1,200 students join NSTU Nat’l Science Fest

NOAKHALI, Oct 3: The two-day 4th NSTU National Science Fest 2026 began at Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU) on Saturday, with more than 1,200 students from schools, colleges and universities taking part.

NSTU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Golam Rabbani inaugurated the festival through a rally on the university campus.
Speaking at the opening ceremony at Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Mohammad Ruhul Amin Auditorium, the vice-chancellor said the science fest was a unique initiative that had attracted around 1,200 students.

“I am delighted to see the students’ interest in science,” he said.

He recalled former prime minister Khaleda Zia, saying she had introduced stipends for girls to encourage them to continue their education. He noted that most of the students participating in the science fest were female.

Students from 38 schools and colleges and 12 universities are participating in the festival with various science-based projects.

The vice-chancellor urged students to use modern technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), for education, research and developing their talents.

“We did not have access to so much technology in our time. You now have technologies like AI at your fingertips,” he said.

He also urged students to engage in science-based education and extracurricular activities alongside their regular studies. The university would increase its support for such initiatives in the future, he added.

NSTU Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Science Club chief adviser Prof Dr Muhammad Shafiqul Islam said the NSTU Science Club was established in 2020 and had organised its fourth national science fest.

“Students have designed projects based on their own ideas and brought them here. We will visit the projects and select the best ones,” he said.

He said such project ideas would encourage students to pursue careers as scientists.

Netrokona University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Md Khaleduzzaman, NSTU Treasurer Prof Dr Md Hasan Uddin, Dhaka University Computer Science and Engineering Department Prof Dr Saifuddin Md Tariq and Chittagong University Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Department Prof Dr Adnan Mannan also spoke at the event.

The festival features nine segments for students from NSTU and educational institutions across the country.

The three national-level competitions are poster presentation, three-minute research idea presentation and robot line race. NSTU students are competing in programming, e-sports, chess and photography.

School and college students are taking part in project showcase and science olympiad competitions.

A total of Tk 50,000 will be awarded across the nine segments. Teachers, students, guardians and journalists were present at the opening ceremony.