Photo: Collected
The University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC) is preparing a ‘Cross-Border Higher Education Policy’ to internationalise higher education and further connect the country’s higher education with the global education system.
Under the proposed policy, an initiative is being taken to give internationally recognised and quality foreign universities the opportunity to run branch campuses or study centres in Bangladesh, and also to give the country’s qualified and quality universities the opportunity to operate branch campuses abroad.
UGC Chairman Prof Dr Mamun Ahmed said this when a delegation from UCSI University came to pay a courtesy call on him on Sunday.
Prof Dr Mamun Ahmed said the matter of giving internationally recognised and quality foreign universities the opportunity to run branch campuses in Bangladesh will be considered in the proposed policy. However, the quality of education, the academic environment, good governance and protection of students’ interests will be given the highest priority. Approved foreign universities will have to ensure education equivalent to that of their main campuses.
He said initiatives to launch academic programmes in modern and in-demand subjects will be encouraged, keeping in mind the demand for new and future-oriented knowledge and skills in the country’s higher education. In particular, universities will have to play a more effective role in creating skilled manpower in technology, artificial intelligence, data science, cyber security, robotics, renewable energy and other emerging fields.
The UGC chairman also said qualified private universities will soon be permitted to run PhD programmes in consideration of the country’s needs and capacity.
Prof Dr Mamun Ahmed said initiatives are being taken to increase scholarships, internships, joint research, joint degrees and other academic cooperation between the country’s universities and the world’s quality universities. Through this, Bangladesh’s students and teachers will get more opportunities in the international academic arena, and the internationalisation of the country’s higher education will be accelerated.
Seeking UCSI’s cooperation in setting up branch campuses of Bangladesh’s quality universities in Malaysia, the UGC chairman said, ‘We are interested in working together. The UGC wants to create the necessary scope for cooperation so that the country’s universities can expand their academic activities in the international arena.’
The UCSI University representatives expressed interest in further expanding the institution’s activities in Bangladesh. For this, they expect approval to run various academic programmes and permission to award PhD degrees. Alongside this, they also spoke of their interest in launching scholarships, joint degrees and other academic activities for Bangladeshi students.
UCSI proposed setting reasonable tuition fees and tuition fee waivers for Bangladeshi students. The delegation also sought the UGC’s cooperation in admitting foreign students to the institution’s campus in Bangladesh.
Besides, UCSI expressed interest in joining the UGC’s foreign scholarship programme for Bangladeshi teachers. Under this, cooperation on tuition fee waivers for Bangladeshi teachers was also mentioned.
At the meeting, UGC Chairman Prof Dr Mamun Ahmed was invited to UCSI University’s convocation to be held in Malaysia in December.
The 10-member delegation, led by UCSI University President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah binti Tapsir, paid the call. At the time, UGC Secretary Dr Md Fakhrul Islam, Director of the ICC Division Dr Md Sultan Mahmud Bhuiyan, Md Ariful Bari Mazumder, chairman of Insight Institute of Learning and senior vice-president of UCSI University Bangladesh Branch Campus, and Professor Dr Mohammad Khushairi bin Mohammad Rajuddin, pro-vice-chancellor of UCSI University Bangladesh Branch Campus, along with the officials concerned, were present.
UCSI University is a private university of Malaysia. It has a branch campus in Banani, Dhaka.
