The government is launching Innovation Hub in 10 universities of the country including Khulna University to develop startup culture and help young people to become entrepreneurs.
This initiative titled “Smart Unibator” has been taken under the “Digital Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem Development Project” (DID) under the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority.
On Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will lay the foundation stone of the Innovation Hub on the fourth floor of Kazi Nazrul Islam Central Library of Khulna University in a ceremony organized at Bangabandhu International Convention Centre in the capital.
The program will be broadcast live in the Journalist Liaquat Ali Auditorium of Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Academic Building of Khulna University.
Later, Khulna University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mahmood Hossain will unveil the nameplate of Innovation Hub in the second part of the ceremony at the same place.
He will address the seminar organized on the occasion as the chief guest.
On September 20, Managing Director of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority GSM Jafarullah spoke at an exchange meeting aimed at setting up an Innovation Hub at Khulna University.
Later, he had a courtesy meeting with the Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Mahmood Hossain. Meanwhile, he thanked the university for its cooperation, expressing the hope that the work of setting up the Innovation Hub would start soon.
Through this Innovation Hub, various types of training will be provided to the students of Khulna University and all the educational institutions of the region so that they can manage businesses successfully in the future or become entrepreneurs and create big companies themselves.
Taking new ideas from the interested students and selecting potential ideas for creating products/services useful to the society, various trainings will be provided to develop those ideas.
University teachers will be involved in this startup creation program. It should be noted that Innovation Hub startups will be mainly pre-seed or seed stage. Work will also be done so that these startups can get some funding facilities. Under this project, about 3,000 people will be trained to become entrepreneurs.
Apart from training, the Innovation Hub will provide 3D printers, drone manufacturing equipment, some equipment and software for working with artificial intelligence (AI). By using these equipment and software, the students will be able to gain practical knowledge about it and will be able to make their own products using the said equipment.
Besides, startups can use the Innovation Hub as their office or address. If the university faculty member is involved with the startup company, he will also be a partner in the success of the startup.
