of getting connected to submarine cable when BNP was ruling the country under her leadership, a move that prevented the country's digital drive for a long time.

Thanks to Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the ICT affairs advisor to PM, who has been credited with the country's real and measurable gains in the digital landscape with setting many records from making the internet cost-effective, taking public services at people's doorstep, setting up a raft of ICT parks, expansion of financial mobile services, over the space of a decade, Bangladesh now boasts of a significant earning from overseas through offering different services.

Digital Bangladesh, a vision introduced by AL before the 2008 national election, seeks to bring significant revolution to the country's overall rise as a rising star in South Asia.

"In a word, this is our one step forward towards our work on 4IR and we believe that this conference will give us a chance to make inter and intra relations and share knowledge among policymakers, scientists, and researchers. The conference will help to build a knowledge-based and technology-based society," Abdus Sabur said.