Staff Correspondent

Grameenphone has successfully concluded the second edition of its nationwide AI-based idea competition, FutureMakers, at a Dhaka hotel on Tuesday.

Centered around the theme "AI for Social Good," the competition engaged over 7,000 university students from more than 70 institutions across Bangladesh, who submitted a total of 1,103 innovative ideasmarking a 40 percent jump in participation from its inaugural edition in 2025.

The grand finale featured Rehan Asif Asad, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, as Chief Guest, alongside BTRC Chairman Maj Gen Md Emdad Ul Bari (Retd) as Special Guest, and Norwegian Ambassador to Bangladesh Håkan Arald Gulbrandsen.

Finalists presented AI solutions addressing seven key social domains, evaluated by a panel of judges led by Grameenphone CEO Yasir Azman.

Champion (Tk 3 Lakh): Team LubDub for EchoClip, an AI-powered clip-on device converting traditional stethoscopes into early-stage heart disease detectors.

1st Runner-up (Tk 2 Lakh): Team River Sentinel for an AI river erosion prediction system providing early warnings to vulnerable riverbank communities and 2nd Runner-up (Tk 1 Lakh): Team Jinxed for Spasto AI, a speech-therapy application offering personalized treatment and home exercise tracking.

In addition to cash prizes, top winners secured direct placement opportunities into Grameenphone’s Next Business Leader and Nextern Internship programs.

Addressing the event, Rehan Asif Asad emphasized the importance of empowering youth to apply emerging technologies to real-world challenges, commending Grameenphone for advancing Bangladesh's digital economy.

Grameenphone CEO Yasir Azman highlighted the widespread geographic diversity of the participants, noting that young innovators from corners outside major metropolitan hubs proved talent is not bound by institutional standing or location.