Bangladesh Agricultural University

Bangladesh Agricultural University

Bangladesh Agricultural University
Established	1961
Type	Public University
Chancellor	President Mohammad Zillur Rahman
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Dr. Md Rafiqul Hoque
Academic staff	6
Students	15,580
Undergraduates	12,028
Postgraduates	3,508
Doctoral students	44
Location	Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Campus	Rural, 4.84 km2
Colours	Blue and Gold
Nickname	BAU
Website	http://bau.edu.bd/

Bangladesh Agricultural University  was established as the only university of its kind in Bangladesh in 1961. The scheme for the establishment of BAU was finalized on 8 June 1961 and its ordinance was promulgated on 18 August 1961. With the appointment of its first Vice-Chancellor, the university formally came into existence on 2 September 1961 and started functioning with the College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science at Mymensingh as its nucleus. Currently the university has 6 faculties and 43 departments covering all aspects of agricultural education and research.

Location

The University campus, with an area of 4.85 km², is in scenic rural surroundings on the western bank of the old Brahmaputra River, 3 km south of the district town of Mymensingh and 120 km north from Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The campus is made up of a series of academic, administrative and residential buildings and a number of experimental farms, gardens and other related facilities. Besides, two national research institutes, Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) and Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) are housed in this campus.

War of liberation

During the days of war of liberation in 1971, the teachers, students, officers and employees of the university responding to the call of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had put up a strong resistance against all conspiracies, massacres and genocide launched by the Pakistani Army and its henchmen. In a spontaneous assemblage of teachers, students and employees held at the guest house premises in the morning of 26 March 1971, all raised their voice in favour of joining the war of liberation and the vice-chancellor Professor Dr. Q.M.F. Rahim declared instantaneously: "From now on this University will be named as 'Swadhin Bangladesh Krishi Bishwabidyalaya' [Independent Bangladesh Agricultural University]." A large number of teachers, students, officers and employees of BAU had joined the great war of liberation, and the university lost 18 valiant heroes, who sacrificed their lives for the cause of liberating the motherland. They had no doubt left us forever, but spiritually these immortal martyrs are still with us and will remain alive in the days to come. The martyrs include one teacher, eleven students and six employees of BAU.
Three halls of student residence have been named after valiant freedom fighters who laid their lives in the war of liberation: Shahid Shamsul Huq Hall, Shahid Nazmul Ahsan Hall and Shahid Jamal Hossain Hall.

Martyrs of the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 from this university

Name	Identity	Date of martyrdom
M. Jamal Hossain	Fisheries, 2nd part	16 April 1971
M. Akkas Ali	Employee	22 April 1971
Madhusudan Barman	Employee	23 April 1971
Nazir Akhter Kashem	Agro Engineering, 6th part	26 April 1971
Abdul Matin Khandaker (Tipu)	Fisheries, 2nd part	8 May 1971
Habibur Rahman	Agriculture, 1st part	Unknown
Abul Kashem	D.V.M, 1st part	26 May 1971
Khurshid Alam (Shibli)	Agriculture, 4th part	2 July 1971
A.N.M. Nazmul Ahsan	Agro Engineering, 5th part	6 July 1971
M. Shamsul Huq Talukder	Agro Economics, 4th part	10 August 1971
M. Nurul Huq	Employee	10 August 1971
Kazi M. Manzur Hossain	D.V.M, 1st part	7 November 1971
M. Gazi Wahiduzzaman	Employee	15 November 1971
M. Hasan Ali	Employee	29 November 1971
Ibrahim Mostafa Kamal	D.V.M, 1st part	12 December 1971
Mansurur Rahman	Agricultural Economics, 1st batch	14 April 1971
A.B.M Ashraful Islam Bhuyia	Assistant Professor	Unknown
Monirul Islam Akanda	Fisheries, 3rd part	Unknown
Gias Uddin	Employee	Unknown
Md. Tohsin Ali	Agro Economics, 3rd part	Unknown

