Shahjalal University of Science and Technology

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology
শাহজালাল বিজ্ঞান ও প্রযুক্তি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়
Motto দু'টি পাতা, একটি কুঁড়ি
Motto in English Two leaves and a bud
Established 25th August, 1987
Type Science & technology, Public, Coeducational
Endowment US$ 25 million
Chancellor President Mohammad Zillur Rahman
Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Saleh Uddin[1]
Academic staff 1,000
Admin. staff 500
Students 13,800
Location Sylhet, Bangladesh
Campus Urban
320 acres (130 ha) (Main campus)
173 acres (70 ha) (Affiliated campus)
Academic departments 26
Colors Brick Red and Gray
         
Athletics 12 varsity teams
Nickname SUST
Affiliations Association of Commonwealth Universities
International Association of Universities
Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World
University Grants Commission
Website www.sust.edu

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, (Bengali: শাহজালাল বিজ্ঞান ও প্রযুক্তি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় Shahjalal Bigyan O Projukti Biswa Bidyalay) commonly known by its initials SUST, is a state supported public research university located in Sylhet, Bangladesh.[2][3] It is the first specialized Science & technology University of the country. The medium of instructions is English. It is one of the largest science and technology universities in Asia.[4]

SUST is the most IT enabled university in Bangladesh.[5] It is the first university in Bangladesh providing whole campus free Wi-fi access for students & staffs.[6] The university introduced an integrated honours course for the first time in Bangladesh[3] and it introduced the semester system (American credit system) from the 1996-97 session. Every year the existing systems are improving, new departments are going to be opened. According to the masterplan for the university, within a few years Shahjalal University of Science and Technology will be one of the finest institutions of the region.[7]

Contents

History

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) was established in 1987. The university started its academic programme from 14 February 1991 with three departments: physics, chemistry and economics. The campus is located in Kumargaon, approximately five kilometers away from Sylhet City Centre. The first convocation of SUST was held on 29 April 1998 and the second convocation of the university was held on 6 December 2007.[8]

Advisory Board

The university has a board of intellectual advisors. Some of the notable members of the board are:

Admission

SUST enrolls undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students. Students who want to get admission into SUST need to pass the admission test which is highly competitive. SUST is considered to be one of the toughest in Bangladesh, as over 40 people compete for every seat. Admission tests are arranged by the specific schools under the authority of admission council.

The university students invented and introduced the paperless 24/7 SMS Based Automated Registration of Admission Test procedure for the first time in Bangladesh. Interested students can complete the registration process through mobile phone messages. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched the system on September 13, 2009.[9][10][11][12] For the invention, the University won an Ambillion Award in a competition of South Asian countries in 2010[13] and National Award for E-Content and ICT for Development Award 2010.[14][15] Now, most of the public universities in Bangladesh have adopted this process of registration.

Schools and departments

SUST has 26 departments under 7 schools. According to the master plan it will have 8 schools with a number of departments. By following the master plan of the university, one more school and some departments are under consideration. The schools are:

School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences

School of Applied Sciences & Technology

School of Life Sciences

School of Law

School of Management and Business Administration

School of Medical Sciences

School of Physical Sciences

School of Social Sciences

Affiliated college

The university has one affiliated college: Sylhet Engineering College. It consists of three departments:

Institutes

The research institutes of SUST are[17]:

PGD In IT

Institute of Information and Communication Technology

CRTC Architecture

Department of Architecture Center for Research, Testing, and Consultancy (CRTC) focuses on research areas such as building planning and design, interior design, landscape development, urban planning and urban renewal, conservation of historical sites and monuments, architecture of Bengal region, sustainable design, low cost housing etc. according to regional context. Recently it has undertaken a housing project adjacent to Sylhet-Sunamganj highway that is nearly completed. The housing project offers a sustainable community environment through contemporary architectural design.[18]

CRTC CSE

The CRTC program, Department of Computer Science & Engineering focuses on research areas such as Optical Character Recognition, Parallel Processing, Cluster Computer, CodeWitz, Asia Link Project, Cellular Phone & Computer Interfacing, Bangla Computerization, Natural Language Processing etc. The software house offers professional working environment to the students.[19]

CRTC Physics

The CRTC program, Department of Physics has numbers of research groups have research activities in areas of Theoretical and Experimental Nuclear Physics, Nonlinear Optics, Thin film Magnetism, Neutron Scattering, Neutron Activation Analysis, Neutron Radiography, Defects in Solids, Semiconductor Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Gravitational Physics and Celestial Mechanics and Theoretical Physics.[20]

Conference

Every year SUST arranges Conference on Engineering Research, Innovation and Education (CERIE). In CERIE 2010, around 120 different universities attended from different parts of the world and more than 300 research papers were presented in the field of Architecture, Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Industrial and Production Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Petroleum and Geo-resources Engineering, Food Engineering and Tea Technology.

Collaboration

SUST has academic collaboration with following universities:

Life at SUST

Campus

The 320 acres land area of SUST campus makes it one of the largest universities in Bangladesh. The university campus is famous for its natural beauty. Many visitors to Sylhet visit the "Shahid Minar" (Martyr's Memorial) of the university. The memorial stands on the top of a small hill and is surrounded by trees. Different cultural organizations arrange programs on the premises on local and national occasions.

The first ever Bangladesh Mathematics Olympiad was held in Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in 2004.[22]

Students of SUST consistently take a good number of places in the country's national civil service examinations. Many alumni can be found doing graduate studies and researches at renowned universities around the world.

Prominent teachers/lecturers there include the Bangladeshi writer and scientist, Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, who is a professor of Computer Science and Engineering as well as the head of the department.[23]

Classes

SUST has an extensive core curriculum required of all undergraduates. SUST is the first university in Bangladesh to adopt American course credit systems for all departments. The syllabus are always updated frequently to maintain the global standard of education.

Library

SUST has a common Central Library with a collection of 180,000 volumes and 300 current periodical subscriptions for all academic departments. The library includes electronic copies of books, which can be accessed from any academic department through electronic local area networking(LAN). Per year around 2000 volumes are added in this library. The library building of SUST is famous for its attractive triangular shape. It has also a free internet browsing facility and rental library program. Additionally, there are also departmental library in each academic department and hall library in each residential halls. Library has an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) and its URL is http://library.sust.edu

International Students

SUST also welcomes foreign students. There is a significant number of international students, especially from Nepal. There are also some students in its affiliated medical college from Indian Kashmir. Every year SUST receives applications from abroad. Most international students come from Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan, Japan, Afghanistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar etc.

Housing

Currently there are 5 halls of residence. A significant number of students reside privately near the university area of Sylhet metro.

Halls of Residence

There are also well decorated houses for the faculty members of SUST. University authority is also running some private halls of residence outside the main campus especially for female students to confirm cent percent guaranteed housing for female students.

Sports

The students of this university participate in sports for recreation and the finest athletes regularly compete in inter-university games like football, handball, volleyball, basketball etc. SUST has some varsity teams. There is a Cricket ground, a Football ground, a Basketball ground and well equipped gymnasium adjacent to the university student health center. SUST is the only university to have Professional Cricket League and Professional Football League. Students organize both inter-department and inter-university tournaments for popular games every year. Girls and teachers also participate in several games.

University School

SUST has a university school of secondary level inside the campus for the children of staffs. The school also receives general students.

Photos of SUST

Student Organisations

Department Associations

Most of the departments have their own society or association for students.Notable department associations are,

Cultural organisations

Voluntary Organizations

Other Organizations

Notable faculty

Notable Student

Notes and references

External links