On 16th August 2020, the IEEE AIUB Student Branch in collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering, AIUB and the Erasmus Mundus Association (EMA) successfully organized a webinar on ‘Scopes and challenges in higher education during COVID-19 pandemic’. The webinar mainly focused on the application procedures of Erasmus+ and Marie Curie scholarship for those who are looking forward to accomplishing their goals to pursue higher education in Europe amid this COVID-19 crisis.
The webinar was inaugurated by the opening remarks from Prof. Dr. ABM Siddique Hossain, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, AIUB; Advisor, IEEE AIUB Student Branch; who discussed the importance of postgraduate degrees for an Engineer. He gave a brief idea about the demand of Erasmus+ scholarships in recent times due to its enormous networks, its requirements, and the facilities it provides to its holders. He shared his thoughts regarding the necessity of productive candidates of the current job sector along with the skills that engineers should develop for serving the world.
The first speaker of the webinar, Md. Ashiqur Rahman, Research Fellow, Spanish National Research Council; Country Representative Network Manager, Former Country Ambassador, Bangladesh; Vice-President, South Asian Chapter, Erasmus Mundus Association; started his presentation by giving an elaborate overview of Erasmus+ Association including the programs, opportunities it provides to its fellow achievers and also gave a detailed overview of its funding & scholarship policies. Afterwards, he talked about the necessity and benefits of pursuing higher studies in abroad and portrayed a brief comparison between an Erasmus Scholar and a Non-Erasmus Scholar. Following that, Mr. Rahman explained the entire application procedure of Erasmus+ scholarship in the joint masters and PhD programs. He concluded by highlighting the importance and ways of writing proper CV, Motivational Letters and Statement of Purpose for achieving the scholarship.
Afterwards, one of the guest speakers, Sayed Muhammad Baker, PhD Candidate, University of Kaiserslautern; Project Engineer, COHERENT-DILAS Diodenlaser; Erasmus Scholar MONABIPHOT (2017-2019); Lecturer (On study leave), AIUB; took the platform and answered some frequently asked questions from the scholarship seekers. Mr. Baker emphasized on the importance of thesis topic and thesis internship in applying for the scholarship process. He also motivated the participants to be optimistic and concluded his presentation by sharing his own experience that he had while applying for this scholarship.
Later on, the next guest speaker, Fakrul Islam Tushar, Post-Graduate Research Associate, Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories, Duke University Medical Center, USA; Erasmus Scholar MAIA (2017-2019); took the platform and suggested the participants to choose a program based on the field of study that they had during their undergraduate thesis. He concluded his presentation by enlightening the participants with the importance of proper CV along with the necessity of updating it from time to time. The session was concluded with an interactive Question-Answer session where all the speakers answered different questions from the participants.
Later, Prof. Dr. Md. Abdur Rahman, Associate Dean, Faculty of Engineering, AIUB; Advisor, IEEE AIUB Student Branch; Vice-Chairperson (Activity), IEEE Bangladesh Section; took the platform and gave the concluding speech where he appreciated the initiative taken by the student branch to organize this webinar and suggested the students to take help from their seniors who had experience in their interested topics. He also asked the students to use necessary resources provided by their respective universities to the fullest. He concluded his speech by motivating the participants to have self-belief and also suggested to stay focused on their respective goals. The session was graced by the presence of 285+ registered participants which includes Dr. Md. Hasan Imam, Counselor, IEEE AIUB Student Branch; Advisor, IEEE EMBS AIUB SB Chapter; Senior Assisstant Professor, Faculty of Engineering, AIUB; Kawshik Shikder, Motivator, IEEE AIUB Student Branch; Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering, AIUB; and Tasnuva Tasneem, Motivator & WIE Coordinator, IEEE AIUB Student Branch; Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering, AIUB.