BAU Campus

Bangladesh Agricultural University

A mosque in BAU residential area

Monument depicting the list of the martyrs of the Liberation War of Bangladesh

Faculty building

Agricultural university college

Faculty and Departments

Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology

·                    Department of Farm Structure

·                    Department of Farm Power and Machinery

·                    Department of Irrigation and Water Management

·                    Department of Food Technology and Rural Industries

·                    Department of Computer Science and Mathematics

Faculty of Veterinary Science

·                    Department of Anatomy and Histology

·                    Department of Physiology

·                    Department of Pharmacology

·                    Department of Parasitology

·                    Department of Pathology

·                    Department of Medicine

·                    Department of Surgery and Obstetrics

·                    Department of Microbiology and Hygiene

Faculty of Agriculture

·                    Department of Agronomy

·                    Department of Soil Science

·                    Department of Entomology

·                    Department of Horticulture

·                    Department of Plant Pathology

·                    Department of Crop Botany

·                    Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding

·                    Department of Agricultural Extension Education

·                    Department of Agricultural Chemistry

·                    Department of Biochemistry

·                    Department of Physics

·                    Department of Chemistry

·                    Department of Languages

·                    Department of Agroforestry

·                    Department of Biotechnology

·                    Department of Environmental Science

Faculty of Animal Husbandry

·                    Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics

·                    Department of Animal Science

·                    Department of Animal Nutrition

·                    Department of Poultry Science

·                    Department of Dairy Science

Faculty of Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology

·                    Department of Agricultural Economics

·                    Department of Agricultural Finance

·                    Department of Agricultural Statistics

·                    Department of Agribusiness and Marketing

·                    Department of Rural Sociology

Faculty of Fisheries

·                    Department of Fisheries Biology and Genetics

·                    Department of Aquaculture

·                    Department of Fisheries Management

·                    Department of Fisheries Technology

Institutes :

Graduate Training Institute (GTI)

Graduate Training Institute is the first institute of BAU, established in 1976. GTI was established in BAU campus with the financial assistance of FAO/UNDP with a view to impart in-service training to officers working in all fields of agriculture and rural development. GTI performs the third function of the university: extension and community service. The motive behind establishing GTI in BAU campus was to make links between teaching, research and extension. Through GTI, the BAU teachers get an opportunity to interact with field-level officers working throughout the country. More than 500 teachers working in BAU are the trainers of GTI. The institute uses all labs and field-labs of BAU for training. GTI provides high quality training with a minimum cost.
The institute has a 60-bed dormitory, suitable for running two residential training courses simultaneously. It offers non-residential training to postgraduate students, officers, employees and teachers. GTI has two modern PC labs for organizing IT-related training courses. The institute also made available the Internet facilities in BAU campus. The capacity of the infrastructure is above 3,000, but about 350 users are using the facility at its initial phase. The institute run about 50-60 short training courses per year.
GTI was awarded President Gold Medal in 1981.
The recent and notable achievement of GTI is the introduction of the Foundation Training for Public University Teachers in Bangladesh in 2007. The University Grants Commission provides financial support for this program. The sixth course on Foundation Training for University Teachers completed on 13 May 2010. A total of 135 young teachers from 16 public universities have attended in these courses. The course includes history of tertiary education, education psychology, research methodology, statistical methods for research, scientific report writing, office management, global and local development issues, teaching quality and teacher ethics, IT skills, and co-curricular activities.
GTI has also organized a Foundation Training course for newly recruited officers of public universities in Bangladesh. The institute successfully conducted two such courses for 56 participants from 15 universities until June 2010.

Institute of Agribusiness Management (IABM)

The activities of the institute will start very soon. The IABM is planning to offer masters degrees initially.

Library

BAU central library has a collection of over 1,84,942 volumes and 2,000 periodicals. The number of current journals 151. Also the library has copies of all M.S and PhD theses. Besides the central library, the Faculty of Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology has its own library which contains reference books and journals in the field of Agricultural Economics.

Admissions

M.S/PhD program

M.S. and PhD programs are available in the following departments of the corresponding faculties.

·                    Faculty of Veterinary Science: Anatomy & Histology, Microbiology & Hygiene, Parasitology, Medicine, Pathology, Physiology, Pharmacology, and Surgery & Obstetrics.

