Ctg BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology starts journey in Feb

Highlight:

• The CBUFT currently offers undergraduate programmes in four subjects:
• Textile and Clothing Technology
• Fashion Design and Technology
• Apparel Merchandising and Management
• Fashion Design
• 2 more departments will launch in July:
• Textile Engineering
• Textile Engineering and Management
• Each department admits 70 students
• The CBUFT has laboratories with state-of-the-art machinery, sewing lab, textile testing lab, fashion designing studio, high capacity free internet, and a library rich in international journals

Chattogram BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (CBUFT) – a specialised private university run by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) – is going to start academic activities in February this year.

The CBUFT will initially run operations in about 37,000 sq ft of the BGMEA building in the Jhautla area of the port city, which will be gradually expanded. The university will provide local students with an opportunity to study clothing and fashion technologies and designs.

Students will get international standard facilities at the CBUFT, where famous teachers of the country will serve as faculty members, said Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, chairman of the board of trustees of the university.

He said, "The garment industry is the driving force of our economy, but there is no curriculum or chapter related to this industry in the school and college level curricula of our country. Moreover, out of 39 public universities here, only one offers education related to the textile industry.

"Only a handful of private universities offer higher education in textile or industrial engineering. In this situation, the students of Chattogram had to go to Dhaka to study clothing and fashion technology and design, but that was not possible for everyone for various reasons. As a result, many potential students, especially women, fell behind."

The BGMEA launched a specialised university in Dhaka a decade ago to meet the demand for skilled manpower in the sector which suffers due to a lack of skilled manpower despite being the source of the largest export earnings.

"We are happy to announce the launching of academic activities of the Chattogram BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology. We have already started the process of student admission. The academic activities of the new university will start from the last week of next month," said Nasir Uddin Chowdhury.

According to sources, the CBUFT will initially offer undergraduate programmes in four subjects under two faculties. There will be BSc programmes in Textile and Clothing Technology, and Fashion Design and Technology under the Faculty of Clothing and Fashion Technology. Besides, there will be bachelor's programmes in Apparel Merchandising and Management, and Fashion Design under the Faculty of Fashion and Apparel Design.

Each programme will admit 70 students – 280 students in total in four departments.

Moreover, two new departments named Textile Engineering, and Textile Engineering and Management will be launched under the Faculty of Textile Manufacturing and Engineering from July this year, allowing 140 more students the opportunity to pursue higher studies in textile production.

The CBUFT has air-conditioned multimedia classrooms with all the modern facilities, laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment and machinery, sewing lab, textile testing lab, fashion designing studio, high capacity free internet, and a library rich in international journals.

Apart from studying in a serene environment, CBUFT students will get internship opportunities in the best garment companies in Chattogram. They will also get the opportunity to exchange views with foreign buyers who visit reputed garment manufacturing companies there. Moreover, students with good results will get opportunities to go abroad with scholarships.

Twenty years ago the Chattogram BGMEA started diploma courses on subjects related to garments manufacturing to create skilled manpower for the sector. In 2013 the Chattogram BGMEA Institute of Fashion and Technology (CBIFT) was launched under the National University as demand for such programmes increased. In the last nine years, hundreds of students graduating from the institution took up jobs in reputed organisations at home and abroad.

Then the authorities decided to start the university to provide students with more higher education opportunities than that offered by the Chattogram BGMEA Institute of Fashion and Technology. After a long process, the University Grants Commission approved the CBUFT as the 106th private university of the country on 24 August 2022.

Rakibul Alam Chowdhury, vice-president of the BGMEA and chairman of RDM Group, told The Business Standard, "The new workforce we get is completely inexperienced, so, it takes four to five years to train these students, which is a huge waste of talent and time. In this situation, the CBUFT will create skilled manpower for the garment sector in a short time."

"The country's biggest industrial estate is in Mirsarai, Chattogram. Large industrial factories are being built centering the tunnel under the Karnaphuli River. The CBUFT will fulfill the huge demand for skilled manpower needed there."