The University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh has signed agreements with 43 public and private universities to implement 151 selected sub-projects under the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) project.
The signing ceremony was held on Wednesday at China-Friendship Conference Centre in the capital. UGC Secretary Dr. Md. Fakhrul Islam and the registrars of the recipient public and private universities signed the agreements on behalf of their respective institutions.
The event was attended by UGC Chairman Prof Dr. SMA Faiz as the chief guest.
The ceremony, chaired by UGC Member Prof Dr. Mohammad Tanjimuddin Khan, featured speeches by UGC members Prof Dr. Md. Saidur Rahman, Prof Dr. Mashuma Habib, Prof Dr. Mohammad Ayub Islam, World Bank Practice Manager Keiko Inoue, Lead Economist and Technical Advisor Toby Linden, Task Team Leader TM Asaduzzaman, as well as vice-chancellors and sub-project managers from various universities.
During the event, HEAT Project Director Professor Dr. Asaduzzaman highlighted the sub-project selection process and the progress of the project’s implementation.
UGC Chairman Professor Faiz stated that the selection of sub-projects under HEAT prioritized the enhancement of higher education quality and national interests. He urged the teachers and researchers involved in the sub-projects to work with integrity and dedication to achieve the set goals. He also advised university vice-chancellors, deans, and relevant stakeholders to provide their support for these initiatives.
Professor Tanjimuddin Khan congratulated the project recipients and called for the successful implementation of all project activities to create a positive societal impact. He noted that despite numerous challenges over the past year, the project’s work has commenced. He emphasized that the funds for the project come from taxpayers’ money and loans from the World Bank, underscoring the need to ensure their proper utilization.
The ceremony was attended by UGC directors, as well as officials from universities, the World Bank, and the HEAT project.
It is mentioned that project proposals were invited from university teachers and researchers through an open competition to implement various sub-projects under the HEAT initiative. A total of 1,481 sub-project proposals were submitted, of which 151 were selected after thorough scrutiny.
The five-year HEAT project (2023–2028), aimed at improving the quality of higher education in the country, has an estimated cost of BDT 4,016.57 crore. The project, under the Ministry of Education, is being implemented by the UGC.
