5^th March, 2018

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DCEE) of North South University (NSU) organised a 2-day programme on rainwater harvesting technology, with an inaugural seminar titled “Sustainable Water Management in Bangladesh: Challenges and Opportunities” on March 5, 2018.

Prof. Dr. GU Ahsan, Pro-VC (Designate) & Dean, School of Health and Life Sciences, NSU, was the chief guest. Prof. Dr. Arshad M. Chowdhury, Dean, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences (SEPS), NSU, chaired the session. The keynote speakers of the seminar were Dr. Abdullah Al Muyeed, WaterAid Bangladesh; Syed Azizul Haq, President, RAiN Forum; and Ashraful Alum Ratan, Secretary, RAiN Forum. Dr. Nazmun Nahar, Associate Professor, DCEE and Director of Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), NSU moderated the session.

In his welcome speech, Dr. Mohammad Nazmul Islam, Professor & Chair, DCEE, thanked the guests and offered his full support for the programme. In the keynote speech, Dr. Abdullah Al Muyeed presented on the sustainable water management opportunities and also narrated the history of WaterAid in the WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) sector as well as the birth of RAiN Forum. Syed Azizul Haq talked about future studies, research and collaboration with RAiN Forum and emphasised on the importance of rainwater harvesting. In the concluding part, Dr. Nazmun Nahar shared some of her recent research project topics related to rainwater harvesting, followed by a lively Q&A session.

On the second day, a day-long training session was organised on “Rainwater Harvesting System” sponsored by WaterAid Bangladesh. Dr. Anwar Zahid, Deputy Director, Bangladesh Water Development Board; Syed Azizul Haq and Ashraful Alum Ratan from RAiN Forum; and Jubaida Gulshan Ara, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Architecture, Southeast University were the facilitators. A total of 65 Students from DCEE and the Dept. of Architecture participated in the training. In the closing ceremony, Dr. Md. Liakat Ali, Director, Program and Policy Advocacy of WaterAid was present as the chief guest.