·                    Faculty of Agriculture: Agronomy, Soil Science, Crop Botany, Plant Pathology, Horticulture, Entomology, Agricultural Extension Education, Agricultural Chemistry, Biochemistry, Genetics & Plant Breeding, Physics, Chemistry, Languages, Agroforestry, Biotechnology and Environmental Science.

·                    Faculty of Animal Husbandry: Animal Breeding & Genetics, Animal Nutrition, Animal Science, Poultry Science, and Dairy Science.

·                    Faculty of Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology: Agricultural Economics, Cooperation & Marketing, Agricultural Finance, Agricultural Statistics, and Rural Sociology.

·                    Faculty of Agricultural Engineering & Technology: Irrigation & Water Management, Farm Power & Machinery, Farm Structure, Food Technology & Rural Industries and Computer Science & Mathematics.

·                    Faculty of Fisheries: Fisheries Biology & Genetics, Aquaculture, Fisheries Management, and Fisheries Technology.

Undergratuate program

Undergraduate admissions in BAU is very competitive. After completion of HSC (Higher Secondary School Certificate) education, a student can submit his/her application for undergraduate admission if he/she fulfills the minimum requirements. A candidate is eligible to apply for admission into Level 1, Semester 1 of undergraduate studies as offered by six faculties of BAU for the year 2007 must have passed SSC (Science group) or equivalent examination in 2003 or 2004 and HSC (Science group) or equivalent examination in 2005 or 2006 with a total of 6.5 GPA excluding the 4th subject, and with at least 3 GPA in both SSC and HSC examinations excluding the fourth subject. Besides, he/she must have Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology and English as combination of subjects at HSC level and has to obtain minimum 2.0 grade point in each of the above subjects in the HSC final examination.
As of 2007, the general distribution of seats for admission into Level 1, Semester 1 of the undergraduate courses as offered by six faculties BAU will be as follows:

·                    Faculty of Veterinary Science: 100

·                    Faculty of Agriculture: 250

·                    Faculty of Animal Husbandry: 80

·                    Faculty of Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology: 60

·                    Faculty of Agricultural Engineering & Technology (B.Sc. Agri. Engg. 60 + B.Sc. Food Engg. 30): 90

·                    Faculty of Fisheries: 70

·                    Reserved seats for tribal/non-tribal candidates from Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT): 3

·                    Tribal candidates from other districts outside CHT region: 3

·                    Progeny of freedom fighters: 33

Admission of foreign students

In the case of foreign nationals, applicants must have completed twelve years of schooling and passed courses equivalent to HSC (science group) of Bangladesh with Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology and obtained equivalent GPA as set out in subtitle. An applicant has to produce certified academic transcript showing that he/she has studied and passed courses equivalent to HSC (science group) of Bangladesh having Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology and English in his/her curricula.
The applicant must apply through respective Missions/Embassies/High Commissions and get the application processed through the Ministry of Education, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. On verification of the academic transcripts by the Dean of Faculty concerned, the applicant may be recommended for admission. The candidate shall have to produce a certificate of proficiency in English language. Each candidate has to submit an authorized health certificate to the effect that he/she is not suffering from any communicable/contagious diseases or such disorders, mental or physical, that may impede his/her curricular activities at this university. In addition, all other rules and procedures of admission, applicable for national candidates, shall also be applicable to foreign students. 

Training

·                    BAU offers a course on Information and Communication Technology at the postgraduate level. The Ministry of Science and Information & Communication Technology of Bangladesh has sponsored the programme. A one-year course with a total 36 credits has to be completed to obtain a certificate of postgraduate diploma in Information and Communication Technology (PGD-in-ICT). Any graduate having no third class/division at any academic level can apply to this course.

·                    A new course, "Foundation Training for University Teachers," is being operated by BAU to train newly recruited teachers (lecturers and assistant professors) of public universities of the country. The course spans eight weeks of intensive training and is approved by the UGC (University Grants Commission). In its fifth batch, 19 teachers from Dhaka University, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Islamic University, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Sylhet Agricultural University, Noakhali Science & Technology University, and Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University have been attending the program.

