'Curricula should be tailored to match national, global requirements'

State University of Bangladesh (SUB) values academic freedom and lively discourse. We believe that curricula should be tailored to the needs of the time and may be modified to match national and international requirements. Our goal is to play a leading role in the realm of higher education by producing skilled global citizens, said Professor Dr Md Anwarul Kabir, vice-chancellor of SUB, in an interview with The Business Standard (TBS).

What is the vision of your university?

The vision of SUB is to create human resources who are qualified enough for working on global platforms.

Do you think you have achieved your goal in line with your vision?

Achieving quality is a never-ending journey. SUB is leaving no stone unturned to develop both hard and soft skills among its students through its updated curriculum as well as co-curricular activities.

What is the achievement of the university till now?

The graduates of SUB are well-placed in various industries both at home and abroad. I feel proud to tell you that a number of graduates from the Department of Pharmacy, Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), and Food Engineering and Technology have been working in the US, Japan and some western countries. 

Besides, graduates from the Department of Law have drawn the attention of Bangladesh's legal community by registering tremendous success in the Bangladesh Bar Council enrollment examination.

Furthermore, our graduates from the Department of Architecture, Department of English Studies and Department of Business have been working in different industries with due reputation.

Last but not the least, SUB alumni from the Department of Environmental Science and the Department of Public Health have proved their worth both at home and abroad.

What is the speciality of your university?

We always place the highest emphasis on refreshing the skills of our students in accordance with the needs of the business environment. 

We bring up our students in such a manner that they always remain employable in the context of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).

Are you producing market-oriented graduates? And do you have any initiative to link the graduates to the industry?

Yes, of course, we do. At SUB, we have a very capable 'Career Guidance and Placement Office' which is responsible for identifying suitable employment for current students.

In that direction, we have engaged ourselves with appropriate discourse with the leading business conglomerate of the country so that we can harvest the maximum dividend from Industry-Academia collaboration.

Why will students choose your University for admission?

Millennials and the new-generation youngsters are seeking university admission, not to mention that most of them have access to the digital world and hence they understand the potentialities of the graduates of different universities better.

As I have already said, our students are proof of our quality. This is the only reason why new-generation youngsters get attracted to SUB.

What challenges do you face? 

We cannot deny a number of challenges that we might face in the near and distant future. First, potential new entrants in the private university sector are triggering cut-throat competition among the existing private universities in Bangladesh.

Second, private universities have only a single source of revenue, which is tuition fees. So, the rise and fall of admission are very sensitive to the number of admissions being ensured every semester. During the Covid-19 pandemic, almost all private universities suffered grossly from financial distress.

What is the future plan of the university?

SUB has already established its permanent campus in South Purbachal (adjacent to Kanchan Bridge). Currently, we are constructing a dormitory for the students over there.

In addition, we are planning to develop two more academic buildings which have already been ratified by our master plan.

Do you think that education migration can be reduced by the existing education system at private universities?

Certainly. Had there been no opportunity for students to get admission into different private universities, they would have pursued higher education abroad.

So, undoubtedly, private universities in Bangladesh are making a tremendous contribution to Bangladesh's economy by saving its precious foreign exchange.