National AI Olympiad 2025 successfully held at BUBT

The National Round of the "Bangladesh Artificial Intelligence Olympiad 2025" was successfully held at the Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT).

The Bangladesh Open Source Network (BdOSN) and the Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT) jointly organised the competition.

After passing the initial selection rounds held on May 3 and 10, 171 students qualified to participate in the national phase, these participants were selected from a diverse range of institutions, including schools, colleges, technical education boards, and British curriculum-based institutions across the country.

The event began at 8:00 AM with participant registration and the distribution of gift items. A five-hour machine learning and programming contest occurred in designated rooms following a brief inaugural ceremony. Professor Dr B M Mainul Hossain, Team Leader of the Bangladesh AI Olympiad and Director of the Institute of Information Technology at the University of Dhaka, graced the inauguration ceremony. In his speech, he highlighted the immense potential of AI technologies and emphasised the importance of developing student skills in this rapidly evolving field.

The Honourable Vice Chancellor of BUBT, Professor Dr A B M Shawkat Ali, officially inaugurated the event. In his opening remarks, he stated, "I am delighted that BUBT is hosting such a significant and timely event at the national level. In this era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, AI is continually reshaping the world. Our students must have the necessary skills to thrive in this new technological landscape."

As a new addition to this year's competition, a 30-minute quiz segment was held featuring multiple-choice questions and fill-in-the-blank questions related to Artificial Intelligence and Python programming. Two hundred thirty-five students participated in this quiz across both junior and senior categories. A question-and-answer session titled "Living in the AI Era" was held alongside the competition. Following this, a workshop on the Kaggle platform was held, and the day-long event concluded with a lively cultural performance.

The concluding segment of the event featured a prize-giving ceremony and a closing program. The final part began with a discussion session between the participants and Dhananjay Biswas, the first Bangladeshi to win a silver medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad.

The chief guest at the closing ceremony was Dr Tayyabur Rahman, Joint Secretary of the Information and Communication Technology Division (also in charge of ICT Promotion and Research). In his speech, he encouraged students to lead in developing innovative thinking and technology-based skills. The special guest at the event was the Honourable Vice Chancellor of BUBT, Professor Dr A B M Shawkat Ali. He stated, "Such events stimulate students' interest in technology and play a supportive role in developing their talents."

Other distinguished guests included Dr Mohammad Kaykobad, Professor of the CSE Department at BRAC University; Professor Dr B M Mainul Hossain, Team Leader of BDAIO and Director of the Institute of Information Technology at the University of Dhaka; Munir Hasan, President of Bangladesh Open Source Network (BdOSN); Professor Santi Narayan Ghosh, Director of IQAC and BRIC at BUBT; Assistant Professor Md. Saifur Rahman, Chairman of the CSE Department, BUBT and M Rezaul Hasan, Managing Director of REVE Chat, the event's main sponsor. Faculty members, officials from BUBT and Bdosn, and participating students were also present.

In the AI Olympiad, Labib Shahriar secured first place, Abdullah Zobayer achieved second place, and Md. Risat Islam earned third place. The selected winners will have the opportunity to represent Bangladesh at the International AI Olympiad to be held in Beijing, China. In addition, the winners were awarded certificates and attractive prizes and will receive both online and offline training opportunities.

In the quiz competition, winners were selected from both the junior and senior categories. In the junior division, Aqud Iqbal Hoque secured first place, and Sakhwat Hossain Saikot achieved first place in the senior division. BUBT's CSE Department fully coordinated the event.