·                    GTI started "Foundation Training for University Officers." The first course spans one month and it started on 24.10.09. Twenty-six participants came from 10 public universities of Bangladesh. University Grants Commission of Bangladesh sponsored the course.

·                    Bangladesh Agricultural University Extension Centre (BAUEC) operates agricultural extension and village development activities in 22 villages of Mymensingh Sadar through 45 cooperatives. Besides, vegetable cultivation schemes are going on in 40 primary schools, high schools, madrasas and orphanages under Mymensingh Sadar, Trishal, Gouripur and Phulpur upazilla. As many as 8,103 farmers have attended the programs of BAUEC.

Research

BAU conducts two main streams of research — the degree research and the project research — the former being supervised by the teachers for postgraduate students at both M.S. and PhD levels while the problem-solving research projects are conducted with sponsorship accorded either by the University or external funding agencies. The Committee for Advanced Studies and Research (C.A.S.R.) is responsible for coordinating both streams of research. However, for proper coordination and management of research projects, BAU Research System (BAURES) was established in 1984. Since its establishment, BAURES has successfully completed 322 research projects and has 112 ongoing projects. The ongoing research projects are funded by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Department for International Development (DfID) of UK, Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD), International Foundation for Science (IFS), etc.

Publications

The Journal of the Bangladesh Agricultural University (ISSN 1810-3030) is published in June and December on behalf of the Bangladesh Agricultural University Research System (BAURES). Original research papers, review articles and short communications are accepted on the basis of their quality and national/international context.

Physical infrastructure

·                    2 administrative buildings

·                    6 faculty complexes

·                    12 halls for students

·                    a three-storied central library

·                    a modern auditorium (Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Auditorium, 2,000 seats)

·                    a conference hall

·                    a gymnasium

·                    a stadium

·                    a sports complex

·                    a healthcare center (free care service for students, university staff and their families)

·                    a project complex

·                    657 units of residential facilities for teachers, officers and employees

Halls of residence (student dormitories)

Boys' halls

·                    Isha Khan Hall

·                    Shahjalal Hall

·                    Shaheed Shamsul Haque Hall

·                    Shaheed Nazmul Ahsan Hall

·                    Ashraful Haque Hall

·                    Shaheed Jamal Hossain Hall

·                    Hossain Shaheed Shuhrawardy Hall

·                    Fazlul Haque Hall

·                    Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hall

Girls' halls

·                    Sultana Razia Hall

·                    Taposhi Rabeya Hall

·                    Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib hall.

Transportation

The university is 2.5–3 hours by bus from Dhaka, the capital. Inter-city trains may take around 4 hours. The bus terminal and the train station are within 2 and 3 km distance, respectively from BAU campus. This university has own buses which operate in the morning and evening for the students who live off campus. Usually, the residents of this city do not live in the university accommodation. The buses cover through the major roads and areas, especially, town hall, Zilla School corner, Notun Bazar, Rail station, Patgodam, Shombhugunj bridge, Keotkhali, and then pass through front of the halls of the university. Sometimes, they cover Jubli Ghat and Kali Bari road. Students have to buy a monthly bus pass. On the other hand, there are some students who like to use rickshaw as it is very cheap and most enjoyable vehicle in Bangladesh.

Bilateral collaborations

The USAID through a contract with the Texas A&M University provided this University necessary supports in the form of advisory services, fellowships, equipment, etc. in its initial phase (1961–70). Development supports were available through two separate IDA Credit Agreements signed between the government and the World Bank in 1964 and 1966. Over the years the University received research supports from a number of international sources, which included USAID, IDA, IDRC, UNICEF, Ford Foundation, ILO, DANIDA, CIDA, IAEA and so on.
Currently, the University receives funding support from DFID, IRRI, CIRDAP, IMI, DANIDA, IAEA, European Union, USDA, IFS, GEF and the Ghent University through bi- and multilateral research project. Very recently, the university signed five new memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the Texas A&M University, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey,, Florida A&M and Brooklyn College and Research Foundation of the City University of New York and the Ghent University of Belgium. Besides, the university has linkage programs with a number of national organizations like RDA, BPATC and various NARS organizations in the fields of research, training and extension.