'Connecting Minds and Creating the Future via sustainability, mobility, and opportunity'- this was the theme of Expo 2020 Dubai. Expo 2020 Dubai was initially planned for 20th October 2020 to 10th April 2021. However, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and started in October 2021. The expo will continue till 31st March 2022. The participation of 192 countries, makes the expo the most international and inclusive, as commented by Maha Al-Gargawi, an Expo 2020 Dubai spokesperson.
This Expo occurs once every five years. The location of the expo is near Dubai's southern border with Abu Dhabi. It is organised around a central plaza, and the expo is enclosed by three large sub- thematic districts dedicated to opportunity, mobility, and sustainability. Each section has a different theme and different vision. The Bangladesh Pavilion could be found in the sustainability district with the theme of transformation and empowerment, illustrating the transformational growth of Bangladesh from an agrarian economy to a robust export-led country.
As a subsidiary organ of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Islamic University of Technology (IUT) was invited to the expo. This was an opportunity for the university to participate in a global event and present the quality of the university’s students, education, and extracurricular activities. The event lasted five days, from 24th January to 28th January. IUT Photographic Society and IUT Mars Rover were also invited to showcase their potential and ingenuity. In the expo, the honorable Pro-Vice-Chancellor Omar Jah and other respected faculty members Dr. Shakil Mohammad Rifaat, Dr. Md. Anayet Ullah Patwari and Protocol Officer Nahidul Islam Prodhan were present. From the student side, the president of IUT Photographic Society, SadmanAfif, and the Team Lead of IUT Mars Rover, Sami Hasan were there.
In the expo, the university opened up its admission and information corner. Research showcasing was also arranged from 25th-26th January. Several cinematic videos of IUT were also put to play along with videos on cultural activities and student’s festivals. The visual presentations focused on the university's role in preparing the Ummahs of the future. This also paved the path to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing of IUT with the University of Sharjah, a prominent university in the United Arab Emirates known for its learning style and global vision. The MoU was signed on 25th January 2022 at the University of Sharjah campus. The MoU will facilitate the exchange of faculty, researchers, staff, joint international workshops, conferences, joint research activities, joint supervision of Masters and Ph. D. students, and so on. The Honorable Pro-Vice-Chancellor of IUT, Dr. Omar Jah, signed the MoU on behalf of the university while Prof. Youssef Al Haik, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs represented the University of Sharjah.
IUT Photographic Society (IUTPS) organized a photography exhibition showcasing more than 30 handpicked photographs. Even though it was only for five days, the whole event piqued the interest of more than 500 visitors. Not only that, the photographic society displayed their year-round activities from the international photo exhibition 'Break The Circle Series,' an intra-photography exhibition 'Pronoia,' to 'Photo Adda,' with outstanding visuals. IUT Mars Rover presented their Rover "Anirban” on 26th January in the presence of H.E. Mr. Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Mars rover has previously earned fame from international competitions like European Rover Challenge (ERC), University Rover Challenge (URC), and many more.
The Honorable Pro-Vice-Chancellor presented 'Climate justice: A comparative legal perspective' from the expo on 26th January. This session was broadcasted live from the expo on the IUT official Facebook page. In the presentation, he raised his concerns about climate change and how OIC & IUT could help bring about change for the better good. In the presentation, he said, "In a nutshell, this talk is an attempt to bring out the alternative problem-solving mechanisms of climate change. The present conventional legal system doesn't yet have the mechanism to solve this problem. OIC being the second-largest world organization, can come in with the legal and ethical frameworks to solve this problem."
These programs on the expo by IUT were a unified effort from the university authority, team IUTPS, and IUT Mars Rover. Upon interviewing ShadmanAfif, the president of IUTPS, he said, "As this was the first time we were allowed to showcase our creative talents in a global affair, we wanted everything to go as per plan. By the grace of Almighty, it was great to showcase our hard work and talents." The lead of IUT Mars Rover, Sami Hasan, said, "It was challenging to bring the whole mars rover from Bangladesh via cargo. But even more, it was to assemble the entire machine. However, we were able to successfully showcase the rover."
The writer is an undergraduate student at IUT. He can be reached at
