Behind the scenes of the ASEFSU23 Hackathon & the importance of networking: an interview with Mr Syed RAIHAN-UL-ISLAM from Daffodil International University
Interview by Dhruti CHAKRAVARTHI, ASEFSU23 Young Reporter
The 23rd ASEF Summer University (ASEFSU23) on “Sustainable Cities for a Liveable Future” was a 3-month long interdisciplinary Hackathon that attracted over 80 youth participants from 39 countries across Asia and Europe. Divided into a range of groups, participants were tasked to collaborate, guided by experts and mentors to develop ideas for sustainable cities. The programme was set in the backdrop of rapid urbanisation across South Asian countries. The Hackathon culminated in the conceptualisation of innovative ideas and solutions to tackle intersectional urbanisation issues specific to Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
Mr Syed Raihan-Ul-Islam is the Senior Assistant Director, International Affairs at Daffodil International University (DIU), Bangladesh. He was the key coordinator from DIU, which partnered with the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) on the ASEFSU23. Ms Dhruti Chakravarthi, ASEFEdu alumni, interviewed Mr Raihan-Ul-Islam and captured his insights into the organisational details of the Hackathon.
Dhruti Chakravarthi: Could you please tell us about your experience of hosting the ASEFSU23 Hackathon? How did this hackathon differ from any of the other projects that your university has hosted in the past?
Syed Raihan-Ul-Islam: The preparations of the ASEFSU23 project started already back in 2018. At that time, I attended the 7th ASEF Rectors’ Conference and Students Forum (ARC7) in Bucharest, Romania, which was hosted by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). Representing DIU’s International Office, this was the first time when I discussed with the ASEFEdu team the possibility of jointly organising an ASEF Summer University. The ASEFSU23 programme was originally supposed to take place in 2019 or 2020, but due to outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to shift our timeline to 2021. At the end, we also had to change the plan of hosting the project on campus in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and organised a virtual Hackathon.
To make this programme more effective for all parties involved and also more locally oriented, the organising partners agreed that each country should identify one key challenge related to sustainable urbanisation. For Bangladesh, we considered waste management in Dhaka as one of the most pertinent issue. In the capital, we presently face this challenging situation and the Hackathon project contributed to finding solutions. Apart from identifying the country specific topic, DIU also reached out and invited resource persons to support the project, including mentors, academics, policymakers, etc. and connected them on very smart platforms. Through training and mentoring sessions, ASEFSU23 was a very resourceful and energetic programme.
Dhruti: Do you think there is a need for more events like this in South Asia?
Syed: Yes. We have so many geopolitical differences amongst ourselves in South Asia and I truly believe that events like this bring us together through cross cultural activities, knowledge sharing and learning within our region. There is a belief that this kind of programme will bring some new encouragement and hope among the young generations who are thinking differently and overcome historical obstacles. We can jointly work towards a better, liveable future, and through these events, we are not just bringing together South Asian countries, but also connecting other countries across the world with South Asia.
Dhruti: What has been the major challenge for organization and collaboration in developing this entire Hackathon project?
Syed: I think the biggest challenge was the timing. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all activities had to be shifted online and we are now all quite tired of the virtual world. However, we are slowly coming back to the campus and organise real face-to-face activity-based programmes. Managing both physical and online programmes at the same time can be very demanding. Furthermore, participants come from different parts of the world. Jointly coordinating tasks among the various team members across Asia and Europe was one of the challenging factors that I heard from participants and their mentors. Furthermore, if you would like to address local problems in-depth, we need to have practical experiences. For instance, to tackle the challenge of waste management in Dhaka, a field trip would have been very useful or a meeting with on-site experts so that they learn about solutions that are happening right now. I believe practical experiences are much better for intercultural programmes than virtual platforms. But we were all in this together and we made the best out of it.
Dhruti: That’s great. Why has it been important for your university specifically to have taken on this project?
Syed: Universities are both knowledge hubs and learning platforms. We are not only hosting lectures and courses, we are also always exploring the possibility to engage our students, teachers, and academicians in concrete projects. Projects like the ASEFSU23 are knowledge building platforms and we were glad to involve DIU’s Department of Environmental Science and Disaster Management, the Department of Civil Engineering, and the Department of Architecture. In addition, the topic of this Hackathon falls under these departments’ expertise and responsibility. In general, as a top-rated private university in Bangladesh, our university is very much focused on city development and education for sustainable development. We have the largest green campus in Bangladesh and have always moved ahead for the Green Movement. Through this programme, we can demonstrate our leadership role and demonstrate our responsibility to contribute to the society and to the country.
Dhruti: What has been the biggest takeaway of this event?
Syed: Networking is one of the key takeaways. We made new connections with our partners from India and Pakistan and also connected many people in our own institutions. Together, we would like to shape a better world through sustainable urbanisation. Networking is a big resource for the future and, of course, the knowledge that we shared and created is invaluable for our future cooperation.
Dhruti: That’s wonderful. And finally, do you have any key message that you’d like to give the participants?
Syed: As a university professional from the International Affairs Office, engagement and networking of people are a must. Furthermore, programmes like the ASEFSU23 that last for two to three months and bring such diverse results, outcomes and solutions to the reality must be continued beyond their actual timespan. During the ASEFSU23 Hackathon, participants not only developed digital solutions and prototypes. These need to be implemented now within the community to leave a larger impact.
Mr Syed RAIHAN-UL-ISLAM is the Senior Assistant Director of International Affairs, Daffodil International University (DIU) Bangladesh. Since 2013, he has been coordinating international mobility programmes for teachers, students and staff with global partners, scholarships, Erasmus+ projects, international internships, etc. at DIU. He also supervises the international cooperation relations & communications on behalf of DIU as well as setting up summer/winter program arrangement for International students. Mr. Raihan-Ul-Islam is an active member of NAFSA: Association of International Educators and attended more than 25 international conferences around the world such as EAIE, APAIE, AUAP, AUPF, EURIE, WFYS etc..
Ms Dhruti CHAKRAVARTHI has recently completed a Fellowship at Stanford University in effective altruism and applied compassion. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an MA (Hons) in Sustainable Development and Social Anthropology. With a keen interest in the intersections of international development and applied altruism, she recently worked with The Economist as a climate expert for their schools’ outreach programme leading up to COP 26 in Glasgow.
NOTE:
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely by the author(s) and do not represent that of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF).
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