Noakhali Science and Technology University

History

Former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia laid the foundation stone of Noakhali Science and Technology University on 11 October 2003.

Earlier the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina takes necessary steps to established this university. At 11 July 2001 her government passed a law in the parliament.

Its construction work was formally inaugurated on 24 March 2005. It is the fifth of 12 such universities the government decided in 1997 to establish in the 12 erstwhile greater districts where there was no university.

The aim of founding a science and technology university as defined in the project pro-forma is to mold merit into skilled work force and to develop centers of excellence to create and disseminate knowledge. Innovating new technologies and developing the old ones is one of the research and development (R&D) objectives of these universities.

Campus

Noakhali University of Science and Technology (22'47'31"N,91'06'07"E) is being built at Sonapur, 8 kilometers southwest of Maijdee. It has a land area of 101 acres (0.41 km²) covering 93 Salla and 95 Noakhali Mouza.

The construction of the university is not yet completed. Presently the campus consists of one administrative building, two academic buildings, three male student halls, two female student halls, one teacher's and officer's dormitory, vice chancellor's building and a mosque. The campus has wide roads. There are two sport field and two big ponds in the campus area.

Features

Landscape

The landscape is amazing particularly because of thin population and thin plantation. The area is saline and not fertile. Trees are recent and not as robust as they should be. Tall trees do not mark the horizon. Ponds appear in large numbers, but most of them dry up during summer. Poor harvest and low vegetation is related to non-availability of nutrients in the sandy soil. Low- or high-tech methods, including indigenous measures, may turn these arid fields to rich farmlands. It may be appropriate for this university to watch these on academic foundations.

The site of the university is part of a vast Char that stretches on the south to Char Jabbar, Char Bata, Char Wapda and Char Clark before it reaches the feebly flowing Bhulua River. Like the district itself, Sonapur has a long history of erosion and accretion caused by the mighty Meghna on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the south.

Academic system

Noakhali Science and Technology University follows a semester system for its four-year undergraduate programme. A student would take 160-172 credit hours. The four-year degree will be completed in eight terms of 22 weeks each. The first 15 weeks will be engaged for lectures, lab or fieldwork with a one-week break in the middle. Weeks 16 and 17 will be used for student reading. Examinations will be held during the next two weeks and the results declared within the remaining three.

Term 1 or January Term will begin on 2 January and end up on 4 June; Term 2 or June Term will run from 5 June to 5 November. The eight-week-long vacation will remain effective from 6 November to 1 January when the teachers and students will go on vacation. For a part of the community the first seven weeks of this vacation will be employed to run an intensive Short Term when students will repeat a failed course or take a course anew to keep up with the 162 credit hours. Courses will be run in this term on a demand-and-supply basis. The number of classes per week for a course will be doubled. Exams and results will be completed in the last week. During this long vacation, admission for January Term will be finalized.

Here result is done according to the grading system of UGC of Bangladesh. A course in a Term will be evaluated for 100 marks per credit hour. The evaluation components will be student attendance, 5%; quiz-assignment, 25%; and the term final 70%. Three to four books will be prescribed as the texts for any course although the teacher will follow one in Toto. The lecture schedule will show the length of materials to be covered in each lecture. A lecture not given due to a valid reason will be given on a weekend day to makeup. A three credit hour course have three lectures, deliberations or lab exercises per week. The duration of a lab period is twice as much of a lecture period and that for a fieldwork is four times as much. Friday and Saturday are the weekly holiday.

NSTU will be a place of equal opportunity for all students. They will choose and participate in activities to develop their cultural abilities and sportive feats. Jobs or studentships like teaching and research assistance or lab demonstration may be available for meritorious students. Initially the university will run a research centre to cover the research facilities for the departments. Adaptive research may be carried out through this centre based on some burning issues related to the coastal system.

Residence halls

1. Vasha Sahid Abdus Salam Hall
2. Jatirpita Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall
3. Abdul Malek Ukil Hall (Under Construction)
4. Bibi Khadija Hall
5. Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunesa Mujib Hall (Under Construction)

Academic departments

The university has 17 departments under 03 faculties. The faculties are:

All above courses are undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Major departments

Bangladesh ranking

In the best local universities ranking, Noakhali Science and Technology University was placed as 14th overall and multi-disciplinary category out of 105 ranked universities (public and private) and also placed as 2nd science and technology university out of 09 in 2016 while in 2006.

Web ranking

In 2016, the NSTU was placed as 10270 into the top list of "World Universities" and placed as 621 into the top list of "South Asian Universities" in the ranking carried out by the web ranking.

International ranking

In 2011-2012, the Noakhali Science and Technology University made it into the list of "Top World Universities" in the ranking carried out by the ranking agency Times Higher Education and Quacquarelli Symonds (THE–QS), UK . Out of over 30,000 universities around the world, NSTU was placed as 11203.

Open source network activities

Open Source Network started their journey in Noakhali Science and Technology University from 26 April 2008. Several workshops were arranged by nstu_osn.

This local OSN does some jobs related to IT application such as software, website development and so on. Some of the boys of nstu_osn develop a website for the department of CSTE; they are also working to develop the official site of NSTU.

Cultural activities

NSTU is very conscious to preserve Bangladesh's culture. It celebrates International Mother Language Day, Pohela Baishakh, Basanta Baran, Independence Day, Victory Day, International Anti Drug Day, Friendship Day and other national and international days with actual manner.

NSTU is proud of its Prothom-alo Bondhusava and Debating Society. NSTU Prothom-alo Bandhusava is the first cultural organization in this campus. Every year Debating Society arrange intra- and inter-college and university debates. A recitation organization named Jatiyo Kobita Porishod (local name: Pata Neer) is running successfully.

Sports

The university has strong cricket, football, volleyball and badminton teams. Intradepartment and interdepartment sport competition is held regularly indoors and outdoors. The university takes parts in inter-university competitions.

Scholarships

NSTU offers scholarships to its meritorious students. Poor and meritorious students receive awards. In every term, five students in each batch of each department are offered scholarships. Organizations provide scholarships regularly.

Religious activities

Religious activities are celebrated by the students in NSTU's friendly atmosphere regularly and respectively.

Vice Chancellors