Innoverse Bangladesh 2025 concludes at BUET celebrating young innovators
The country's largest science and technology festival, Innoverse Bangladesh 2025, concluded at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) with an award ceremony recognising 128 winners across 10 competitive categories, including robotics, programming, science and maths olympiads, three-minute research presentations, and the innovation expo.
Organised by Whiteboard Initiatives in collaboration with the ICT Division of the Government of Bangladesh, the two-day festival brought together over 2,200 participants from across the country.
Fayez Ahmad Tayyeb, special assistant to the chief adviser, attended the closing ceremony as the chief guest. Among the other distinguished guests were Major General Md Nasim Parvez, commandant of the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST); Dr Hasina Khan, fellow of the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences; Zohoraat Adib Chowdhury, deputy CEO of Banglalink; and Tahsin Haque, senior executive vice-president of The City Bank. Family members of martyred student Jahiduzzaman Tanvin were also present.
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Speaking as the chief guest, Fayez Ahmad Tayyeb said the interim government has been taking various initiatives to encourage youth participation and innovation in the fields of information technology and research. He added that events such as Innoverse Bangladesh organised by Whiteboard Initiatives would play a vital role in complementing the government's vision of fostering digital innovation.
The Innovation Expo featured 45 university projects and 15 start-ups, attracting nearly 20,000 visitors over two days. Among the projects, the top three received the Shaheed Tanvin Innovation Award, while three start-ups received the InnoVentures Vault Award.
Organisers said the primary goal of the festival was to showcase the innovation capacity of Bangladeshi youth on a global stage.
In addition to competitions and awards, the event hosted special seminars and SketchTalks organised by SheSTEM and the Embassy of the Netherlands.
The festival began on 14 November with an inaugural ceremony announced by Shish Hayder Chowdhury, secretary of the ICT Division. Guests at the opening included Professor Dr Fazle Elahi, former vice-chancellor of IUT; Professor Khondkar Siddique-e-Rabbani, honorary professor of biomedical physics and technology at the University of Dhaka; Md Abdur Rafiq, project director of a2i; Murtuza Julker Nain Noman, project director of the iDEA programme; and Professor Dr Abul Hasnat Md Solaiman of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University.
